World Touring Car Championship rookie Grégoire Demoustier will serve a ten-place grid penalty at this weekend’s Race of Morocco round, after the Frenchman damaged his engine during an in-season test in Portimão.
Series returnee team Craft-Bamboo Racing and its sole driver returned to Europe after last month’s season-opening round in Argentina – where Demoustier claimed his maiden points’ finish in Race 2 – and clocked over 1,000 kilometres of running in its RML-built Chevrolet Cruze TC1.
Demoustier, however, caused damage to his engine with a downshift over-rev, forcing the team to perform an engine change in the lead-up to this weekend’s two races at the International Automobile Moulay El Hassan street circuit in Marrakech.
The move means that Demoustier will serve a ten-place grid penalty for the opening 14-lap race. He will be the third Frenchman to serve a grid penalty, with Citroën Racing’s Yvan Muller and Campos Racing’s John Filippi both serving five-place grid drops for causing avoidable accidents while racing in the preceding round in Argrentina.
Image via FIA WTCC Media
Richard Bailey
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