SUPERCARS SCANDAL ROCKS SANDOWN

Supercars has been covered up a technical breach regarding title contender Scott McLaughlin. Photo: LAT

AUTO ACTION EXCLUSIVE By MARK FOGARTY

SUPERCARS HAS been accused of covering up an embarrassing technical rules breach by a leading team that has triggered a new checking procedure.

AUTO ACTION was first with the news that DJR Team Penske inadvertently ran Scott McLaughlin’s Falcon with the wrong drop gear in qualifying for the Sunday race at last month’s The Bend SuperSprint.

The revelation followed widespread dissatisfaction among the other teams with how the matter was being handled by Supercars officials.

DJRTP’s slip-up, deliberate or not, was a clear contravention of the rules that went unpunished because of unusual circumstances.

Supercars has dismissed any suggestion of a cover-up, belatedly issuing a six-point explanation of what happened and how the rules breach was being addressed (see here for the full statement).

It also subsequently confirmed that the contravention was to be the subject of a stewards hearing at Sandown this evening (Friday).

Until Supercars went public, it appeared there had been an attempt to supress the awkward incident by not revealing the delayed discovery outside the sport’s inner circle – and then only obliquely.

Supercars quietly changed the policing of the rules, implementing checks of the drop gear ratios of all cars after every qualifying session and all races from this weekend’s Sandown 500.

The scandal has sent shockwaves through the Supercars fraternity, many of whom are appalled by what is seen as a blatant official attempt to hide the transgression.

Rival teams were up in arms that Supercars failed to reveal publicly that DJRTP had broken the rules, regardless of intent, until its hand was forced.

The breach, which DJRTP remedied without official intervention before the second race at Tailem Bend, was only publicly acknowledged by Supercars following AA’s enquires.

The alleged cover-up is just the latest example of Supercars’ lack of transparency regarding technical rule changes.

So far this year, AUTO ACTION has exposed the body width controversy, the plan to switch to a new transaxle and the adoption of a new brake rotor.

Supercars fought to restrict information on all these developments, only reluctantly providing limited information when pressed by AA.

It would also have swept the drop gear incident under the carpet if AA hadn’t investigated complaints from rival team bosses, most of whom were staggered by the initial lack of formal action against DJRTP.

For its part, the Ford team has confessed to mistakenly fitting a transaxle with the wrong drop gear to McLaughlin’s car for qualifying for the Sunday race at The Bend.

The drop gear in the control Supercars transaxle – effectively, the final drive ratio of the gearbox – is regulated. There are two versions, with each mandated for particular circuits.

Teams cannot use the drop gear that is not authorised at a specific track. Tall final drive ratios are reserved for circuits with long straights like Mount Panorama – and Tailem Bend.

AA understands that in a transaxle change, DJRTP erroneously fitted one with a higher numerical – but lower-geared – final drive ratio to McLaughlin’s Falcon.

There was no performance advantage – in fact, the effect was the opposite – as evidenced by the then title-leading New Zealander qualifying a lowly 10th.

If Supercars technical officials had discovered the anomaly at the time, McLaughlin would have faced exclusion from the qualifying session and relegation to the back of the grid, which is the normal minimum penalty applied by the stewards for a technical breach.

Whether the infraction was unwitting and/or did not result in a performance gain is also normally not viewed as a defence.

DJRTP officials were mortified by the mistake, but were under no compulsion to declare the breach.

There is dispute about which external source uncovered the rules breach.

Supercars’ claim that technical officials found the discrepancy in a routine post-event review of data from cars is at odds with the view along pit lane that it only came to light when other teams examined in-car video of McLaughlin’s qualifying laps, revealing that he was changing gear at different points to everyone else.

Complaints to Supercars quickly followed, resulting in the decision to vet drop gears by examining on-board data from every car after each qualifying session and race from the Sandown 500.

But the fact remains that while all Supercars teams were notified of the change, there was no public acknowledgement until AUTO ACTION exposed the controversy.

Privately, all the team bosses that AA spoke with at Sandown before Supercars came clean were incensed that DJRTP hadn’t at least been outed for their transgression.

They felt DJRTP’s private mea culpa and the seriousness of the breach, regardless of intent, warranted exposure.

Some also pointed out that if the Roger Penske-controlled squad went on to win the drivers’ and/or teams’ championship, the success would be tainted by the murky Tailem Bend miscue.

Interestingly, the team chiefs that AA spoke with were not prepared to express their disquiet on the record.

Triple Eight team owner Roland Dane, who arguably had the most to lose from the “cover up” and is usually outspoken on such matters, declined to comment when approached by AA.

DJRTP pleads that the incident was the result of an innocent error and very embarrassing for the team, which under the Penske umbrella prides itself on scrupulous fair play.

While its stance is understandable, especially as using the ineligible drop gear cost McLaughlin speed rather than giving him any performance gain, the unwillingness to get on the front foot and publicly admit the blunder was ill-advised.

The team’s complicity with Supercars in trying to dismiss the incident is also questionable, as are the official efforts to minimise the story.

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