16.04.2004 AUTODELTA'S NEW BRAZILIAN DRIVER AUGUSTO FARFUS LOSES HIS POINTS FROM MONZA LAST MONTH AFTER A TECHNICAL INFRINGEMENT
Brazilian rookie Augusto Farfus has been given
a 10-minute penalty in both the opening races of the 2004 FIA European Touring
Car Championship, held in Monza on March 28th.
The penalty has been decided today in Valencia by the Stewards of the Meeting,
on the basis of the report of the technical checks made in Paris a few days
after the event.
The #3 AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000, driven by Farfus, was declared not to conform with Art. 263.9.1 of Appendix J of the International Sporting Code due to the position of the fixation points of the rotational points on the suspension part checked after the race.
In Monza Farfus had won the first race, and
finished third in the second race, meaning that he was provisionally leading the
Drivers’ Championship with 16 points, two ahead of BMW Team Deutschland’s Jörg
Müller.
Further to his penalty, Farfus’s team-mate and reigning ETCC champion Gabriele
Tarquini inherited the first Monza race, while Jörg Müller is now leading the
Championship with 15 points and a 3-point margin over BMW Team Great Britain’s
Andy Priaulx and his own team-mate Dirk Müller. The three of them will also be
the only drivers carrying handicap weights in Valencia: 40 kg for Jörg, 35 kg
for Dirk and 25 kg for Priaulx.
“We did not appeal against the decision,”
said AutoDelta team manager Monica Sipzs, explaining:
“The non-conformity of the checked part was due a fabrication mistake, because
we were in a hurry in order to finish the cars in time for the first meeting.
"As a matter of fact, in Monza, Mr. Jacques Berger of the FIA has checked other
identical parts, and declared them conform; he also accepted the building
solution of our suspension. The Stewards’ decision testifies that they have
accepted our bona fide mistake, rather than punishing us for fraud.”
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