The Penske car #17 was charged with having excessive valve lift in the engine it used for qualifying at the Bathurst 1000. This engine was changed for the race because there was vapour being emitted from the oil tank.
Four weeks later the on the morning of the Sandown Enduro the Team the Stewards penalties were announced.
The penalties are:
- A fine of AUD 30,000
- The car is robbed of its Pole Position for the Bathurst race
- The car must start from the rear of the grid for the Sandown Enduro
Attached is the Stewards Report on the issue' I commend it to your reading as there has been a lot of ill-informed comment in Oz social media.
The correct link is in post #3
On the bottom of page 1 it notes the maximum allowed valve lift is 0.710 inches. The highest measurement on the Penske engine was 0.7135 inches.
The difference is 0.0035 inches. This is only 0.5% out. In metrics the excess is only0.0889, the thickness of a sheet of paper.
Surely an acceptable tolerance, particularly as there is some ambiguity over measurement procedures.
Three interesting comments by the Stewards half way down page4:
- The engine had trouble with water vapour being emitted from the oil tank. "the possibility that that the issue had some bearing on the valve lift COULDN'T be dismissed"
- After the Technical Department ran the engine it did NOT EXCEED the mandated maximum power.
- "There was NO demonstrated performance advantage from the Maximum Valve Lift exceedance".
In the light of these three statements I ask what is all the fuss about?
Comments on this issue have flooded racing websites in OZ, with the majority against the penalties.
Do you agree the punishment does not fit the “crime”?
Edited by TerryS, 15 November 2019 - 05:55.
