Attempto Launches Appeal Against SMP Ferrari

Attempto Racing has appealed a stewards’ decision from last weekend’s Paul Ricard 1000km, protesting against the second-placed SMP Racing crew.

The stewards initially took no further action following a collision in the first hour of Saturday’s six-hour Blancpain GT Series round.

The incident involved Steijn Schothorst (Attempto Racing), Mikhail Aleshin (SMP Racing) and James Pull (Barwell Motorsport). The stewards’ decision, issued 45 minutes after the race, stated the following:

“Cars 72 (SMP) and 55 (Attempto) collided at turn 14/15, with 55 then colliding with car 78 (Barwell).

“Having viewed TV and circuit camera footage and on-board video from 55, the Stewards consider that driver 78 has no responsibility for the incident and that neither driver 72 or 55 were wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident.”

Attempto’s No. 55 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, driven by Steijn Schothorst, Pieter Schothorst and Mattia Drudi, retired from the race as a result of the crash.

SMP Racing’s Ferrari 488 GT3, meanwhile, continued, with Aleshin, Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon finishing second.

The Russian entry now leads the Endurance Cup championship standings, in large part due to its win in the previous round at Silverstone.

Attempto decided to appeal the stewards’ decision to take no further action, paying the €2000 protest fee..

“Exiting turn 14 Schothorst was defending the inside of turn 15 and was driving on the white line on the right hand side,” a statement from the German team read.

“The 72 car then brutally hit the car from the side taking out two cars including the 55 car.

“We have several onboard videos which we are willing to share where it is clear from several perspectives how the situation unfolded.”

The results of the race now remain provisional, with SMP Racing at risk of losing its championship lead if penalized.

This was the second consecutive race in which Attempto has launched a protest, after it unsuccessfully protested Grasser Racing Team at Silverstone.

Attempto’s same No. 55 car finished second in the Silver Cup at the British circuit, with Grasser’s No. 19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo taking victory.

On that occasion, Attempto claimed that the Lamborghini did not have at least 2kg of fuel left in its tank at the end of the race, as per the Blancpain GT sporting regulations.

The technical delegate investigated this during parc ferme and found that the class-winning Lamborghini did conform to regulations, forcing Attempto to forfeit its protest fee.