[Steverino]

After being admitted to the Buttonwillow race, and then winning first place, the Model 3 was disqualified when the second place sore loser protested that the Tesla did not use gas or diesel, lol. What a great story. Admitting the car on the expectation it would lose, and then kicking out the EV when it defied their expectations is sheer arrogance. Welcome to the new world of EV's.

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/1...ss-finish-at-buttonwillow-for-being-electric/

 

[FI Spyder]

Reminds me of the time back in the early 60's when the Mini won the Monte Carlo Rally three years in a row. In year four when they came in first, second and third the French disqualified them because their headlights had one filament, not two (the rules only stated they had to be road legal no mention of headlights). They had previously raced all the rallies this way with no problems. Guess which car was #4 which was now listed as the winner? A French Citroen.

 

[Steverino]

Dishonest, disingenuous, deceitful, that's how I see the disqualification. If your old tech can't beat the new tech, well, time to upgrade.

 

[scottf200]

Direct from the Mountain Pass Blog: https://www.mountainpassperformance.com/gtasuperlap/

The series literally DQd us on the podium and took away our trophy! Here is the exact excerpt from the rulebook:

2. Only unleaded gasoline or Diesel may be used as fuel. No Ethanol, E-85, leaded, methanol or exotic fuels allowed as the primary fuel. Water/Methanol injection is allowed in a maximum of 50% methanol mix.”

​

We found it hilarious that we were being protested with what is a total daily driver that we just threw some parts on for this one event. The guys that protested us have been racing at this track and been working on their cars for years. We didn’t get too upset or make a big stink of it, because the protest is actually more of a compliment than anything else. Cameron confronted the guy after and asked why he protested – and his response was that “we were making him nervous.”

Other thread:https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthrea...ck-event-gets-disqualified-for-being-electric

 

[Steverino]

2. Only unleaded gasoline or Diesel may be used as fuel. No Ethanol, E-85, leaded, methanol or exotic fuels allowed as the primary fuel. Water/Methanol injection is allowed in a maximum of 50% methanol mix.”​

​

1) They don't say fuel MUST be used. They are saying a fuel-free car doesn't qualify, the car MUST must use some fuel? OK, so add a small gas-powered heater that uses 2oz of gas during the race, lol

2) Electricity is not a fuel. It's energy. Gasoline is a fuel that later is converted into energy.

3) If the race organizers view the car as ineligible, why did they let it race? Because they thought is could not win.

 

[Qinsp]

You need to read all the rules.
Were non-OEM mods allowed?
Was the 'flash' a 'restricted access'?

Normally on these kinds of races, you 'self tech' except for safety equipment. If you deliberately went outside the rules, you only DQ if you are formally protested by another entry. It only takes one protest, and normally they must pay for the protest if wrong.

I do find it strange that the only challenge was electricity since all cars have electricity on board. The fuel rules are to stop people from running high boost or internal engine mods in a production car, even pump E-85 allows much higher power output. Methanol is race only. If there was a Volt, it would be disqualified under the rules since it has a significant amount of electricity as a 'fuel'.

Somebody in the race org is a little biased. Water-Methanol is still methanol. WTF? When alcohol is banned, you must use distilled water in your tank, they watch you fill it, and it's sealed. Water will reduce detonation, methanol is a power enhancement that can actually induce detonation.

There are tons of cars that will lap faster than a Model 3. So I'm guessing it's a stock production class with limited allowed modifications.



Like if I put a spoiler or splitter on a car or use parts that increase camber, or remove weight, or use a non-OEM flash, or a wheel size that was not OEM, or tires that are not DOT and widely available, etc, I can run, but I can be protested and DQ'd.