Blancpain GT Series: The court gives an Endurance Cup title to Black Falcon

The RACB Sport National Court of Appeal changed the results of the final round of the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup season that took place on September 30 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, deciding that the disqualification of the victorious #4 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 should be withdrawn.

The amended results mean that Black Falcon took the Teams’ title in the Endurance Cup and their drivers Luca Stolz, Maro Engel and Yelmer Buurman are champions, moving a provisional champion Raffaele Marciello to the second place. The Italian took the Sprint Cup title and the overall Blancpain GT Series winner’s trophy.

The #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Black Falcon

To remind you, after finishing first in the race, the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 car was discovered to have self-adhesive tape placed at its air-intake. This was not in accordance with the car’s FIA homologation and was deemed a potential performance advantage. The car was subsequently disqualified from the race for non-compliance with articles 6 and 11 of the Blancpain GT Series 2018 Sporting Regulations. The team was informed of its right to appeal and chose to do so.

In their decision, the RACB Sport National Court of Appeal upheld the infringement and the findings of the Technical Delegate but ruled that the disqualification of the #4 Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon car should be withdrawn and a fine be imposed instead. As such, the team will be subject to a fine of €5,000 and reinstated in the results. Black Falcon has accepted this and will not appeal the decision further.

Photos: Dirk Bogaerts Photography,