Nine drivers investigated after collision heavy Thailand races

A total of nine drivers were summoned to the stewards after a pair of accident strewn races at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand, though after many drivers vented frustration after the race, only ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel received any penalty from the stewards.

The two Ladas of Nicky Catsburg and Nicolas Lapierre were eliminated from both races in just one corner at the start of race one in an incident with Coronel. The stewards found Coronel to blame for the incident, but deemed just a reprimand was necessary for the Dutchman. All three cars were unable to take part in race two due to damage.

The next incident involved the Zengo Honda of Norbert Michelisz, the Campos Racing Chevrolet of Hugo Valente and Citroën driver Yvan Muller. All three were eliminated from the race in the crash, with Hugo Valente’s car also unable to take part in race two. Valente was investigated for the contact, but the stewards deemed no action necessary.

The other Campos driver John Filippi and Honda’s Tiago Monteiro were also investigated for a collision on lap six when the first race restarted, after which Filippi was forced to retire from the race. Again, the stewards deemed no action necessary.

In race two, the Citroën pair of José María López and Ma Qing Hua were called the stewards, and López again for a seperate incident with Gabriele Tarquini. The Sébastien Loeb Citroën driver Mehdi Bennani was also called for “contact with several cars”, but in all instances, no action was taken, leaving Coronel as the only driver to receive any reprimand for the day’s activity.