By Johan Laubscher
The 2014 Italian GT drivers’ title has not yet been decided. Audi Sport Italia’s #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra crew of Thomas Schöffler and Marco Mapelli won the title on track at Monza in October, but later lost the title due to a penalty for a final lap incident.
Monza was the scene for the final round of the 2014 Italian GT Championship and the title came down to the final lap of the final race.
Marco Mapelli was running second in the race and heading towards the title, but he was closely pursued by the title contending #27 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Giammaria Raffaele and Casè Lorenzo.
Marco Mapelli braked very late coming into the second chicane (Seconda Variante). He managed to make the corner, but the Ferrari hit the Audi from behind during the incident and suffered damage, limping to the finish line in third.
It was originally a second place finish for Thomas Schöffler and Marco Mapelli, which was enough to crown them as the 2014 Italian GT Champions, but they were later given a ten second penalty for the final lap incident.
The ten second penalty dropped the Audi duo to third place and they lost the title to the #27 Ferrari driving crew of Giammaria Raffaele and Casè Lorenzo.
Audi Sport Italia immediately lodged an appeal regarding the penalty decision. The first hearing for the appeal was held on Thursday, but a second hearing has been scheduled for 20 January 2015. A conclusive decision was not reached and expert analysis of the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra’s telemetry will now be conducted.
The official Audi Sport Italia press release from the Monza finale can be seen HERE.
Photo credit: Audi Sport Italy