Triple Eight Bathurst appeal dismissed

The Supercars National Court of Appeal has dismissed Triple Eight’s appeal against Jamie Whincup’s Bathurst penalty.

The dismissal finally confirms Will Davison and Jonathon Webb’s victory nine days after the chequered flag.

Triple Eight had appealed the severity of the 15 second post-race time penalty handed to its #88 Whincup/Paul Dumbrell Holden, which dropped it from first to 11th in the result.

Held in Melbourne’s County Court of Victoria, the hearing lasted just 50 minutes before it was concluded that the team did not have the right to present its appeal.

In a statement (reproduced in full at the bottom of this story), Triple Eight blamed a technicality for the dismissal.

The court’s full reasoning for the decision will be handed down within 14 days.

The result means that Whincup heads into this weekend’s Castrol Gold Coast 600 139 points shy of team-mate Shane van Gisbergen in the Supercars Championship standings.

See below for CAMS’ full statement on the result.

The Supercars National Court of Appeal has dismissed the Appeal submitted by Triple Eight Race Engineering (Australia) Pty Ltd in relation to the time penalty imposed by the Stewards in the 2016 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

The Appeal Hearing was heard at the County Court of Victoria this evening, relating to the severity of the 15 second post-race time penalty handed down to Car #88 (Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell) for Careless Driving after causing contact with Car #33 (Scott McLaughlin/David Wall) at Turn 21 on Lap 150.

The Judicial Panel consisted of Chairman of the Court Walter Sofronoff QC, Deputy Chairman Barry Pilgrim and Member Christopher Blanden QC.

The hearing commenced at 7.03pm AEDT in the County Court of Victoria.

The following people were present on behalf of the appellant, Triple Eight Race Engineering Pty Ltd:
Roland Dane, Managing Director, and Jamie Whincup, driver of car 88.
Also present were Mark Dutton, Race Team Manager and Ken Douglas, Consultant Engineer.

Representing the First Respondent (CAMS) was Matt Selley, representing the Second Respondent (Supercars) was Anthony Hogarth, Supercars General Counsel.

The Chairman of the Court announced that the appeal was dismissed at 7:53pm, after debate regarding whether Triple Eight had a right of appeal against a decision made by the Stewards during a race.

The Court’s reasoning for the decision will be released in writing within 14 days of the conclusion of tonight’s Appeal Hearing.

As per the Supercars Operations Manual (Division B – Judicial Rules – 5.8), all parties involved in the Appeal Hearing shall be bound by The Court’s decision, subject only to rights of appeal pursuant to the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA).

An appeal to the FIA ICA must be lodged within seven days following notification of the decision of the Supercars National Court of Appeal.

Supercars CEO James Warburton has also released his own brief statement welcoming the result.

Supercars welcomes the decision by the CAMS appointed National Court of Appeal in relation to Triple Eight’s appeal of a steward’s decision at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

We look forward to this weekend’s Castrol Gold Coast 600 and an exciting conclusion to the 2016 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship over the coming months.

Red Bull Racing Australia’s full statement.

Red Bull Racing Australia tonight learned that the appeal against the 15-second time penalty for a driving infringement handed to Car 88 at the 2016 Bathurst 1000 cannot be heard by the National Court of Appeal due to a technicality.

As a result of Rule B5.1.1 in the Supercars Operations Manual, the appeal made by the Team against the penalty imposed on Car 88 cannot be presented and the Notice of Intention to Appeal should not have been accepted by the Stewards.

We respect the authority of the Court and wish to thank all those who have supported us during this process, particularly our fans, our Team Partners and the respected industry members in the Sport who independently voiced their opinions that Jamie raced hard and fair and nothing more. With just three events remaining this year, the Team is focused on delivering our partners and fans the best possible results for a strong finish to the 2016 season.