Quote:
According to Motorsport mag it appears that Jackie Oliver has had enough of historic racing following a meeting with stewards following St Mary trophy race.
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I think it is worth pointing out that any decision to penalise a driver is based on the Clerk of the Course weighing up of all the evidence available to him, and that opinion is, unlike a court of law, based on the balance of probability and the clerk's experience.
At the Goodwood meetings (both Members and Revival) I believe that they Clerk is also assisted by a former driver to offer his opinion on driving standards and they have access to all the TV footage, not just what is broadcast. (Looking back at my programme I believe it was Martin Donnelly at this years event). The clerk would almost certainly have included a chat with the driver, giving the chance for him to put his point of view about what happened before the decision was taken.
Any decision the clerk makes about driving standards can then be appealed, by the driver, to the Stewards of the Meeting (who include an experienced/licensed MSA Steward as well as two other Stewards) as well as the aggrieved party within the appropriate time limits. In this case it would appear that not only the Clerk thought the penalty was appropriate but the Stewards as well.
Now I haven't seen the incident in question, so can't comment on that, but it does seem like the driver would have had a fair chance to explain his side of things.