WEC News: Ganassi Cadillac disqualified from Qatar 1812km

The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R of Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais has been disqualified from the opening round of the 2024 FIA WEC season in Qatar, after a stewards report published yesterday determined that the car raced with non-compliant bodywork.

According to the report, a 3D scan performed at post-race scrutineering found discrepancies between the bodywork used at the event and the official bodywork CAD model supplied by Cadillac at the car’s homologation.

It was determined that the rear diffuser strakes fitted on both the left and right hand sides of the car were both fitted higher and misaligned than the nominal value from the CAD model, including the allowed tolerances.

After additional checks, stewards summoned team manager Stephen Mitas, who was able to produce evidence from Cadillac chassis partner Dallara.

This came in the form of a report stating that the infringement was the result of an error, with the parts having been delivered “without final quality control.”

The document further states that while the stewards considered there was no “intentional behavior” from either Cadillac or Dallara, “irrespective of this, there is a violation of the technical regulations, which was to be penalised with a disqualification.”

In a statement supplied to Sportscar365 in the wake of the disqualification, Cadillac stated:

“During the FIA World Endurance Championship race in Qatar on March 2, the rear diffuser strakes on the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R were unintentionally out of specification relative to the homologated height. We have cooperated with the FIA and ACO and accept their findings.”

The final result for the race therefore sees the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P move up to fourth in the classification, with the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID inheriting a top five finish. The #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari moves into sixth, with the #35 Alpine, #8 Toyota, Proton Competition’s Porsche and the #20 BMW completing the top 10.

BMW Team WRT’s #20 drivers – Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde – therefore scores points on their Hypercar debut with the M Hybrid V8.

In response, Cadillac has released the following statement this morning: “During the FIA World Endurance Championship race in Qatar on March 2, the rear diffuser strakes on the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R were unintentionally out of specification relative to the homologated height. We have cooperated with the FIA and ACO and accept their findings.”

Updated HYPERCAR Manufacturers World Championship:

1 Porsche – 39
2️ Toyota – 23
3️ Ferrari – 18
4️ Alpine – 15
5️ BMW – 9
6️ Lamborghini – 2
7️ Peugeot – 0
8️ Isotta Fraschini – 0
9️ Cadillac – 0