DJR Team Penske lose double-podium due to fuel regulation breach

The two Ford Falcon FG Xs of Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye crossed the line in second and third at the end of the third race of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, but due to a rule breach, found themselves among five drivers hit with a 60 second penalty, which dropped the DJR Team Penske pair all the way to 16th and 17th in the final reckoning.

Coulthard had started from pole position, and though the New Zealander struggled during the first wet phase of the race and fell down the order, he bounced back during the wet weather’s second coming, fighting eventual race winner Nick Percat for the lead over the last few laps, but soon after crossing the line it was confirmed that Coulthard and Pye, as well as Brad Jones Racing’s Tim Slade, the Garry Rogers Volvo of James Moffat and the Holden of James Courtney, who was already seven laps down, would receive a 60-second penalty for not having put the mandatory 140 litres of fuel in their cars during the race.

With three lengthy safety car breaks as well as a red flag stoppage, the race ran to time, meaning the rule, designed to equalise the disparity of fuel consumption between the different manufacturers, was more of an academic point, nevertheless the rules specified that a time penalty is required even in shortened races, with no allowance for special circumstances.

“It is hard to understand just what happened at the end of that race,” said Coulthard. “I’m still a little bit confused! But we can take away a lot of positive things from our first outing. Both Scott and I scored a pole position in two of the three races. The Shell Helix Falcons showed very good car speed but there are still a lot of things to work on. We leave here with two straight cars and we can regroup and really build on what we have achieved here.

Race 1 pole-sitter Pye echoed Coulthard’s sentiment about the weekend’s results.

“The race today was a bit of a lottery,” said Pye. “The weather conditions were shocking and we had some issues in the garage with the rain which made the engineer’s job really hard. We tried a different strategy but having to pit with the pack once the track dried put us on the back foot.

“The fuel dump issue cost us the result, however the two Shell Helix Falcons crossed the line in second and third so it did show the potential we have. The next race at the AGP will be good for the guys and I’m sure we can carry all the positives into the upcoming rounds.”