As if the stop-and-go penalty, which caused his car to fall from second to fifth position, wasn’t enough, Andrea Piccini has been given an additional penalty for the incident between his Corvette Z06 and ex-F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi’s Maserati MC12, which occurred during the FIA GT1 World Championship race, on the Paul Ricard track at Le Castellet, on July 4th.
The 32-year-old Italian driver will be put back five positions on the starting grid of the next championship race that he will take part in: the next race is scheduled for Saturday, 31st July and Sunday 1st August at Spa Francorchamps, Belgium – a track that is dear to him.
“Although comprehensible, the stop-and-go penalty, given almost 10 minutes from the end of the race, when Hennerici was behind the leader of the race and was keeping the third car at bay, seemed excessive – commented Piccini – but this additional penalty! Even if involuntarily, I had ruined Bernoldi’s race, however I think that a five-position handicap is truly too much. At that point of the race, I had overtaken Bernoldi on the inside, then I made a small mistake, braking slightly late for the corner. I accelerated in first gear and the contact with the kerb threw me against the other car, which had its left rear suspension broken and was therefore forced to retire, however I notice that often more serious situations are left unpunished. No problem, in any case: sportsmanship also means being able to accept the decisions made by the competent authorities”.
The elder of the Piccini brothers therefore responds with sense of professionalism, and is now looking forward to making good at Spa, where the Phoenix Racing team has already been testing during the past week, with Marc Hennerici and Swiss driver Marcel Fassler. By working on the set-up, they managed to make best lap time: “It is a race that I like – said Andrea – on a circuit where overtaking is possible, therefore, despite the five positions to regain, the possibilities to do well are not lacking”.
However, bearing in mind the race calendar, the next appointment for Andrea and his brother Giacomo would be the third race of the Le Mans Series Championship, scheduled for 17th and 18th July at the Portuguese circuit of Algarve, at Portimao; however their presence is still to be confirmed, given the difficult moment for Scuderia Racing Box.