Priaulx and Maxwell Multimatic Mustang handed penalty for pitstop infringement that blows GT4 title battle wide open

Seb Priaulx and Scott Maxwell lost their third-place finish in British GT’S two-hour race at Brands Hatch and with it the GT4 points lead after being given a 40-second penalty for a pitlane safety infringement.

Their Multimatic Motorsport Ford Mustang was demoted to ninth for falling foul of regulation 3.1.5.8, and the team was hit with a £500 fine.

The rule states: “Before and during any refuelling operation, the car must be electrically earthed by means of an independent copper wire whose only purpose is to earth the car.

“This must be placed by the fire fighter or mechanic which may be the mechanic tasked with helping the driver.”

It is understood that the team commenced refuelling before earthing took place.

Priaulx and Maxwell would have scored 22.5 points for third place and thereby extended their advantage over nearest pursuers Tom Canning/ash Hand to 12 points. But instead, only scoring three points for ninth – with Canning and Hand promoted to third – has resulted in a 24-point swing with the Mustang pair now 12 points in arrears and demoted to third in the standings behind Brands Hatch runners-up Dean Macdonald and Callum Pointon.

Six cars are still in mathematical contention for the GT4 title, including the two Tolman Motorsport Mclarens of Jordan Collard/ Lewis Proctor – who failed to score after being trapped a lap down by an early safety car – and Brands Hatch winners James Dorlin and Josh Smith.