Following Wednesday’s announcement that Tower Motorsp orts has been stripped of its LMP2 class win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Team Manager Rick Capone contends that it did not willingly violate IMSA’s technical regulations.
“Tower Motorsports is deeply disappointed by IMSA’s decision to penalize our No.8 LMP2 entry following post-race technical inspection at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Our team strongly contests this ruling and maintains that we did not intentionally violate any technical regulations,” Capone said in a statement.
“The infraction cited by IMSA relates to excessive wear on the skid block, an issue that can naturally occur over the course of an intense endurance race due to variables outside of a team’s direct control. The No.8 car has consistently passed technical inspection throughout the event and in previous competitions without issue. We firmly believe that this outcome does not reflect any wrongdoing or competitive advantage on our part.”
Post-race inspections by IMSA found that the skid block underneath the No.8 ORECA 07 had worn beyond the maximum allowable rate of five millimeters as stated in the FIA Technical Regulations, demoting Tower Motorsports to last in its class a little more than 48 hours after taking the checkered flag at Daytona.
“We filed a formal protest, which IMSA has denied. While we respect the regulatory process, we are extremely disheartened by this decision. We are incredibly proud of this team, and it does not discount the tremendous effort and dedication of our drivers, engineers, and crew, who performed flawlessly over 24 hours of competition,” Capone said.