Bathurst 1000 verdict into Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin safety car penalty

The winning Bathurst team has been savaged for a calculated, “unsportsmanlike” ploy — but the reaction to its penalty has been much more severe.

CAMS hit Scott McLaughlin with a wet lettuce leaf.

The 2019 Bathurst 1000 seems certain to forever be stained by controversy after truly baffling penalties were handed down on Sunday.

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport investigation following charges that winning team Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske (DJRTP) had breached the FIA international sporting code for unfairly attempting to gain an advantage concluded that Bathurst champion Scott McLaughlin should be allowed to keep his crown.

The verdict was handed down on Sunday following a two-hour CAMS hearing in Brisbane on Saturday.

However, the 11-page investigation summary and verdict was scathing of the Shell V Power team and its alleged deliberate attempt to gain advantage through “unsportsmanlike” conduct.

McLaughlin’s Ford teammate Fabian Coulthard has paid a heavy price for his controversial safety car tactics at Mount Panorama.

Coulthard dramatically slowed down during a safety car period and held up the field behind his teammate. The CAMS investigation has concluded that Coulthard’s actions should see him demoted from sixth to 21st in the Bathurst results.

The team has also been whacked with a $250,000 fine, with $100,000 suspended.

Scott McLaughlin keeps the crown.

Team Penske has also had to swallow a 300-point reduction from the teams’ championship tally.

However, McLaughlin gets off more or less scot-free.

The bizarre decision to take action against the team, but not McLaughlin has been heavily criticised by racing commentators.

The wishy washy penalty leaves Team Penske impossibly half pregnant when confronting the ultimate question that they may have cheated their way to a Bathurst 1000 victory.

Television footage, radio transmissions, and car data were re-examined to inform CAMS’ scathing assessment of the team’s conduct — but it was CAMS’ recommended penalties that overshadowed the brutal evidence against Team Penske.

Supercars star driver David Reynolds led the criticism of the verdict, declaring the decision “did not make sense” as he openly mocked the verdict by likening the penalty to an episode of iconic comedy South Park.

They must have given it the Chewbacca defense #vasc #bathurst1000 https://t.co/FETIL1Khwj

— David Reynolds (@daffidreynolds) October 20, 2019

The fact that Rule B7.7.2.3 requires the team to hand back the Team Trophy for the win, yet their winning car doesn't is....well....it's wrong. The teams car won but the team didn't 🤔🤷‍♂️

— Damien White (@_damien_white_) October 20, 2019

Ryan this is completely unacceptable and an embarrassing look for our sport - A great point by @pmdude67 was cars trying to unlap themselves were also heavily disadvantaged meaning this effected the whole field - Its no wonder there is so much negative vibe towards @supercars

— Darren Symes (@SymesDarren) October 20, 2019

SUPERCARS ACCEPT PENALTY RECOMMENDATIONS

Supercars Australia has formally accepted the recommended penalties handed down to Coulthard and DJRTP — meaning no further action will be taken against winner McLaughlin.

DJRTP has also accepted the penalty and has announced it will not be launching any further challenges.

“After reviewing data from Car #12 (Coulthard’s car) following the Bathurst 1000 with the Stewards and Deputy Race Director, DJR Team Penske accepts the penalties issued related to the FIA International Sporting Code,” the team said in a statement.

“The team will be making no further comment at this time.”

BATHURST WINNERS TORN TO SHREDS IN INVESTIGATION FINDINGS

Fabian Coulthard was booted outside the top 20.

The tactics used by DJRTP were described as “disgraceful” by motorsport legend Larry Perkins during the Bathurst 1000 — and the official CAMS ruling doesn’t disagree.

The 11-page report into the CAMS verdict found the team was “reading to a script” when Coulthard was told over team radio to slow down because of debris on the track during the fateful safety car late in the race.

A later explanation in which Coulthard said he had slowed because his engine was overheating was also rubbished because, stewards said, the engineer didn’t mention it any point in his communication with the driver.

Stewards have essentially called DJRTP liars for claiming no one in the garage seemed to be aware why the team believed and told Coulthard there was debris somewhere on the top of the mountain when he was ordered to go slow and bank up the field.

Despite the official race radio channel and Fox Sports both showing a car was parked dangerously at turn 23, the team suggested it honestly believed the safety car was caused by debris on the track.

“We are unable to accept that evidence,” the CAMS statement concluded. In our view, it defies belief that no one in DJRTP’s garage knew that the reason why the Safety Car deployment had occurred was because Car #27 was off at Turn 23.”

CAMS was also scathing towards the fact Coulthard was ordered to drive slow to avoid debris while teammate McLaughlin was given no such order and was never informed that the team believed there was debris on the track.

UNFAIR CONDUCT WENT RIGHT TO THE TOP OF THE TEAM

Scott McLaughlin couldn’t care less.

CAMS said it handed down the toughest penalty within its power to DJRTP because it found the team’s unsportsmanlike conduct went right to the top of the organisation.

“We agreed with the DRD that the conduct of DJRTP demands a severe Penalty, not just because it was intentionally engaged in to give the Team an advantage but because it was done in a way that reflected a calculated attempt to conceal why it was being done,” CAMS concluded.

“We do not attribute what occurred to an impulsive ill-considered decision by Car #12’s Engineer alone. In our view, the Engineer was merely a conduit through whom a direction conceived by a more senior representative of the Team was implemented.

“We do not attribute what occurred to an impulsive ill-considered decision by Car #12’s Engineer alone. In our view, the Engineer was merely a conduit through whom a direction conceived by a more senior representative of the Team was implemented.

“However, we are unable to reach any conclusion other than that someone else in the DJRTM Team conceived of a strategy to give knowingly false information to the Driver of Car #12 to cause Car #12 to slow.

“The Authorised Representative told us that he had since made enquiries within the Team to attempt to ascertain what had happened and had been assured by the Engineer of Car #12 that he had made an innocent mistake. We reject that suggestion.”

CAMS said it took severe action because the result of McLaughlin’s win was “as affected to a degree” by Coulthard’s conduct.

“DJRTP infringed the principles of fairness in competition and behaved in an unsportsmanlike manner,” CAMS says.

“We do not find that there was an attempt to influence the result of the race but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the result was affected to a degree, certainly for Car #12 that would otherwise have re-joined the circuit after its pit stop in a much lower position.”

COULTHARD CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

CAMS concluded Coulthard was only following orders when he banked up the field — but his drive down Conrod Straight showed he was complicit in the unsportsmanlike act.

While driving at just 60km/h down the 300km/h straight CAMS says Coulthard should have known his team orders were wrong and that there was no debris on the track because he could see down the entirety of the straight and should have realised there was no debris.

“We also have some sympathy for the Driver of Car #12 to a point,” the statement claimed.

“We accept that because he was told that there was debris on the circuit, it was not unreasonable for him to have slowed initially, particularly over the mountain where a number of turns are blind. However, the Stewards showed the Driver of Car #12 footage captured by the Judicial Camera from his Car which showed him driving extraordinarily slowly out of Turn 18 and all the way down Conrod Straight where a Driver has a line of sight for hundreds of metres.

OVERHEATING ENGINE EVIDENCE THROWN OUT

DJRTP officials claimed after the race Coulthard was ordered to go slow because his Ford was overheating.

CAMS concluded from the race data of his car that Coulthard never attempted to cool down his engine despite driving at 60km/h during the safety car because he remained in a low gear and could have still travelled at a higher speed in a lower gear with minimal throttle and had more success cooling his engine.

Originally published as Bathurst 1000 verdict into Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin safety car penalty