Supercars makes key Safety Car change
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 5 September 2025
Following criticism of the Full Course Yellow system, Supercars has made a significant tweak that will be trialled at The Bend.
After Thursday’s Supercars Commission meeting, the championship has announced the introduction of slow zones and pit lane closures during the Safety Car periods.
This will be trialled at next weekend’s AirTouch 500 at The Bend before another Commission meeting determines how to manage yellows at the Great Race.
“The revised system followed extensive consultation with teams, the Supercars Commission and Motorsport Australia,” Supercars Chief Motorsport Officer Tim Edwards said.
“This trial is about ensuring safety for officials and competitors while also maintaining the spectacle for fans.
“We listened to our fans, worked closely with our teams, and the Commission has acted decisively to plan this trial at The Bend.”
Below is how Supercars has described the changes.
How ‘Slow Zones’ will operate
• When an incident occurs, all cars will immediately reduce speed to 80km/h by engaging their Safety Car limiter. Pit Lane will close during this phase, with exceptions only for cars already committed to pit entry or those with damage, punctures, or in need of fuel.
• The field will remain at 80km/h for at least one lap to allow response crews to be deployed safely and ensure all drivers can clearly see the incident location.
• Once Race Control is satisfied, racing will resume at full speed across the circuit – except in the Slow Zone where the incident occurred, which will remain at 80km/h until declared clear and the pit lane will open. This ensures only the affected sector is neutralised, while the rest of the track remains live for racing and the teams individual race strategies aren’t impacted.
Full Course Yellows have had a massive say on races throughout the 2025 Sprint Cup.
With cars being stuck at 80km/h, the Safety Car periods have lasted longer than usual and allowed teams to perform pit stops with minimal time loss.
The most recent occured last race at Ipswich, where Cam Waters and Kai Allen shot from outside of the top 15 to the podium by being able to perform both of their stops during a six-lap Safety Car period to collect a beached Cameron Crick from the gravel at the final turn.
Post-race race there was widespread criticism of the system and fears of how it will diminish the strategy elements of the biggest races of the year.
It will be interesting to see how the new “Slow Zones” will impact things at The Bend.
If it is a success, they will be retained for the iconic Bathurst 1000 and inaugural Finals Series.
Image: Mark Horsburgh
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