MOTORSPORT: Appeal denied, Bathurst winners confirmed

It’s a case of one Supercars legal case dealt and another still cranking up, with Will Davison and Jonathon Webb’s controversial 2016 Bathurst 1000 win finally confirmed overnight, nine days after the race finished.

Meanwhile Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Federal Court action against Volvo has been referred to mediation.

The results of the Bathurst classic were in doubt following an appeal against a 15-second time penalty inflicted on Jamie Whincup for a passing move that sent GRM’s Scott McLaughlin off-track.

But it took the Supercars National Court of Appeal less than one hour to dismiss the appeal by Triple Eight Racing last night, which owns the Red Bull team Whincup races for, with its full reasoning to be handed down with 14 days.

The ruling confirms the Whincup/Paul Dumbrell Red Bull Commodore in 11th place and that Shane van Gisbergen now has a 139-point championship lead over his teammate with 900 points left to fight for over three events.

In a statement issued last night by the Confederation of Australian Motorsports (CAMS), it was revealed there was “debate regarding whether Triple Eight had a right of appeal against a decision made by the Stewards during a race”.

In its post-race statement T8 described the decision as a “technicality”.

It has been reported Roland Dane’s operation can appeal to the FIA, but the team itself has indicated it does not believe that.

“With just three events remaining this year, the team is focused on delivering our partners and fans the best possible results for a strong finish to the 2016 season,” T8’s statement read.

Supercars itself welcomed the decision in a brief statement attributed to chief executive James Warburton.

“We look forward to this weekend’s Castrol Gold Coast 600 and an exciting conclusion to the 2016 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship over the coming months.”

It was a distinctly more diplomatic tone than last Friday when Warburton issued a statement lashing T8 for not accepting “the umpire’s decision” and then going on to tell the media the appeal was “unAustralian”.

No doubt Warburton’s intervention will not have been appreciated by Dane, one of the most powerful players in Supercars. The two, who sit on the category board together, are known to already have a frosty relationship.

Overlaying all this was a degree of confusion over just what T8 was appealing. At Bathurst in the hours after the race it was arguing the penalty should be scrubbed and Whincup/Dumbrell declared the winners of the race.

Then in Warburton’s Friday statement it was stated T8 had tried to reframe its appeal but was rejected by CAMS and that meant the penalty could only be reduced to 10 seconds, moving the car at best from 11th to eighth in the results.

But CAMS then contradicted that, saying the three-man court had the right to impose its own penalties, leaving all possibilities open.

Now, after all that, nothing has changed from the results issued immediately after the race.

Last Friday, representatives of GRM and Volvo were given initial orders by a Federal Court Judge in Melbourne.

According to a statement issued by GRM the judge has decreed a mediation, which is reported to have a December 15 deadline. If that fails, the case is expected to go before a court next February.

As we've reported, GRM is alleging misleading and deceptive conduct by Volvo by telling it only last May that it was not renewing its factory backing for the team.

Team owner Garry Rogers wants Volvo to allow it to race the S60 V8s again in 2017, rather than exercise a clause in its deal which allows it to buy back the cars at the end of this season.

“We had our first listing in the Federal Court on Friday where orders were made by the Judge regarding the completion of legal steps,” read a GRM statement.

“The Judge has provided a window of opportunity to resolve the matter this year by way of Court ordered mediation.

“This was very positive from our point of view as we have been attempting to sit down with Volvo and discuss the position that they had left us in following Volvo’s unexpected announcement in May to exit Supercars at the completion of the current season, after earlier indications that an extension to the program was supported.”