With Scott Dixon now the official winner in Edmonton, the Indy Racing League has put up their explanation on IndyCar.com.
In addition to stating that Helio Castroneves ignored a black flag call after he was tagged with a blocking penalty in the final laps (as well as the drive-through pit lane penalty that went with the call), the League has disclosed the rules that were applied in the situation:
Rule 9.3 (B) A driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum of a black flag “drive through” penalty.
Rule 7.1 (B) (4) (C) (4) The senior official shall determine the type and length of any black flag. The penalized car shall proceed to pit lane as directed by Officials and may return to the Race only upon the declaration of Officials. In the case of the Driver Violating the Rules, no work may be performed on a Car during the execution of a black flag penalty. Should any such work occur, the conditions of the penalty are unfilled and the penalty procedure must be executed again in its entirety on a subsequent lap. The penalty may not be protested and/or appealed.
Rule 9.2 (A) Race Procedure Penalties are a result of a on Track conduct and are generally imposed during on Track activity. If the imposition of a penalty is near or at the end of on Track activity and Driver/Car does not fulfill it, the Senior Official may reposition the Driver/Car in the posting of results or apply the penalty to subsequent on Track activity to reflect the fulfillment of the penalty. The penalty including without limitation any repositioning in a posting is non-protestable and/or appealable.
The statement also disclosed League president of competition Brian Barnhart’s stance on blocking from this morning’s driver meeting. He said:
“You have plenty of options on where to put your car and we should not have any defending or blocking. Again, we will be visually dividing the braking point through the entry into the corner in half. You can only be on the inside half if you are attempting to pass someone. If you are on the inside half because you are under attack from someone else, it is blocking. Don’t move your car in reaction to a following car and don’t impede the progress of a car with a run on you.”
Castroneves was dumped from a victory to tenth place at the finish because of the penalty, enabling Dixon to move up from second to claim the win.
