Waters backs kerb solution, predicts 'better spectacle'
Cam Waters backs Gold Coast kerb solution
Kerb sensor deactivation trials undertaken in Friday practice
Practice 1 saw 189 kerb strikes at beach chicane
Cam Waters has backed the Surfers Paradise kerb solution, saying the move to deactivate kerb sensors will make for a “better spectacle” at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
Waters topped Practice 1, which was headlined by a whopping 189 kerb strikes, all of which were at the beach chicane along the back straight.
It later emerged that the sensor at Turn 2, in the first chicane, had been deactivated for the entirety of Practice 1 in a trial by Supercars and Motorsport Australia, in consultation with drivers.
The Turn 9 kerb loop was then deactivated for Practice 2 in another trial, with Waters' teammate Thomas Randle quickest.
Speaking after practice, Waters a vocal supporter of the initiative, saying it will be "better to watch" for fans.
"For me, it probably doesn't make much difference. Like you're just going to drive to what you got, but I think it's going to be a better spectacle and better to watch,” the Ford star said in the press conference.
"Like at the end of the day, they self-police; you take too much, you get too much air and you can't turn, which slows you down anyway.
“But it hopefully should eliminate all the kerb hops, that's such a talking point in qualifying and the Shootout.
“We're going a lot quicker through the front chicane, but at the same time, we can't really push it any harder because it's slower.
“The back chicane from Practice 1 to Practice 2 was heaps better. Practice 1, it was like super sensitive. It was really crazy. And then turning one of them off was heaps better."
Kerb hops in practice and qualifying see the relevant lap time deleted, while hops will be monitored by an allocation during the race. Shortcuts, meanwhile, will be referred to the stewards.
When asked how deactivating sensors would impact the race, particularly coming off the beach chicane to a prime overtaking spot in Turn 11, Waters reiterated the self-placing nature of the kerbs.
"I guess if you take too much kerb, you're going to go slow because you got all your tyres off the ground,” the 2023 Gold Coast winner said.
“It'll also probably buy you a little bit of wriggle room when you are behind a car.
"It's really hard to position yourself accurately enough, which will help us not get kerb hops when you're trying to race someone, just because you can't see where you are on the track. So I think it'll be much better."
On track action at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 continues on Saturday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:00am local time/12:00pm AEDT. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
