Blanchard Racing Team issued big fine, points penalties over breach

Blanchard Racing Team has been hit with a series of significant penalties over a technical breach from New Zealand.

It emerged on Friday afternoon during Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440 practice that BRT had been penalised following an investigation into an incident in New Zealand.

Per the stewards report, the Cameron car was submitted to start the second Taupō race "with damage to its ROPS [Rollover protective structure] which had not been disclosed by the Competitor to the GMM."

A fine of $50,000 was imposed on BRT, of which $25,000 is suspended until 31 December 2026 on condition that the team does not commit a similar infringement before that date.

Cameron earned 44 points for finishing 15th in the second Taupō race. BRT was docked 44 teams' championship points, and Cameron stripped of 44 points.

The damage to the #3 LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Mustang was caused by a clash between Cameron, Kai Allen and Jobe Stewart in the early stages of Race 8. Cameron was turned in front of the field at the Turn 11 hairpin, and was hit by Erebus Motorsport rookie Stewart.

Contact with the passenger door area on Cameron's Ford, per the report, caused "clearly visible damage to the passenger side of the Car." Cameron continued on and finished 20th in Race 8, while Stewart retired.

Per the report, tape had been applied to the damaged door section before Race 9, and was asked to be removed, to which the team compiled. Cameron later finished 15th in Race 9, scoring 44 points.

Cars were freighted from Taupō to Ruapuna for the following weekend's event. The Cameron Ford was, per the report, "removed and taken by the Team to an offsite facility." The removal of the car from the track was not a breach of the regulations.

However, per the report, when asked by a Supercars representative why the car was absent, a BRT representative said it was "at an offsite PR activation". Later that afternoon, BRT advised that the car was offsite undergoing damage repairs, to chassis rail and side intrusion.

Supercars Technical personnel attended at the disclosed location of the car and impounded the damaged section, which had already been cut out for replacement.

The BRT representative explained that, given the limited time available between Race 8 and Race 9, the team "focussed on replacing aerodynamic performance components. They said that they did not replace the passenger side sill nor the door. They said that they were unaware of the damage to the ROPS. They did not see it. They said that they could not get the passenger door open so they left it jammed shut. Had they opened that door, the damage to the ROPS would have been obvious."

Additionally, no deformation of the top and middle bars had been noticed from the driver's side, and the view of the lower bar was obscured by the cool suit box. BRT agreed that had a mechanic inspected the side intrusion bars, "the damage would have been apparent."

Once the car was unloaded in Christchurch, the team forced open the passenger door, which "which revealed for the first time the nature and extent of the ROPS damage."

The report also states: "The Team agreed that the damage to the ROPS sustained in Race 8 but only later discovered rendered Car 3 unsafe and ineligible to compete in Race 9. The Team acknowledged that had the damage been reported to the GMM before Race 9, Car 3 would not have been permitted to participate in Race 9."

Additionally: "The Team also admitted that the initial explanation given to Supercars as to the reason why Car 3 had been removed from the Ruapuna Circuit precincts was untrue. They suggested that they had told their Team members to say that the Car was at a PR activation to avoid drawing attention to the problem. They agreed that this ought not to have occurred and they ought immediately to have reported the then known ROPS damage to the GMM. "

Per the report, the stewards determined to suspend part of the Fine, "In recognition that the non-disclosure of the ROPS damage to the GMM before Race 9 was due to a lack of diligence," rather than a, "Deliberate concealment and in recognition that this infringement is the first of its kind committed by this Competitor."

The points penalty will drop Cameron from 20th to 22nd, while BRT will fall from sixth to seventh in teams' behind Matt Stone Racing.