FIA WEC: Decision pending on Fuji Yacaman/Bradley incident

Published Oct. 13, 2015 10:40 a.m. ET

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John Dagys

A final ruling on a late-race clash between Gustavo Yacaman and Richard Bradley from last weekend's FIA WEC Six Hours of Fuji is not expected to be made until the next round in Shanghai in three weeks' time.

The former Indy Lights star was in a heated battle for a podium position with LMP2 championship leader Bradley in the closing moments of Sunday's race when the two cars made contact, sending Bradley off the track and hard into the barriers.

The incident resulted in a DNF for the KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan of Bradley, co-drivers Matt Howson, and overall Le Mans and Petit Le Mans winner Nick Tandy, which saw the Hong Kong-based team lose the points lead to Yacaman's sister G-Drive Racing car that scored the class win in Japan.

Race Stewards initially ruled Bradley was at fault for the incident, with video evidence and data showing he braked 37 meters (121 feet) earlier than usual, which had caused the Colombian to make contact with the rear of the car.

However, the Stewards suspended the ruling less than two hours later, stating new evidence provided by KCMG showed Bradley was under full throttle at the time of the contact. 

The FIA Technical Committee has now gotten involved in the investigation, with analysis based on all data expected to be presented back to the Stewards prior to the start of on-track action in China, which gets underway on Oct. 30.

Both teams, which had a prior history with each other, are now locked into a fierce battle for the LMP2 championship, with G-Drive's Sam Bird, Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal holding a 12-point lead over the KCMG drivers, with Yacaman only three further points back, with only two rounds to go.

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