James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi have been named World Endurance GTE Driver’s Champions and Ferrari has officially been crowned GTE Manufacturer’s Champion after Porsche decided to drop its appeal of the FIA WEC’s decision to reject its protest of last weekend’s race result.
Porsche announced this decision, which makes the 8 Hours of Bahrain result official, on social media earlier this evening.
“Porsche Motorsport had lodged a protest against the decisions taken by the 8 Hours of Bahrain race director after the FIA WEC season finale at Bahrain International Circuit due to the incident between the Porsche 911 RS-19 No. 92 and the Ferrari No. 51. This protest was rejected,” the statement reads.
“Porsche had announced it would appeal against the rejection of the protest. The intention was to enable it to carry out a full examination of the circumstances and the facts in general and also the legal standpoint.
“An in-depth analysis of the situation and the advice of legal counsel has led to a decision not to pursue legal action any further. In the interests of the sport, Porsche would in future like to see a stringent and uniform approach taken to penalties for violations on the track – especially during the race.”
The incident in question came in the final hour of the 8 Hours of Bahrain and meant the 2021 season ended in a controversial fashion. It involved the two title-contending cars in GTE Pro, while Michael Christensen in the #92 Porsche was tasked with defending the GTE Pro class lead from Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari. Stakes were high as the two full-season driver crews were equal on points heading into the final race; the manufacturer’s title also up for grabs.
After reeling in Christensen, Pier Guidi in the final hour was on the verge of making a move for the lead in the final moments. But the pair came together while being lapped by United Autosports’ ORECA LMP2 at the final turn with 12 minutes remaining, Pier Guidi tapping Christensen into a spin. It was an incident that Pier Guidi felt he couldn’t avoid.
This handed the #51 the lead and prompted an investigation by race control. Moments later Pier Guidi was ordered to give the place back but as he slowed down to let Christensen through, the Dane pitted the Porsche for a final splash. It meant Pier Guidi was unable to give the place back and went on to take a splash of his own on the next lap.
DSC now understands that whilst the on-screen order to give the position back was not reversed,, there were clear radio instructions from Race control that did indeed confirm that the order had been rescinded.
After the stops Pier Guidi rejoined in front of Christensen finishing 3.2 seconds ahead of the #92, taking the drivers’ title and winning Ferrari the manufacturers’ title too.
Porsche lodged a protest shortly after the podium ceremony, which was rejected by the FIA Stewards. The German marque then opted to appeal this, taking the decision to the International Court of Appeal, meaning the result of the FIA WEC 2021 season finale would likely remain provisional for weeks and potentially months to come.
This latest decision by Porsche ends the dispute though, meaning all the FIA WEC champions in 2021 have now been confirmed.
