Honda has withdrawn its decision to appeal Tiago Monteiro’s exclusion from the second world Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race in Thailand, following legal advice.
Monteiro originally took victory in the red-flagged race ahead of Citroën’s Sébastien Loeb, but was subsequently excluded when his car failed the post-race ride height check.
At the time, Honda insisted that the failure came about as a result of damage sustained to the Portuguese racer’s Honda Civic. The team reviewed the requisite evidence needed to lodge the appeal and have now withdrawn their appeal.
A statement from the team reads:
“The Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team has today confirmed its decision to withdraw appeal following exclusion of car 18 from the second race result of the FIA WTCC Race of Thailand [where the splitter dropped below the minimum ground clearance during the race and so failed on the ride height checks post-race].
“In accordance with the FIA appeal process, the team sought legal advice in compiling evidence for their appeal. Despite evidence to prove the team provided full checks before the start of the second race, ensuring the car complied when leaving the grid [and the ground clearance was correct] the team were not able to provide sufficient proof as to how the fixing came loose over the course of the second race.
“Consequently, insufficient evidence would result in the appeal being rejected in court. Regrettably for this reason, and after consultation with Honda, the team thought it was more appropriate to withdraw the appeal in order to not waste valuable time of all parties involved.”