The NTT IndyCar Series has issued penalties to the PREMA IndyCar team for use of an unapproved component of the fire safety system.
The incident that brought about the investigation happened during the first practice session at The Thermal Club last weekend.
Robert Shwartzman’s #83 PREMA entry caught fire on his first lap around the course, causing him to stop on track.
Safety officials arrived quickly, but had trouble extinguishing the fire. They were seen removing body panels while the car was still on track in order to fully control the blaze.
PREMA later confirmed it was a fuel leak that was the initial cause of the fire.
An investigation by the series has concluded that the team used an unapproved pull cable on the car’s fire suppression system, which failed when it was used in an attempt to activate the system.
According to a statement by IndyCar, “PREMA Racing was in violation of: Rule 14.1.3. All parts provided by an Approved Supplier must be used as supplied without modification unless otherwise approved by IndyCar and stated in these Rules or in update bulletins.
“During an investigation into the fire involving the No. 83 in Friday’s practice at The Thermal Club, IndyCar determined the required and approved emergency pull cable, which activates the onboard fire suppression system, was not used as supplied and was replaced by the team with an unapproved product that failed to activate.”
PREMA has been penalized 10 entrant points and has been fined $25,000 for the infraction.
Shwartzman was not fined and was not docked any driver points, as the series did not find fault in his actions. He is able to keep his 22nd place result and still sits 22nd in the overall driver points standings.
The penalty is the second to be issued by IndyCar this week, with Colton Herta’s #26 Andretti Global entry similarly being fined for a safety issue at Thermal.
