The WEC season started & ended the same way for Corvette Racing with the so-called “Milner Salute” being aimed at BMW’s Augusto Farfus.
Frustrated with Farfus’ tactics in the Bahrain season finale Saturday, Dani Juncadella extended his middle finger toward his competitor, similar to a move by fellow Corvette Racing driver Tommy Milner in the first race of the season at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Juncadella’s move attracted the wrath of FIA World Endurance Championship officials, who announced a fine of €5,000 fine ($5,780 USD), of which €4,000 was suspended.
Explaining his actions, Juncadella stated, “At that moment of the race, I was pretty frustrated. We had much more pace in terms of degradation, and I also had a fuel advantage. I don’t think we were in the same race.
“He decided to defend like crazy for a couple of laps, but that wasn’t the worst thing. I’m happy to go, gloves off, and fight it out.
We are not playing to ping pong. But moving under braking is pretty miserable, and he has a long history of doing that.”
The two drivers battled throughout the race, even making contact in one turn before Juncadella’s gesture from the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he shared with Ben Keating and Jonny Edgar.
Juncadella called Farfus “a great guy” but noted that “when he puts the helmet on, I think he forgets that it’s better to have a clean fight. Moving under braking should be unacceptable, and he constantly did it. At some point, I had enough.
“I knew I was going to pass, so I was ready with the finger to give him the ‘Milner salute’ we started the year with one, and we finished the year with one!”
Unfortunately, the move was determined to be “rude, disrespectful behavior” by race officials, who issued this statement:
“Having reviewed the video evidence, the stewards determined that, while exiting Turn 11, the driver of Car 33 made an inappropriate hand gesture (middle finger) towards the driver of Car 31 [Farfus].
“Considering the matter extensively, the stewards concluded that such behavior is rude, disrespectful, and wholly inappropriate in motorsport. The stewards therefore decided to impose the penalty described above.”
As for Farfus, he bitched that Juncadella should be “very, very embarrassed” for making an obscene gesture during a championship race.
“It’s embarrassing for a professional driver to behave this way,” Farfus said. “It’s a terrible example for the world. I don’t think I did anything wrong, we were just fighting for position. If he cannot pass me, he should stay behind.”
Fortunately for Juncadella, he was able to pass Farfus to finish one spot ahead in sixth.
