The outcome of the Triple Eight Holden team's bid to overturn the penalty that cost six-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup victory in the Bathurst 1000 is unlikely to be decided until after next week's Gold Coast 600.
Triple Eight is due to lodge an appeal against the 15 seconds penalty Whincup received for causing an accident in the closing stages of Sunday's race by lunchtime on Thursday.
![Jamie Whincup's Triple Eight team will lodge an appeal against the result of the Bathurst 1000.](/web/20161014132841im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/x/z/m/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grzzjz.png/1476172641274.jpg)
According to racing rules, the protest has to be heard by the Supercars National Court of Appeal by next Tuesday.
But even if the hearing goes ahead as scheduled, it is doubtful a verdict will be forthcoming before the Gold Coast 600, which will be run over two 300-kilometre races on October 22-23.
The likely delay is due to the lengthy judicial process involved in deciding an appeal to change the result of the Bathurst 1000, which will involve detailed submissions from the appellant.
Triple Eight's protest will be heard by the Supercars National Court of Appeal, a three-person tribunal appointed by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, the national governing body of motor racing.
Whincup crossed the finish line first in his Red Bull Racing Commodore, but was relegated to 11th in the official results when the 15-second penalty was added to his race time.
He received the time penalty for triggering a crash 11 laps from the end that eliminated his main rivals for the win, Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander.
They collided in the wake of Whincup's passing move on McLaughlin, which sent the New Zealander's Volvo careering across the infield before it returned to the track.
As Whincup slowed to redress his bungled overtaking attempt, Tander's Holden Racing Team Commodore ran into the back of him and ricocheted into McLaughlin's car as it came back onto the track.
Soon after, race officials announced the time penalty for Whincup, elevating Will Davison, who was second on the road, to first place in his Tekno Autosports Commodore.
Watched by a record TV audience and near-record crowd, Davison withstood a late challenge from Shane van Gisbergen in the second Red Bull Racing entry despite almost running out of fuel to be declared the winner.
Triple Eight will appeal Whincup's penalty and seek to restore his on-the-road win by arguing firstly that he did not cause the initial collision with McLaughlin and then that the subsequent penalty for failing to redress his illegal overtake was inconsistent with previous applications of the rules.
"There's been contact, but we don't think the contact was Jamie's fault. But even if it was, then the next stage is the penalty itself," team owner Roland Dane told Fairfax Media.
Dane argues that even if Whincup was judged not to have redressed the incident, which under the rules requires a driver to give back the place he gained by an illegal move, he should on precedent have been docked championship points rather than incur a time penalty that cost him the race.
"If he were guilty, in the absence of a redress, then it's considered a Level 1 'crime', for which you get a loss of 10 championship points after the race," he said. "So there are clear guidelines, clear rules. You can't suddenly change them because it's Bathurst."
The outcome of Triple Eight's appeal will not only decide if Whincup is awarded the race retrospectively, but will also have a profound effect on his championship battle with van Gisbergen.
As a result of finishing second in the Bathurst 1000, his New Zealand teammate extended his lead in the title standings to 139 points – a decisive advantage with just three Supercars events and just eight races remaining.
If Whincup were reinstated as winner, dropping van Gisbergen back to third place, he would be leading by 35 points.
Not knowing the result of the appeal before the Gold Coast 600 will add uncertainty to their tactics in what after the Mount Panorama marathon, regardless of the final result, has become an intra-team fight for the V8 crown.
Short of catastrophes in the remaining races, Whincup and van Gisbergen are the only realistic title contenders, set to battle it out until the last two races at the December 3-4 Sydney 500 at the Sydney Olympic Park street circuit.
Triple Eight team has to lodge its formal notice of appeal to CAMS no later than 92 hours after the finish of the Bathurst 1000, which means its deadline for submitting the protest is 1.30pm on Thursday.
The Supercars National Court Of Appeal hearing nominally has to be held within nine days of the race, meaning the tribunal has to convene by next Tuesday.
But the hearing can be delayed with the agreement of the Triple Eight team and the CAMS-appointed race stewards, who applied the penalty to Whincup.
The hearing would normally be held in Melbourne at CAMS' headquarters in Caulfield, but again by mutual agreement, the location can be changed – for example, to Brisbane, where Triple Eight is based because the team would be in the midst of preparations for the nearby GC600.
The Supercars National Court Of Appeal has 14 days from the hearing to hand down its decision on the appeal.
Because of the likely extent and complexity of the evidence and arguments Triple Eight is expected to present, there is little prospect of the tribunal making a quick ruling.
"It's unlikely there'll be a decision until after the Gold Coast 600," a CAMS source told Fairfax Media.
Whether the appeal hearing is held by next Tuesday or even after the GC600, it will be the first time in several years that the Supercars National Court Of Appeal has been convened.
The CAMS-appointed three-person tribunal is made up of a chairman, deputy chairman and a member. The panel members will be drawn from a list of CAMS-approved tribunes that include former drivers, Queen's Councils and other senior legal figures who are established members of the motor racing judiciary.
Triple Eight had to pay a $10,000 appeals fee to contest the Supercars stewards' decision. The fee is refundable in part or whole depending on whether the appeal is partially or wholly successful, with how much the team gets back – if anything – decided by the tribunal.
If Triple Eight isn't happy with the Supercars National Court Of Appeal's ruling, it can contest the matter further with the world motor racing governing body, the Paris-based Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
Because the Supercars championship is an FIA-sanctioned international series, competitors can appeal decisions in motor racing's highest court.
However, taking the case to the FIA International Court Of Appeal would be both very costly and drawn out, dragging it out for months and potentially delaying the final outcome of the Supercars championship until weeks after the season-ending Sydney 500.