Jones agrees with penalty update

Team boss Brad Jones supports the update to the penalties applied for pit lane speeding, announced by V8 Supercars this morning.

From the Perth 400 in a fortnight, any driver traveling between 40 and 44km/h through the timing loop, as they enter pit lane, will have the offence looked at post-race by investigating officer Jason Bargwanna, rather than being given a costly pit lane penalty on the spot.

“I think when you have zero tolerance, it’s too close,” Jones told v8supercars.com.au. “I think the way things have been done, it gives a little bit of room to move through the loops.”

Jones explained that the rule hadn’t been changed – this morning's update just meant the response to a breach would be dealt with in a more open manner.  

“The speed limit is still set at 40km/h… It’s not like they’ve lifted it. It just gets referred to the IO – you still can’t go faster than 40.

“But at least they’re going to sensibly look at it and deal with it in a correct manner. Nothing’s really changed.”

He laughed at the idea drivers would push the limits and start entering pit lane at a higher speed, if they assumed it would be excused.

“It’s a loop that’s five metres long – and the difference it makes in terms of pit lane speed is measured in thousandths of a second. So no, I don’t think anyone’s going to barrel in any faster!” 

Jones’ driver Fabian Coulthard was handed a costly pit lane penalty after he was deemed to be speeding through the timing loop at Winton. And even though Coulthard is in the thick of the Championship race, sitting third and just 117 points behind leader (and eventual winner of that race) Mark Winterbottom, Jones did not feel it was unfair to amend proceedings mid-season when required.

“Then we end up waiting until the end of the year,” he said.

“I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction changing the pit lane speeding rule. It’s really up to the IO and hopefully we’re not getting to the point where we see races ruined by ever so slight speed increases, which have no impact on the end result.”

At Winton, three V8 Supercars were pinged in Race Nine because of speeding through the timing loop – Rick Kelly, Russell Ingall and Coulthard were all handed drive-throughs immediately. 

Both Volvos were also penalised during the race, but they were found to be speeding in the pit lane. Traveling above 40km/h in pit lane will still be an immediate drive-through. 

Jones also believed it was a positive step for the category to publish the penalties and be transparent about punishments for breaching the rules.

“I think as you look through the list of penalties – I think the fact that we publish it now is fantastic.

“It’s a change in philosophy, I think it’s the right thing for the sport – what you get, and what you can and can’t do.”

Click here for the Operations Manual with the Recommended Penalties table.