Porsche Backs Down from Protest Rejection Appeal

Porsche has backed down from its appeal into the FIA World Endurance Championship’s rejection of a protest from the manufacturer after last weekend’s GTE-Pro title decider.

In a social media post, the German manufacturer confirmed that it will not pursue further action after the WEC stewards dismissed its claim that the race director handled a withdrawn penalty without consulting them.

The incident in question was a touch from Ferrari’s Alessandro Pier Guidi that sent GTE-Pro race leader Michael Christensen into a spin late in the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The contact resulted in Pier Guidi and James Calado taking the race win and the FIA World Endurance GT Championship title in the process.

Pier Guidi was initially ordered to give the position back to Christensen, whose co-drivers Kevin Estre and Neel Jani were fighting for the championship.

However, after Christensen made a necessary fuel-only pit stop, the order for Pier Guidi to return the lead to the No. 92 Porsche was wiped from the timing screens.

After unsuccessfully protesting against the WEC’s handling of the penalty, Porsche actioned to put the matter in front of the International Court of Appeal.

The manufacturer had 96 hours after announcing its appeal to fully commit, but its latest statement confirms that the case has been dropped.

“Porsche Motorsport had lodged a protest against the decisions taken by the 8 Hours of Bahrain race director after the FIA WEC season finale at Bahrain International Circuit due to the incident between the Porsche 911 RS-19 number 92 and the Ferrari number 51. This protest was rejected,” read the statement.

“Porsche had announced it would appeal against the rejection of the protest.

“The intention was to enable it to carry out a full examination of the circumstances and the facts in general and also the legal standpoint.

“An in-depth analysis of the situation and the advice of legal counsel have led to a decision not to pursue legal action any further.

“In the interests of the sport, Porsche would in future like to see a stringent and uniform approach taken to penalties for violations on the track – especially during the race.”