Modified pop-offs binned after Honda appeal
CART will discard its newly-modified engine pop-off valve for the next three rounds of its FedEx Championship Series following a successful appeal by Honda Performance Developments, the US racing arm of the Japanese motor giant
CART had introduced modifications to the valve for the Detroit race on June 17 after it determined that two out of three of the participating engine-manufacturers - Ford and Honda - had found ways to effectively over-ride the existing valve and increase engine boost pressures.
But the manufacturers and their race teams argued that the change, which consisted of a three-quarter inch extension to the CART-supplied valve's collar, had been rushed through with inadequate testing and little thought on alternatives.
CART ran the modified valves in Detroit, Portland and Cleveland, but after an appeal heard in Cleveland on Monday, a panel of three CART-appointed judges has suspended the use of the device for the next three races: Toronto, Michigan and Chicago.
If no alternative solution is formulated and agreed by CART and its engine manufacturers, including third marque Toyota, the modified valves will be reintroduced for the Mid-Ohio race on August 12.
The appeal heard on Monday was filed following an unsuccessful protest lodged by HPD, plus its Team Green, Adrian Fernandez Racing and Mo Nunn Racing squads, in Detroit.
During the eight-hour hearing, evidence was heard from CART, HPD, Ford and Toyota, plus several owners and drivers. Honda-powered Team Penske attended as an interested party.
In a statement issued after the Cleveland hearing, CART said: "The decision of the appelate panel is conclusive, final, binding and non-litigable. No person or entity has standing to institute a cause of action in any civil court."
Earlier, in a meeting with the press in Cleveland on Saturday, CART president Joe Heitzler had denied that the introduction of the modified valve had been in collusion with Toyota.
"I do not believe that CART in any way acted in collusion or in any other manner than as a sanctioning body to interpret and enforce its rules," he said. "In no way did CART collude with Toyota."
The suspension of the valve modifications is a further blow to CART after a season which has already seen several hits to its credibility including the cancellation of the Rio race, a last-minute postponement of the Texas race in April over driver safety concerns and the dropping of Michigan from the 2002 calendar.
CART insiders say a worst-case scenario could be the withdrawal of Honda from the series. At the end of the 2000 season, Mercedes-Benz pulled out of the championship citing a change of emphasis in its marketing strategy.
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