Analysis: Gardel verdict explained

FIA GT regulations stipulate that there must be at least three litres of fuel left in the car at the end of the race and the Ferrari 550 Maranello was disqualified after only 2.61 litres were removed.

However, Larbre Competition won their appeal against the decision last week, handing back the GT1 drivers' title to Gardel.

It is rare for an appeal to the FIA International Court of Appeal to be successful, but the team successfully argued that there could have been sufficient fuel in the car at the end of the race because of two reasons: a stall test had been completed prior to the removal of the fuel sample, and the fuel tank had not been removed from the car and emptied by stewards as the team requested

A stall test is used to ensure the air-tightness of the airbox by blocking off the engine's restrictors until the car stalls.

This was carried out prior to the removal of the sample, but the appeal verdict doesn't make reference to that test, only to the fact that the fuel tank was not taken out and completely drained. The court of appeal quashed the decision and re-established the classification of the event.

The appeal verdict read: "Whereas it is certainly up to the competitor to supply proof of conformity with the regulations according to the provisions of Article 2.6 of the Technical Regulations of GT and GT1 Cars...doubts remain as to the possibility of removing an additional amount of fuel so as to obtain 3 litres; and as notably the fuel tank of the car in question was not taken out as the competitor requested; and as the competitor can therefore legitimately submit that the car contained at least 3 litres at the end of the race."

The regulation is written into the rules to allow lab testing of the fuel. One litre is sent away for analysis, the second litre is kept by the FIA and the third is kept by the competitor. If there is not three litres in the car, it is deemed that there isn't enough for sufficient testing.

Jason Hill, chief engineer of Race Engines at Prodrive, the company that built the car, told autosport.com: "We argued quite simply on the fact that the rule states that there should be 3 litres of fuel left in the car at the end of the race.

"Nobody could prove that there wasn't because there was the stall test done before the sample was taken. The fuel cell was not removed from the car as requested, to be fully drained.

"We are not talking about the full three litres, just 400cc of fuel. It is quite reasonable to believe that that amount was actually in the car at the end of the race. The car was running close to the limit on fuel but that is what GT racing is all about."

Full verdict from the Court of Appeal:

CASE

Appeal from the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile (FFSA) on behalf of its competitor Larbre Competition, car N°11, team Lamy/Gardel, against Decision N°9 of the Panel of the Stewards of the Meeting on 25 November 2005 Event run in Bahrain from 22 to 25 November 2005 and counting in the 2005 FIA GT Championship

Hearing of Thursday, 8 December 2005 in Monaco

The International Court of Appeal (ICA), comprising Mr Xavier CONESA (Spain), elected President, Mr Pierre TOURIGNY (Canada), Mr Reginald REDMOND (Ireland) and Mr Laurent ANSELMI (Monaco),

Meeting in Monaco on Thursday,8 December 2005 at the Hotel de Paris,

Ruling on the appeal lodged by the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile (FFSA) on behalf of its licence holder Larbre Competition, car N°11, team Lamy/Gardel, against Decision N°9 taken by the Panel of the Stewards of the Meeting on 25 November 2005 and counting in the 2005 FIA GT Championship,

After hearing:

For the competitor, Mr Jack LECONTE, representing the competitor LARBRE COMPETITION, Mr Cyrille DABIN, Head Mechanic at LARBRE COMPETITION, Mr Mark LEVER, Engineer with the PRODRIVE company and Mr Jason HILL of PRODRIVE, assisted by Mr Simon TAYLOR, Sollicitor in London,

In the absence of representatives of the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile, the appellant,

For the FIA, Mr Pierre de CONINCK, Secretary General of the Sport Department, assisted by Mr Sebastien BERNARD, Head of the Legal Department,

For the witness, Mr Jean VINATIER, GT Technical Delegate,

Having acknowledged that the due hearing of all parties had been respected, the rights of each party having been duly examined, both in the proceedings prior to the hearing and during the hearing itself, the competitor, the knowledgeable parties called by the competitor, and the witness having been heard and provided all the detailed explanations and answers requested during the hearing with the help of a simultaneous translation system which was recognised as satisfactory by the parties;

WHEREAS the provisions of Article 60d of the GT sporting regulations do not determine in any certain way, either directly, or by specifically referring to other regulations, the precise measures for removing the 3 litres of fuel as mentioned in this Article,

WHEREAS at the end of the GT Championship event run in Bahrain from 22 to 25 November 2005, the GT Technical Delegate removed 2,610 litres of fuel from car N°11 belonging to competitor LARBRE COMPETITION,

WHEREAS it is certainly up to the competitor to supply proof of conformity with the regulations according to the provisions of Article 2.6 of the Technical Regulations of GT and GT1 Cars, in accordance with Article 258 of Annex J of the International Sporting Code, but becomes apparent from the elements in the dossier and from the proceedings that doubts remain as to the possibility of removing an additional amount of fuel so as to obtain 3 litres ; and as notably the fuel tank of the car in question was not taken out as the competitor requested; and as the competitor can therefore legitimately submit that the car contained at least 3 litres at the end of the race ;

ON THESE GROUNDS,

As to the form

DECLARES  admissible the appeal lodged by the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile on behalf of its competitor LARBRE COMPETITION, car N°11, team LAMY/GARDEL, against Decision N°9 taken by the Panel of the Stewards of the Meeting on 25 November 2005, event run in Bahrain from 22 to 25 November 2005 and counting in the 2005 FIA GT Championship,

As to the substance,

QUASHES Decision N°9 of the panel of the Stewards of the Meeting of the event run in Bahrain on 25 November 2005,

LEAVES it to the sporting authority to draw the conclusions of the present decision and to re-establish the classification of the event,

LEAVES the costs to be borne by the FIA, in accordance with Article 190 of the International Sporting Code.