Whincup explains Kostecki investigation request

Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup has shed light on his team’s request to investigate Brodie Kostecki’s Top Ten Shootout antics in Darwin.

Reigning champion Kostecki caught former teammate Will Brown and clashed his lights as the championship leader prepared to start his Shootout lap on Sunday.

Provisional pole-sitter Brown eventually qualified third behind Kostecki and teammate Broc Feeney, who went on to beat Brown in the race.

Kostecki and Brown both laughed off the run-in after the Shootout, before it emerged before the race that both drivers had been brought before the stewards.

Triple Eight had requested an investigation into alleged “crowding” by Kostecki, who was cleared of any wrongdoing and later raced from second to third.

When asked about the investigation after the race, said: "The rules say you can't impede a driver attempting their Shootout lap, so we asked the question.

"There was nothing in it and both guys were having a good laugh. Will was like, ‘Mate, do we have to go to the stewards?'

"But it's [Mark Dutton’s] job as Team Manager to police the rules and if he thinks someone has broken something, then he has got every right to go and ask the question."

Brown reiterated that he wasn’t distracted by Kostecki’s antics, which was reported in the stewards report of the incident.

Whincup laughed it off, joking: "He wasn't working very well with his team owner.”

However, the stewards suggested there could be future changes to the rule, with the report stating: "Given that the Drivers of both Cars (and their Authorised Representatives) were agreed that at this circuit the interval between Cars in the TTSO can be too tight, we recommend that the Race Director consider that on short circuits where a TTSO is programmed and when Cars are being released when another Car is on a push lap, the release point be adjusted to mitigate the risk of Cars on a cool down lap catching a car on a preparation lap. We also recommend that the Race Director consider giving an instruction to all Drivers on cool down laps to not be within a specified minimum distance of the Car ahead on its preparation lap."

Whincup echoed the point, adding: “We thought we would ask the question and I think they're going to tune that rule up just to make sure the guy starting their Shootout lap has got every opportunity to do the best they can."