What an amazing race and what an amazing battle to the finish. I agree with Joerg Bergmeister that “..I am sorry that the race ended in contact.” but in all fairness I think this is the outcome from Sebring 2007. In that race, the Lizards got bumped out by Miller in the #62 Ferrari. The Ferrari bumped the Porsche on the last turn of the last lap destabilizing Bergmeister’s Porsche snatching victory from the Lizards. The official’s did not penalize the Ferrari and by inaction condoned this tactic which Magnussen tried on the last turn of the last lap last weekend. This time the Lizard’s met force with force and drove equally hard.
That said we do need to ask, how far will we let this go? I would hate for ALMS to let this go so far that it makes the sport unsafe, maybe the teams should decide, but the debate is already starting to heat up along expected lines.
In 2007 Bergmeister got unsettled and lost to Ferrari because he didn’t return the favor. In 2009 Magnusson did the same trick and Bergmeister didn’t let it go because the officials condoned it last time. I agree with Corvette team boss Doug Fehan that I enjoy an intense race, but the rules should be tightened to prevent such battles ending in crashes in the future.
Tell us what you think in the comments below?
I think the win should stand, Magnusson intentionally bumped Bergmeister, destabilized him and Bergmeister intentionally returned the favor because he didn’t in `07 and lost, so Magnusson is no saint here either. That said I think this should be the last race where this is allowed, because no fan wants to see a driver hurt and that is where this escalation will end.