WEC: Fernando Alonso, Toyota Disqualified Hours After Celebrating Silverstone Win

Fernando Alonso’s joy of winning his third straight World Endurance Championship race at Silverstone lasted for just a few hours after his Toyota team were disqualified for failing the post-race scrutineering test.

The Spaniard celebrated the win just days after announcing he will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of the current season, with most of the focus on what his future plans are. The immediate plan looks to be adding the WEC crown, but it took a hit just hours after the Toyota team’s No. 8 and No. 7 cars had finished one and two at Silverstone in dominant fashion.

The two cars failed to pass a scrutineering test after the race and it was confirmed later the stewards had excluded both the Toyota cars from the overall result, thus handing the win to privateer entry Rebellion Racing, moving them within two points of the leading No. 8 Toyota car in the championship.

“The Toyota No. 7 and No.8 car deflected 6 mm on the right hand side and 8 mm on the left hand side under the specified 2500 N load at the front of the skid block,” the ruling stated after the stewards’ decision was revealed.

"Both cars suffered damage to their respective front floor areas during the race due to impacts against the new kerbs at Silverstone. Regrettably, this also caused both cars to fail deflection tests in post-race scrutineering. As a result, race stewards disqualified both cars,” Toyota said in a statement after the disqualification, as per ESPN.

The Japanese manufacturer is allowed to appeal the decision and they admitted they are considering the next course of action before the season resumes at the Fuji International Speedway, Japan on Oct. 18.

“The design and construction of the part concerned has not changed since its introduction at the beginning of the 2017 season. Since then it has successfully passed similar tests, most recently at Spa this season. The team is now evaluating its next course of action,” the team added in the statement.

Alonso admitted recently he is keen to add the WEC title to his kitty that includes two F1 Drivers’ championship titles. He revealed originally he was only lured to the championship in order to win the LeMans 24-hour race in his continuing quest to capture motorsport’s fabled Triple Crown.

He went one step closer to achieving his dream after winning the race in LeMans and the only thing that stands between him and the Triple Crown in the Indy500. He failed in his first attempt in 2017, but it is almost certain he will have another go at it in 2019, especially since he will not be committed to any F1 duties.