Penske President Jonathan Diuguid defends Kevin Estre’s otherwise spotless record whilst accepting the race organisers’ stern warning
Team Penske President Jonathan Diuguid believes that the IMSA officials have imposed a “harsh” penalty on Kevin Estre. At the same time, however, he emphasises that Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM) fully understood the expectations in the run-up to the upcoming “Battle on the Bricks” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Following a collision at the final restart with Jack Aitken’s Action Express Cadillac whilst battling for second place at Road America, Estre received a two-race suspended ban.
Ahead of the recent GTD-only race at Virginia International Raceway, IMSA Race Director Beaux Barfield also issued a clear warning. He warned that the officials would not hesitate to pull the Porsche works driver out of the race should he be involved in another incident on the track.
During a recent media briefing ahead of the penultimate round of the season – which is also the final sprint race – of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Diuguid commented on whether the penalty is perceived as too harsh given Estres’s otherwise spotless record prior to the accident.
” “We were involved in active discussions with IMSA throughout the entire process,” says the American. “When you speak to Kevin, one thing must be made clear: Kevin is a Porsche works driver as well as a PPM driver and has a wealth of experience, but he is also a fierce competitor.”
“And I think, in all these cases, there’s one thing we mustn’t forget: Throughout the entire season, Kevin was not involved in any incident of his own making, nor did he receive any other penalty – until the incident at the end at Road America. So it’s not as though he has a long history of problems or anything of the sort.”
“Is the penalty harsh? Yes, it is harsh. I believe that, to a certain extent, IMSA simply wants to make an example of this, which is entirely within their rights. But we’re still talking about motor racing here. Our focus is on controlling the things we can control. It’s IMSA’s responsibility to run the championship, and they’re pursuing certain objectives there as well.”
“The fact is that the PPM cars have driven extremely cleanly throughout the season. Then there was this one serious incident that none of us wanted. Naturally, this also had an impact on Kevin and his crew in the car with start number 6, and we made a number of decisions as a result.”
“I don’t think this was directed specifically against Porsche, against Kevin or against anyone else,” the Penske president continues. “I think that’s within IMSA’s remit, and they want to send a message through it.”
“We’re in open dialogue with them, and this communication will continue on the ground at Indy with Beaux and the others. We understand the expectations, we know how we need to proceed, and that is exactly where our focus will lie.”
The team has reshuffled its driver line-up for the upcoming weekend at the IMSA street circuit: Laurin Heinrich has been promoted to the works squad, replacing Laurens Vanthoor alongside Estre in the #6 Porsche. Heinrich is currently the highest-placed Porsche driver in the championship and trails championship leader Aitken by 118 points.
Given that Barfield had previously emphasised that Estre was being kept on an “extremely short leash” and that a mid-race suspension was even on the cards for any future offences, placing Porsche’s greatest title hope in the same car represents a decidedly risky decision.
However, Diuguid dismisses concerns that pairing Heinrich with a driver on probation could jeopardise the team’s title challenge: “No, I don’t think so. As I’ve already mentioned: Kevin is a consummate professional; he understands and assesses every situation he finds himself in. That’s something we’ve naturally taken into account, but I don’t see it as a negative in any scenario.”
