Safety Car restart rule to be revised
The Pedders Chrysler Safety Car restart procedure will be amended ahead of the next Championship event, the Tyrepower Tasmania 400.
The restart procedure was discussed at length in last week’s V8 Supercars Commission meeting, and according to General Manager – Motorsport Damien White slight revisions will be made to the wording of the rule.
Increased speed (more in-line with race speed) and the overtaking point were touted as possible changes that could improve the restart procedure.
“We discussed it at length in the Commission meeting and slight revisions will be made to the procedure, which will be in place for Tasmania,” White said.
“I have spoken with a number of drivers to seek input, and they are in agreement we are on the right path. My submission is currently being considered by the Commission for approval.”
While the V8 Supercars utlised a double file restart method at the weekend’s Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix, White has not recommended that as an option for the Championship events.
The restart procedure, showcased for the first time at the Clipsal 500, saw cars single file and running at 50-60km/h prior to reaching the Acceleration Zone.
“For the second half starts last year, and with the Australian Grand Prix starts last week, there was an opportunity to ensure the outside line was clean of dead rubber and other marbles,” White explained.
“We are unable to clean the circuit during the SC periods, so rather than potentially disadvantage anyone by having them run on a dirty part of the circuit, we will stay with the single file format.”
Once in the ‘AZ’ the leader determines when to sprint, and the field fans out in a spectacular show of V8 Supercars power.
The exact wording of the current rule can be found in D11.4 ‘Deployment of SC during a Race’ in the Operations Manual.
In his post-event column for v8supercars.com.au, White admitted the restart rule needed a “tune up” but was confident the new procedure delivered the close, tough racing V8 Supercars was known for.
At last year’s Austin 400 three leading cars were penalised points for accelerating too soon, before the Pedders Chrysler Safety Car was in pit lane. White remains assured the new method means more accuracy, with a clearly defined zone for the leader to accelerate, and the use of radar as well as vision for officials to assess a possible breach.
Additionally, small changes have been made to the on-track schedule for the Tyrepower Tasmania 400.
Practice will run as three 20-minute sessions on Friday, with all drivers to run in all sessions.
Qualifying will be two 10-minute back-to-back sessions on Saturday, with a 10-minute gap between.
“We have seen in the past periods where everyone is sitting in the pit lane, not maximising time on the circuit – shortening the sessions means we will likely see a full use of the time,” White explained.
Teams will not be allowed to change brake rotors between Saturday’s races at the Symmons Plains circuit.
