#10 Fantastic 1 plans Vigo victory appeal

Friday 19 September 2008

The #10 Fantastic 1 Cigarette Evolution team are appealing their time penalty from Vigo

Eugenio Voltolina, team boss of the #10 Fantastic 1 Cigarette Racing Team Europe outfit, has said that he’s intending to post an appeal on the decision of the UIM to penalise his team eight minutes for missing buoys in last weekend’s Vigo Grand Prix of the Sea Evolution-class Endurance race.

The #10 Fantastic 1 crew lost their on-track victory after receiving a pair of four-minute penalties for missing the penultimate buoy of the course in the closing laps of the event. That eight-minute penalty dropped his team back to sixth place in the standings, denying the team a potential second win of its debut season.

Voltolina has not disputed the decision to penalise his crews for missing the buoys, but has called into question the nature and size of the penalty, feeling that four minutes per infraction is too harsh a punishment for a minor driving infringement.

“I’ve decided to appeal the decision of the UIM jury,” Voltolina said today. “We think that four minutes is far too much, taking into account the advantage you gain by missing a buoy. In Formula 1, if you had a four-minute penalty every time someone missed a chicane, no-one would accept it. In Class 1, they have a 15-second penalty. This is out of proportion, and it’s not fair to penalise the whole race, the whole team.”

If penalties were just 15 seconds, The #10 Fantastic 1 team could be promoted back to first place, gaining 70 championship points in the process. “For us, and for every team, the last races of the championship are very important, and every point counts,” Voltolina said. “We’re very close to third place in the championship, and I’m sure there will be a big battle in Portimao.”