IMSA announces penalties to two teams in GTD

MONTAPLAST BY LAND MOTORSPORT AND SCUDERIA CORSA HIT WITH DRIVE-TIME PENALTIES. AIM VASSER SULLIVAN AND WRT SPEEDSTAR AUDI SPORT BENEFITS

As if the bad weather was not enough, two GTD-class teams were not able to meet the minimal driving time for drivers. Following the Rolex 24, IMSA looked at all timing and scoring data. They discovered that Ricky Feller of the no.29 MONTAPLAST by Land Motorsport and Toni Vilander of no. 63 Scuderia Corsa were in violation of drive-time requirements, as mentioned by IMSA Sporting Regulations. This results in both teams being classified at the back of the field.

Article SSR 12.13.2. Minimum and Base Drive-Time, states, “Two drivers rated silver and/or bronze must individually achieve the minimum drive-time and each other driver (regardless of Driver rating) must individually drive the car for a base drive-time as listed in the SR or Car penalized in the drive-time penalty order priority.”

Minimum drive-time for the GTD class at the Rolex 24 was four hours, 45 minutes and base drive-time was three hours, 30 minutes. Both times were reduced by a percentage commensurate to the time lost while drive-time was stopped for red flags during the event, per SSR 12.11.5.

MONTAPLAST by Land Motorsport had finished in second place and has been moved to the back of the field. This now moves the no. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan to second place and the no. 88 WRT Speedstar Audi Sport of Roman DeAngelis and teammates to third.

Roman reacted to the news on his social media account. “After a post race penalty we got shifted from 4th to 3rd giving us the final spot on the podium, and my first Daytona 24 Trophy! 1/1 for Daytona podiums, First of many for this awesome group!”

For Daniel Morad, who drove for the MONTAPLAST by Land Motorsport, he also posted on his social media in regards to the news. “This was a very unique situation as the race was stopped for over four hours for bad weather”, Daniel said. “No matter the result, I’m so lucky to be part of one of the best GT3 teams in the world. Each member of the Montaplast by Land Motorsport team is not only super nice, but also very skilled. I’m very much over this past race, and completely looking forward to the next one!”

Images: PMstills Photography