Silverstone Auto GP: Karthikeyan elevated to win as Giovesi penalised

Giovesi's Ghinzani Motorsport team was ruled to have made an illegal pitstop on the 14th and last lap.

The series' sporting regulations state that mandatory pitstops can be made only between lap three and the penultimate lap.

Team boss Piercarlo Ghinzani explained to AUTOSPORT that the location of his team's pit 'garage' in the Silverstone pitlane relative to the start/finish line was a key factor in the error.

"We saw lap 12 on the monitors, which was correct," explained Ghinzani. "We called in our driver to stop, and he came in on lap 13.

"But when the driver came to rest it was after the [start/finish] line. If we had a pit box 20 or 40 metres earlier in the pitlane there would have been no problem. I am really sorry for Kevin."

The race officials' decision promotes Super Nova's new signing Narain Karthikeyan into first position - the Indian's maiden Auto GP victory.

Karthikeyan and Giovesi had both continued to race after the appearance of the chequered flag, leading to speculation that the drivers may have been confused over which was the last lap.

"I thought the race had finished, but I had difficulty hearing the radio and there was some confusion at the end," said Karthikeyan.

"It's quite good for the championship, though, I am sure I will have moved up some positions."