Tarquini has grid penalty annulled

Last year's World Touring Car Championship runner-up would have been moved ten places down the grid had he transgressed in any of the next three events, having incurred the punishment for pushing Jorg Muller off the track at Puebla.

But the stewards in Mexico had also given SEAT driver Tarquini a retrospective drive-through penalty for the incident, and the court ruled that article 44 of the regulations did not permit both penalties to be applied to the same misdemeanour.

The grid penalty has therefore been cancelled, although the drive-through remains in place as the court dismissed SEAT's contention that Muller had caused the incident by blocking Tarquini's passing attempts.

SEAT Sport had also argued that the stewards treated it in an "arbitrary and discriminatory" manner by penalising Tarquini but taking no action against BMW's Muller and Andy Priaulx over other collisions during the Puebla race.

This was also rejected, as was SEAT's accusation of a "lack of diligence" by the Puebla officials. The FIA ordered SEAT to pay the appeal's costs.

Tarquini heads to this weekend's Marrakech races fourth in the WTCC standings, 11 points behind his team-mates and joint series leaders Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell.