Safety Car boards and flags at the Bathurst 1000. Image: Speedcafe
The pitfalls of the current procedure were thrown into the spotlight during the Sunday race at Ipswich, when three drivers lucked into pitting twice under yellows.
Cam Waters, Kai Allen and Andre Heimgartner vaulted to the front of the pack by ticking off both pit stops while the field was stuck under an 80km/h speed limit.
Under rules introduced for the endurance events last year and refined for 2025, the field must slow to 80km/h within 15 seconds of a Safety Car being called.
That is intended to protect recovery crews needing to enter the circuit, stamping out the previous practice of drivers racing flatout back to pit lane.
There is no specified period between the 80km/h limit starting and the field being let loose to catch the physical Safety Car, adding to the sense of potluck for teams.
While not the first time it’s reared its head this ear, the Ipswich race led to an outcry against the procedure, with claims it is “ruining our sport” and will make the Bathurst 1000 “boring as shit”.
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That’s due to the fear that teams will all run as long as possible in every stint during the Great Race in case they can jag a pit stop while the 80km/h limit is in place.
Supercars’ motorsport boss Tim Edwards canvassed team opinions on a solution during the post-event test at Queensland Raceway last week.
Speedcafe understands that shutting the pit lane when the Safety Car period is first called and re-opening it when the 80km/h restriction is lifted is currently the favoured option.
That method could provide the best of both worlds, allowing the field to be brought under control quickly following an incident while minimising the impact on the sporting contest.
Shutting the pit lane for the entire duration of a Safety Car period would have the opposite impact to the current issue – encouraging teams to pit early to avoid being shut out of the lane.
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Getting rid of the 80km/h slowdown entirely is thought unlikely due to the potential implications of eliminating a procedure implemented primarily for the safety of officials.
Introducing an electronically monitored ‘slow zone’ at the point of an incident instead of a Safety Car period has meanwhile been touted as a likely longer term solution.
However, it’s said to come with technological hurdles, does not factor in recovery vehicles needing to travel to the scene of an incident and is not thought to be an immediate option.
Although Supercars won’t currently be drawn on its options, Edwards confirmed to Speedcafe the issue is on next week’s agenda.
“The matter will be discussed, and potential changes considered at next week’s Commission meeting,” he said.
The Supercars Commission features representatives from each team.