Black Falcon wins Blancpain Endurance Cup after disqualification reversed

Mercedes-AMG Black Falcon has been restored as the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup-winning team after its disqualification from the Barcelona finale was reversed on appeal.

The #4 Mercedes-AMG of Yelmer Buurman/Maro Engel/Luca Stolz took the chequered flag in the lead at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in September, but was excluded after stewards found tape on the inlet tract.

The team opted to appeal the decision and while the RACB (Royal Automobile Club of Belgium) Sport National Court of Appeal maintained that it had breached series sporting regulations, it withdrew the disqualification and issued a €5,000 fine instead, having decided that the original punishment had been disproportionate to the non-performance-enhancing breach.

As a result, the #4 Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon entry is the winner of the Endurance Cup for teams, and Buurman, Engel, and Stolz share the same honour for drivers.

The #888 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP entry of Raffaele Marciello/Tristan Vautier/Daniel Juncadella had inherited the race win.

With the car reclassified back to second position, Marciello is no longer the Endurance Cup drivers’ champion nor does AKKA ASP any longer hold the Endurance Cup teams’ title.

Marciello had already locked up the Overall and Sprint Cup drivers’ crowns, while AKKA ASP won the Overall teams’ championship.