Triple Eight’s appeal regarding their Race 1 disqualification at the Newcastle 500 has been dismissed after a hearing in Melbourne this evening.
The disqualification came off the back of the season-opening race where New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen led home teammate Broc Feeney for a Red Bull one-two.
However, in the hours after the event, the team were stripped of this because of an alleged Driver Cooling System rule breach.
The result of this saw Cam Waters inherit victory over Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki.
Triple Eight were quick to lodge a notice of intent to appeal and did just that with tonight’s hearing coming off the back of that.
The verdict was decided on by a three person panel consisting of Walter Sofronoff KC, Steve Chopping and Ross Jackson, with the hearing lasting three hours.
A statement issued from Motorsport Australia reads as below:
Motorsport Australia can confirm Triple Eight Race Engineering’s appeal has been heard and dismissed and cars 97 and 88 are disqualified from race one of the Newcastle 500.
Tonight’s hearing was held in Melbourne at Motorsport Australia House in Canterbury, beginning at 6pm and concluding at 9.30pm.
A three-person panel was convened to hear the appeal. The three members are Walter Sofronoff KC, Steve Chopping and Ross Jackson.
A full and substantiative decision paper will be published by close of business on Friday and posted on the Motorsport Australia website in full.
Triple Eight have stood firm in their reasoning, believing they had received verbal permission from Supercars’ Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess prior to the race.
Since the hearing they have released a statement of their own, which reads:
Triple Eight are disappointed in the decision to uphold the team’s disqualification of both cars from Race 1 of the Newcastle 500 for a technical breach.
The team maintains our position that we were given an instruction allowing us to install the cooling boxes in a place that conferred no performance advantage at all, but respects the outcome delivered by the Supercars National Court of Appeal.
Our sole focus now shifts to the upcoming Melbourne 400, and the remainder of the 2023 Supercars Championship season.
This means Mostert retains his championship lead over Kostecki and Waters respectively. Van Gisbergen and Feeney sit 11th and 18th in the standings respectively following first and fifth placed results respectively in Race 2.
Supercars returns next weekend with the field set to race four times in support of the Australian Grand Prix.
Header Image: Supercars
