Larbre withdraws its appeal against Sao Paulo exclusion
FIA World Endurance Championship 2012 LMGTE Am Champions, Larbre Compétition, has withdrawn its appeal against exclusion from the results of the 6 Hours of São Paulo.
With enough points on the board to be awarded the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams before the final round in Shanghai, regardless of whether the appeal would have gone ahead or not, Larbre has every reason to celebrate their 2012 season, especially claiming its third consecutive class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
During the course of the Brazilian race an off-track excursion damaged the front of the No.50 Larbre Corvette. In post-race scrutineering, the front ride height was found to not meet regulations and the car was subsequently excluded from the results of the race by the Stewards of the Meeting.
Citing force majeure, an appeal was lodged with the FIA’s International Court of Appeal on September 18 by the FFSA (French Federation for Automobile Sport) on behalf of Larbre Competition. However, Team Manager Jack Leconte has now decided, with the agreement of the FFSA and the ACO, to withdraw the appeal.
Jack Leconte: “We wish to clear the decks to allow everyone to get on with preparing for the second season of the WEC in 2013 and so have decided to turn the page.”
Larbre Compétition will announce its 2013 programme on January 1.
Photo: OYAMA-CHO (SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2012, RACE.
Fiona Miller (information from Larbre Competition press release)