Having listened to evidence at its hearing on Tuesday 3 October, the National Court has taken the following action in these cases:

1. Chris van der Drift - Appeal

2. Filipe Albuquerque - Appeal3. Max Chilton - Appeal

Chris van der Drift – AppealThe Court rejected an appeal by Formula Renault Eurocup championship leader Chris van der Drift to have a drive-through penalty – imposed on him as a time penalty after a race on 10 September at Donington Park – overturned.

Van der Drift, from New Zealand, was given a drive-through penalty for his part in a first corner incident during the first of two Eurocup rounds at Donington on 13 September. But notice of the drive-through was not given until the end of the race so the penalty was transformed into an add-on time penalty of 25 seconds.

The penalty dropped van der Drift from first to 11th position in the results.

The Court confirmed that the International Sporting Code clearly states that drive-through penalties cannot be appealed.

Therefore, the appeal was rejected, the appeal fee was forfeit and additional costs were set at £500.

Filipe Albuquerque – AppealSimilarly, the Court rejected an appeal by Portuguese driver Filipe Albuquerque to have a drive-through penalty – imposed on him as a time penalty after the same race at Donington – overturned.

Like van der Drift, Albuquerque had received a 25-second add-on penalty post-race for his part in an incident at the first corner.

The penalty dropped Albuquerque from second to 15th position in the race results.

The Court again confirmed that under the International Sporting Code drive-through penalties cannot be appealed.

Albuquerque’s appeal was thus rejected, the appeal fee was forfeit and costs were set at £500.

Max Chilton – AppealThe Court rejected an appeal by Max Chilton to reinstate him as the winner of the first of two T-Cars Championship rounds at Snetterton on 13 August.

In heavy rain, Chilton had taken the lead after rival Alex Brundle crashed out of first position on the final lap.

However, it was apparent that the race distance of 15 minutes had in fact elapsed just prior to Brundle crossing the finish line on the previous lap when the chequered flag should have been waved to signal the end of the race.

However the start line official’s timing monitor had failed in the rain, obliging him to rely on a stop watch. This had led to confusion in the crucial final seconds as Brundle approached the line and, incorrectly, the ‘Last Lap’ board had been displayed. With the Last Lap board having already been readied, there had been no time to switch to a chequered flag.

The Court rejected the appeal, the appeal fee was forfeit and additional costs were set at £500.