IMSA: Magnus disqualification upheld

IMSA has upheld its decision to disqualify the No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 from the final results after Sunday's Michelin GT Showcase at Virginia International Raceway. The team's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona entry, driven by team owner John Potter and Andy Lally, finished third in class at VIR, but the V10-powered coupe was found to be below the minimum ride height allowed by the series during post-race technical inspection.

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Running afoul of Rule 13.1.2.a, which states: "IMSA reserves the right to adjust the static ride height of a car to maintain the balance of performance between the cars," IMSA then vacated the car and its drivers from the final results at VIR using Rule 56.4: "Cars receiving a penalty applied post-Race that alters the finishing position order shall result in all other affected Cars advancing accordingly. Any Car found out of compliance with the RULES may be removed from the results (Exclusion) and other finishers advanced accordingly."

The No. 44 is said to have failed tech by being low by between one and two millimeters in one measured area near the front of the car. It's believed the team argued the inspection failure was due to the car being hit at the front at the start of the race by the No. 23 Alex Job Racing/Team Seattle Porsche 911 GT3 R.

It's also believed the series reviewed those claims and did not find enough supporting evidence to use the option provided in Rule 56.4 to take no action ("may be removed from the results") and leave the No. 44 entry in third place.

With the exclusion, Magnus Racing has been removed from second place in the GTD standings with two races left to run. Entering VIR, Magnus trailed the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 in the Teams' championship (243-228), and Lally/Potter were chasing Scuderia Corsa's Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen in the Drivers' championship (243-228).

"Disappointment is not the right word, I'm flat-out shocked with how this whole affair has been treated," said Potter. "We're the first people to advocate for rules being followed, we have zero history of disqualification, and within IMSA's own precedent we were able to demonstrate what led to the ride height failure, and yet this is all just being ignored and we're basically not able to contend for a championship we've fought hard for."

In light of the exclusion, and with IMSA's restrictive point distribution system in mind, the No. 44 Audi program has abandoned any hope of earning the Teams' title after falling to sixth in the standings (268-228). The same is true for Lally and Potter, who plummeted from second to sixth in Drivers' points (268-228).

"This isn't just a decision that takes away a podium, this is a decision that ruins an entire season's worth of work, over something that is both debatable and with a completely disproportionate punishment," Potter added. "While we do appreciate IMSA's efforts over the last two days to re-evaluate, we are fundamentally upset with how this has been handled and the inability to do anything about it."

The No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R driven by team owner Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen, the sixth-place finishers at VIR, have moved into second in the GTD championship. Despite being the closest competitors to challenge Scuderia Corsa, the 20-point gap (268-248) for the Dodge program in the Teams' and Drivers' championship is the largest among all four WeatherTech Championship classes.

Although catching and passing Scuderia Corsa is entirely possible for the No. 33 Viper team (and a few other GTD contenders), it would require an epic collapse by No. 63 Ferrari program.

And with both championships now out of reach, it's unclear whether the disputed nature of Magnus Racing's ride height infraction and the series' decision to exclude the team will impact the team's long-term plans to compete in GTD.