European Le Mans Series – PANIS RACING WINS THE 4 HOURS OF IMOLA AFTER PENALTY REVERSAL

At the 4 Hours of Imola, Round 3 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series held on Sunday 7th July, the #65 Panis Racing Oreca-Gibson was the first car to take the chequered flag at the end of a dramatic race. However, after the race, Charles Milesi was penalised for speeding up too soon, anticipating the end of the Full Course Yellow. This post-race penalty, a Drive Through converted into a 35-second time addition, relegated the team to fifth place.

However, following a review by the Race Stewards, the penalty has been reversed, officially declaring Panis Racing, with Charles Milesi, Manuel Maldonado and Arthur Leclerc, as the winner, AO by TF are classified in second place, and Vector Sport in third.

After the race, the Stewards received a petition from Panis Racing for a review of Decision Number 29 in accordance with Article 14.1.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code.

The Stewards, having examined the evidence provided by the competitor, summoned and heard the team representatives, (summons No. 11), determined the following:

There is a significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.

Decision No. 29 from the third round of the European Le Mans Series at Imola on the 7thJuly 2024, is overturned and the Drive Through converted into time penalty of 35 seconds to be added to the total race time and 1 point deducted, will be removed from the final result.

The data extracted from the Competitor’s data logger indicate an anticipation time that is significantly lower than the one indicated by the official data logger; the same indication can be found when looking at the speed recorded by the Competitor’s data logger and by the official data logger.

This reexamination showed potential margins for small offsets, specific to car 65. This gives the stewards reasonable doubt about the alleged infringement that the competitor was penalised for in Decision No. 29.

Due to this specific case of offsets in the data, and in relation to the nature of the alleged infringement, the stewards are unable to fully prove the alleged infringement.

The Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Art. 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code, within the applicable time limits.