The GCR and You

[John Nesbitt]

(Part 5 in the series, 'Your Friend, the GCR')

Part 5 - Mechanical Protests

Here is an FAQ around mechanical protests. Mechanicals are sort of obscure, partly because the process is seen as being very complex, and partly because they can entail a large bond. Thus, drivers tend to stay away from them. Actually, from the driver's point of view, the process is fairly straightforward.

1. Who can protest, and what can be protested?

Only drivers and entrants may file a mechanical protest [8.3.3]. An official cannot. However, the Chief Steward can order a teardown without receiving a protest, and this process is essentially the same as a protest, with the organizing Region responsible for the bond [5.12.2.C.5].

You can protest any component of a car which is defined in the class rules or spec lines. A protest must specify "... which sections of the GCR or other applicable rules are alleged to have been violated ..." [8.3.2].


2. How do I file a protest?

Fill in a standard SCCA protest form (available from the Chief Steward or downloadable from scca.com).

Specify in detail which rules and/or spec lines have been violated. Deliver the protest and protest fee to the Chief Steward, or an Assistant Chief Steward, within the protest time window. A mechanical must be filed "... no later than one hour before the start of the race ..." [8.3.2.B.1]. The Chief Steward must transmit the protest to the SOM. The SOM may relax the time limit in exceptional cases.

The Chairman of the SOM may ask you to clarify your protest or to make it more specific. The Chairman's objective in doing this is to make very clear what is at issue, and how it will be measured, with reference to the relevant rule and/or shop manual.


3. Why can't I just mention my suspicions to Tech, and have them take care of it?

Well, they are your suspicions, aren't they? You should be willing to back them up.

The GCR makes it clear that enforcing the rules is a joint responsibility among the officials and the entrants/drivers. If you believe that a competitor's car is non-compliant, the GCR provides you a means to test that belief.


4. Why post a bond, and why is it so large?

Depending on the component(s) protested, inspection may require disassembly of the car. The disassembly, inspection, and reassembly (i.e. to restore the car to pre-inspection state) may entail considerable work, third-party expense (for shipping, inspection services etc.), and consumables. These all cost something. The bond is intended to cover this cost, and the process determines whether the protestor or protestee must bear the cost.

The size of the bond will vary according to the expense entailed in resolving the protest. So, verifying an engine casting number or shock absorber model number may require no bond, but verifying camshafts may require a considerable bond.

The SOM will establish the bond, after consulting with the protestor, the protestee, the Chief of Tech, and any experts deemed useful. In addition, the SOM will determine the local prevailing shop rate, and will consult the SCCA Labor Rate Guide for standard times for common actions. The protestor must post the established bond, in cash or by check. The protestee may be required to sign a repair order if some of the work is to be done by a commercial shop.

SCCA Club Racing offers a verification service for protested components. It requires a complete description of the car/engine and a known stock example of the part in question. The cost of the inspection is set according to the SCCA Labor Rate Guide.

For a lengthy list of inspections (e.g. requiring complete disassembly of the engine), the protestor and SOM may collect the various items into logical groups and assign a portion of the bond to each group. The inspections would then be done in order by group.

The difficult part of this process is ensuring that the protest, as written, can be resolved according to the class/car rules, and establishing the correct bond. Both these often require discussions with the protestor and protestee.


5. Why require a bond at all?

This is a philosophical question, and may have no 'right' answer.

The answer that we have chosen in SCCA is that an inspection can entail significant costs, which must be covered by someone. It is fair that the losing party cover the costs.

As a practical matter, requiring a bond discourages frivolous or malicious protests, which can be a major inconvenience for the protestee. By having to 'put your money where your mouth is', the protestor is required to have something at stake.


6. How does the teardown/inspection work?

Once the SOM accept a mechanical protest, their first step is to take custody of the protested car. This doesn't necessarily mean pulling it into the Tech shed. It does mean assigning a custodian (a member of the SOM or a Tech person) to watch the car, and to preserve the integrity of the protested component(s). The crew can work on the car, and the team race it; they just can't work on the protested component(s).

The SOM will select a technician to perform the inspection, often a member of the Tech team. The Chairman will consult the protestor and protestee during the selection process, and attempt to find a candidate acceptable to all parties.

Once the bond is posted, the inspection begins. Refusal to allow inspection of a protested car will attract an immediate automatic penalty [8.3.3.C, 7.4.E].

If the car is found compliant, the protestor forfeits the bond.

If a component fails a measurement, the team will repeat the measurement in the presence of the protestee. The protestee will be asked for an explanation of the failed measurement.

If the inspection reveals non-compliant parts not specified in the protest, the protest is not affected. The non-compliant parts are referred to the Chief Steward, who will act on them as if they were found in a normal post-race inspection.

If the inspection (and bond) has been segmented into logical groupings, the protestor has the option of halting the inspection at the completion of each group.

Obviously, if the inspection requires shipping parts off-site for measurement, the inspection process will continue past the end of the weekend. Events still unfold in the same order, though.


7. What happens next?

The SOM will hold a standard hearing. The protestor and protestee will be heard, and can produce witnesses and evidence. "In the event a car is found in non-compliance, a claim that the non-compliant item(s) offer no performance advantage shall have no influence on any ruling." [8.3.3] If the court finds the car non-compliant, it can assign the normal penalties, subject to appeal. In addition, the court will order logbook entries related to the non-compliant parts discovered.

The bond is sent to the Manager of Club Racing for distribution after the end of the appeals period. All evidence and testimony is sent to Topeka, in case of appeal. Non-compliant parts are impounded in the custody of the Chairman, pending appeal.



So, a mechanical protest follows much the same process flow as a protest against a person, with some added steps necessary to deal with manipulating cars and components. The underlying principle is the same: to provide an impartial forum in which to resolve disagreements and to enforce rules, with a set process, and a means of appealing the decision taken at the track.