No Safety Car Scramble

Based on previous years racing at Sydney Olympic Park, Safety Car deployment yesterday was almost inevitable.

Surely enough, the flags were out on lap 11 after Scott McLaughlin’s Fujitsu GRM Commodore stopped on track with a gearbox drama.

Leaders Jamie Whincup and Jonathon Webb immediately dived into the pits.

Why were they picked up as the leaders? Simple – because they still were the leaders.

Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes had already pitted when the window for compulsory stops opened on lap six, so they had rejoined back in the pack.

Whincup and Webb chose to make their stops once the call was made for a Safety Car, but had generated such a lead they managed to exit pit lane ahead of their two rivals, battling for the race lead in the early stages. V8 Supercars General Manager – Motorsport Damien White explained.

“At Sydney the control line for timing is in line with the pit entry road,” he said.

“Both Whincup and Webb completed a pit stop, and crossed the exit control line prior to Winterbottom crossing the control line; basically meaning Whincup never gave up the lead of the race.”

When the Safety Car is deployed, it leaves pit lane and then picks up the leader.

“Whincup entered the pit lane as the leader and, when he exited, he was still the leader, hence the Safety Car picked him up as the lead car,” White said.

After today’s ARMOR ALL Qualifying, Whincup and Winterbottom start alongside one another on the second row of the grid for the year's final race.

Team TEKNO VIP’s Shane van Gisbergen has scored pole, with Jason Bright to start alongside.