First Better Than Manthey, Then the Disqualification: Why Land-Porsche Rookie Bastian Buus Is Being Stripped of His Fourth-Place Finish at the DTM in Zandvoort
Shock for the Land team: The legendary team from the Westerwald, which returned to Porsche from Audi in this year’s DTM, has been disqualified following rookie Bastian Buus’s strong fourth-place finish in Saturday’s race at Zandvoort (race report)! The reason is that the No. 29 Porsche 911 GT3 R was underweight.
This was discovered by the technical commissioners during the post-race inspection. According to their findings, the car should have weighed at least 1,332 kilograms, but only tipped the scales at 1,328.5 kilograms. Even with the two-kilogram tolerance, the car was still 1.5 kilograms underweight.
To make matters worse, the team was also penalized for a regulation violation involving the use of non-compliant impact wrenches during the pit stop. Due to the disqualification, no further penalty was imposed. However, the team was instructed to use only impact wrenches that fully comply with the specified original parts effective immediately.
For 22-year-old Buus, this is a bitter setback, as the Dane thus loses his best DTM result to date, having outperformed both drivers of the top Porsche team Manthey at Zandvoort, just as he did on Sunday at Spielberg.
Result clear: Land-Porsche was weighed three times
By being underweight, the team violated Article 26.1 of the Sporting Regulations. This article clarifies that the required minimum weight of a vehicle without a driver and without fuel is determined by the minimum weight according to the Balance of Performance (BoP), the driver ballast, and the onboard camera weight.
This is also the reason why the team significantly exceeded the BoP weight of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of 1,315 kilograms and was nevertheless disqualified. The result is clear-cut, as the car was placed on the scales in the Dekra pit three times during technical inspection to be absolutely certain.
After securing a strong fourth-place grid position, Buus battled Winward-Mercedes driver Jules Gounon for fourth place throughout the entire race—and ultimately prevailed. The fact that the Frenchman now moves up one spot is likely to be seen by him as poetic justice, as he was anything but pleased with his rival’s behavior.
Gounon complains about Buus: “Not in accordance with the rules”
“What happened on the track wasn’t really fair,” said Gounon after the race. “I was right next to Bastian Buus twice; there was contact both times, and I had to ease off the gas when the maneuver was already over for me.”
Does he consider Buus’s maneuvers unfair? “It’s not unfair, it’s not in accordance with the rules!” Gounon replied. “According to the rules, you have to leave space when you’re side by side. That space wasn’t left—and the race director made his decision.”
While race director Sven Stoppe did not react to Gounon’s radio message—stating that Buus must give back the position—after Buus’s first maneuver, he received a warning for the second incident for forcing a competitor off the track.
Buus himself described the duel as a “good battle,” but noted that it’s difficult to pass on the outside lane. “We had a slight contact before exiting the corner—and I think his car veered a bit to the left. There was enough space. I received a warning, which is okay, but that’s racing.”
