Cam Waters was disqualified from Gold Coast Sunday Shootout
Right rear tyre on Waters car was recorded below minimum threshold
Waters raced from 10th to seventh, qualified for Semi Final
Tickford Racing has detailed the fine margins behind Cam Waters' disqualification from Sunday's Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout.
Waters had initially qualified eighth for the final race of the weekend in a wet Shootout, however it was then revealed as cars were preparing to drive to the grid that Waters had been disqualified.
His time was disallowed for a breach of minimum tyre pressure regulations, with his right rear tyre being recorded at 15.741 psi, well below the minimum threshold of 16 psi.
Tyre pressures became a hot topic of discussion in Perth when Penrite Racing avoided disqualification from the final race following a breach of the same rule.
"We definitely got caught out. Obviously the track conditions were probably cooler," Tickford Team Manager Matt Roberts explained on Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.
"The car left here at 16.8 [psi], got to pit exit at 16.6, crossed the pit exit line at 16.3, and then got to the Beach Chicane and hit the first puddle, and obviously it dipped below.
"We lost a bit of thermal temp there, and we lost over a pound in the end, so went from 16.8 here at pit exit to 15.9 unfortunately. The rules are the rules, and that's what it is."
Despite the hiccup, Waters comfortably progressed to Sandown following an unspectacular weekend, finishing eighth and seventh in the two races. However, that was the plan all along from Tickford, opting to minimise risks on the unforgiving concrete canyon, especially as Waters entered Sunday with a 53-point buffer over Ryan Wood in eighth.
That approach became an even more viable option as Kai Allen, Anton De Pasquale, and Jack Le Brocq all qualified at the back of the grid on Sunday.
Teammate Thomas Randle qualified just ahead of them in 19th, but charged through the field to 10th, keeping crucial points off those in contention to bump Waters out of Finals, something Roberts was quick to praise.
"We're happy with today, we're in. Super excited for that," Roberts said.
"It was a conserving race, I'd say. We were bottled up behind [Cooper] Murray and [Jarrod] Hughes, they were doing a great job, but we were certainly no risk, knowing where everyone else was.
"I think Cam, ultimate strategy probably would've left him out, clear track probably would've come home top four, top three, maybe. Certainly top five, but a conservative approach today, maximum saving.
"He didn't put a foot wrong at the Beach Chicane today, no warnings or kerb strikes, so he's happy. We know we were fast today, so that's good.
"And also credit to Tommy, he drove the wheels off it from P19 to P10, so he was certainly a really good rear gunner today, did the job with obviously Kai, [De Pasquale], and a few guys that were behind him."
Waters maintains his sixth seeding heading to Sandown, and will be 21 points below the cut-line.
The Penrite Oil Sandown 500 will be held from November 6-8.
