SUPERCARS ACTS ON RULE BREACH
Supercars have responded to the furore over DJR Team Penske’s rules breach at The Bend – Photo: InSyde Media
SUPERCARS HAS finally responded to the furore over DJR Team Penske’s technical rules breach at The Bend late last month.
By MARK FOGARTY
In a six-point statement, Supercars outlined the procedure for dealing with the offence, which went undetected until after the new South Australian event.
• The Supercars Technical Department found an alleged breach of Rule C10.4 following the OTR SuperSprint at Tailem Bend, which was not detected during the spot check scrutineering process.
• The alleged breach was discovered post-race during a routine review of ECU data taken from all cars which is analysed at and after every race meeting.
• The Control M190 ECU data from Car 17 confirmed an incorrect drop gear was fitted to the transaxle for that (Sunday qualifying) session. The Supercars Technical Department also confirmed the correct drop gear was used in Car 17 for Race 23.
• The Supercars Sporting and Technical Director (David Stuart) contacted the Authorised Representative of DJRTP to discuss the alleged breach. The Team advised it had changed the transaxle in Car 17 the previous evening and the replacement transaxle had an incorrect drop gear ratio. The Team then changed the drop gear to the correct ratio post Qualifying.
• It should be noted at no point during the Qualifying session or during post Qualifying Parc Ferme did any Team allege a breach or protest the results of Qualifying.
• As is standard procedure for technical matters and alleged breaches found away from a race meeting, any such matter is referred to the Stewards the next time they convene, which in this case is the Sandown 500 in Melbourne.
It has subsequently emerged that a hastily convened stewards hearing will be convened at Sandown this evening (Friday) to consider possible disciplinary action.
Supercars’ assertion that the breach of the technical rules was discovered after the fact by its technical staff is at odds with strong claims that it was uncovered by other teams reviewing and analysing on-board video from McLaughlin’s car.
The lack of action against DJRTP and the absence of any public acknowledgement of the incident until today had been a bone of contention among the other teams.
Supercars’ official response was not issued until three hours after AA revealed the brewing scandal.
During our pursuit of the story, it was not mentioned that a stewards hearing had been scheduled to investigate the matter.
For more of the latest national motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of Auto Action, on sale now. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.
