Gearshift Issue on No. 99 Porsche Led to Marciello Crash

A gearbox issue on the No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 has been revealed as the leading cause in the incident that resulted in BMW driver Raffaele Marciello’s second-hour crash during Sunday’s 6 Hours of Fuji.

Marciello, on an outlap on cold tires, came up behind the Nico Pino-driven Proton Porsche when the latter slowed out of Turn 7.

This caught out Marciello, who lost control of his No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 and speared into the guardrail, inflicting heavy damage to the front of the Dallara-chassised LMDh car.

A stewards investigation into the incident revealed that Pino encountered a gearbox issue that eventually led to a brief loss of fuel injection, thus causing the unexpected loss of speed.

A bulletin issued by the stewards after the race read: “Following investigations and analysis of the data from car No. 99, with the assistance of the technical delegates, it was established that, consistent with the driver of car No. 99’s statement, the car experienced a gearbox problem while the engine was running at high revs. The electronic gearbox system refused the gear change.

“The driver attempted a second gear change under the same conditions, and again the gearbox system refused to engage. As a result, the electronic system cut the fuel injection, which caused a sudden deceleration of car No. 99.

“The data also confirmed that the driver of car No. 99 kept the throttle fully applied throughout this period, except during the brief moments when the system cut the fuel injection.”

Stewards determined that Pino’s unexpected deceleration was not intentional and no penalty was issued as a result.

“We had a mis-shift in that situation,” Pino told Sportscar365 after the race.

“There was no intentional brake test or proper deceleration. You just see the speed plateau at that stage.

“At the same time, there was a bit of space on the inside. You can also lift, you don’t need to brake as hard. But at the end, it’s unlucky.

“Of course, sorry for him. There was no intention to do anything like that.”

Marciello, for his part, described the car’s early exit from the race as “a pity,” maintaining that it deprived the No. 15 crew from the opportunity to fight for a points finish in a tightly-contested race.

“It’s a pity, because Kevin had the contact but with the safety car we came back in the game a bit,” he said.

“Many cars had penalties. We didn’t have a good pace to fight in front but we were able to fight for points, so it’s a pity.”