Gebhardt: Refueling Issue Cause for COTA Race 1 Drama
Newly purchased refueling system pumped six less liters of fuel into cars that led to Race 1 defeat, says team boss...
Photo: Peter Casey/IMSA
A refueling system calibration issue was the cause for both Gebhardt Motorsport USA Duqueine D08 Nissans running out of fuel while in the lead of the opening IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race of the weekend at Circuit of The Americas, it has been revealed.
The German squad, which had been running 1-2 with Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano, saw their race come to a dramatic end on the second-to-last lap when both of the cars ran out of fuel.
It handed the win to the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan of Jonathan Woolridge.
While the Gebhardt cars were classified in fifth and sixth positions in LMP3, a post-race investigation revealed that there was no mechanical issue related to the cars themselves, but instead the refueling system.
“Unfortunately, we had a problem with our newly purchased refueling system in the USA,” explained team boss Fritz Gebhardt. “It hadn’t calibrated the quantities correctly and pumped six liters less fuel into the cars’ tanks instead of the calculated amount.
“As a result, both Duqueine rolled out at the same time without fuel.”
Race 2 later that day did saw a return to form for the team, with Catalano scoring his third victory of the season, in a 1-2 finish ahead of teammate Tunjo.
Catalano leads the LMP3 class standings in the series heading into the next round of the season at Mid-Ohio in June.
