TODD Hazelwood has become the third Repco Supercars Championship driver to be disqualified from a race this season.
The Blanchard Racing Team driver finished last of the 25 cars in the Albert Park opener and has now been scrubbed from the result.
Motorsport Australia confirmed the disqualification a short time ago, for running an incorrect drop gear ratio.
“Following an investigation and admission to breach of Rule C10.5.1 by Blanchard Racing Team, in that Car 3 had the incorrect drop-gear ratio fitted to Car 3,” read the stewards report.
“The Stewards have disqualified Car 3 from the Final Classifications for Race 3, Qualifying for Race 3 and Qualifying for Race 4.”
BRT boss Tim Blanchard explained what had occurred, making clear the technical breach would have been to the detriment of the #3 CoolDrive Mustang’s performance.
“It definitely doesn’t help, it was definitely a disadvantage with our performance,” Blanchard told V8 Sleuth.
“We were finding something a bit strange and the feedback and data yesterday.
“Obviously we’re one car so you have got nothing to compare it against to be obvious and also being new car and equipment so the processes from the old equipment, we still have got to clean a few things up.
“I guess it was just a silly little error and we paid the consequences for it yesterday.
“We put our hands up for it, we noticed the issue and went to Supercars ourselves that there was something not quite right and that’s the outcome.
“We’re kind of relieved we found something.”
Hazelwood, who drops to 21st in the championship, will also be forced to start this afternoon’s race from the rear of the grid.
He had qualified 23rd; Cameron Hill and Tim Slade will thus gain a place on the grid for the 2:55pm AEDT start.
Hazelwood’s penalty follows the high-profile disqualification of both Triple Eight Camaros from Race 1 at the Newcastle 500, a punishment which was upheld even after the team appealed.
