Jonathan Diuguid, president of Team Penske, has defended IMSA’s response to the recent penalty imposed on Kevin Estre, following the incident at Road America. The penalty includes a two-race probation for the Porsche Penske Motorsport driver after a collision with Jack Aitken of the Whelen Cadillac while they were competing for second position.
Estre will face strict monitoring in the upcoming competition, the Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Beaux Barfield, IMSA’s race director, has warned that Estre will be pulled from the race if he is involved in another incident during the competition.
In a recent press turn, Diuguid commented that the penalty may be considered harsh, but he believes IMSA is acting within its prerogatives to send a clear message. “Kevin has a clean record up to this point, and he is a very experienced driver,” he noted. “So far, we haven’t had any accountable incidents throughout the season.”
Furthermore, the president of Penske emphasized that his team’s goal is to control the circumstances they can manage. Despite concerns about the penalty, Diuguid remains confident that Kevin Estre’s professionalism will not jeopardize his team’s chances of competing for the championship.
For the upcoming event, the team has decided to make changes to the driver lineup, incorporating Laurin Heinrich alongside Estre in the number 6 car, while Laurens Vanthoor will sit out this race. This decision is justified through the strategy of maximizing the team’s options at such a critical point in the season.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
