WEC: Tequila Patron ESM stripped of LMP2 podium

Tequila Patron Extreme Speed Motorsports has been stripped of its third place in the LMP2 class from the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener at Silverstone, after being handed a post-race disqualification due to too much wear on the floor of its HPD-ARX 03b car.

The American team, co-driven by Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and David Heinemeier Hansson, started fifth in class on the grid and made strong progress through the field to claim the final rostrum position and eighth in the overall classification.

However, the number 30 car was disqualified post-race after inspection and the team suspect the problems occurred because of the chassis modifications needed to comply with the WEC rules.

The decision comes just days after the joint-announcement by the ACO, FIA and IMSA to unify LMP2 regulations for 2017. Extreme Speed Motorsports has been competing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship this year and required minimal changes to its HPD-ARX 03b chassis to comply with WEC regulations.

The team is expecting to take delivery of new racing machines, Ligier JS P2 designed by Onroak Automotive, ahead of the second round of the WEC championship the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 2nd May.

As a result of the disqualification, British squad Strakka Racing gained an unexpected third place in the LMP2 class.