![\"Supercars](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/888-Brown-EV06-26-MH7_6766.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTriple Eight’s Will Brown in the hot seat at Hidden Valley. Image: Supplied <\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTriple Eight’s Will Brown in the hot seat at Hidden Valley. Image: Supplied <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Cooling systems are once again in the spotlight following the Darwin Triple Crown, where two drivers were forced to withdraw from the Sunday action.<\/p>\n Thomas Randle was medically ruled out amid the after affects of a cool suit failure in the Saturday race, while Brodie Kostecki pulled the pin having entered the event with a virus.<\/p>\n Supercars revised its heat rules ahead of Darwin, requiring chilled helmet air and cool suits to both be working \u2013 rather than just one \u2013 if the predicted temperature is above 32.9 degrees.<\/p>\n While that threshold wasn\u2019t reached across the weekend, teams had moved to beef-up their various systems in the lead-up.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we should be working towards is a homologated cooling system for the category,\u201d Dutton told Speedcafe in the wake of the event.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s aircon, whether it\u2019s cool suit, I don\u2019t have shares in whichever way we go, but I think a controlled system would be the smartest thing to do, not developing 10 different systems.\u201d<\/p>\n Drive all day with open pit lane access at Queensland Raceway: July 1st and 7th. Custom race cars only, low numbers, medical support, garages, and complete on-site facilities. There are essentially two types of cool suit systems currently being used by teams \u2013 the traditional dry ice-fuelled method and the electric \u2018ChillOut\u2019 option.<\/p>\n Triple Eight is among those to use ChillOut, although it reintroduced a dry ice box to its cars in Darwin to add the chilled helmet air that was not previously mandated.<\/p>\n It\u2019s believed Supercars initially looked at making the ChillOut compulsory for Gen3, but elected against it on the basis that it is not strong enough to power both the helmet air and cool suit.<\/p>\n The bulky dry ice boxes are required to sit on the passenger side of the cars, directly above the muffler.<\/p>\n A dry ice box inside a Team 18 Camaro at Albert Park. Image: Richard Gresham<\/p>\n Triple Eight was famously stripped of a 1-2 finish in the very first Gen3 race at Newcastle in 2023 after installing dry ice boxes on the drivers\u2019 side.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s a completely controlled system, you can do things like say, \u2018okay, guys, here\u2019s the bracket, and the bracket is going to lift [the cool box] higher up off the floor,\u201d said Dutton.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the engineers and drivers will scream, \u2018you\u2019re raising the centre of gravity\u2019. But if it\u2019s the same for everyone, you don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n \u201cRaising it up in the car means that a bigger distance from the heat source of the muffler that\u2019s underneath, so that\u2019s straight away doing a better job.\u201d<\/p>\n Supercars also tweaked its heat policy prior to Darwin to state that the cooling systems have to chill to 25 degrees or below, rather than simply undercut the ambient temperature.<\/p>\n Dutton said that level of cooling presents a huge challenge, particularly if faced with a repeat of the 40 degree days experienced in Adelaide previously.<\/p>\n While there are freedoms in the choice and implementation of cooling systems and internal ducting, the level of insulation permitted \u2013 particularly around the exhaust and mufflers \u2013 is tightly controlled.<\/p>\n POLL: Are Supercars\u2019 heat rules good enough?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to look at even more insulation for the cars. Keeping the heat out should be more of a priority,\u201d Dutton added.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve now allowed us to [ceramic coat] the headers, that\u2019s been a fight for years, but it was only the cross.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you keep the heat out, we can more easily satisfy the rule.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not just trying to hit 25 degrees. We\u2019re trying to get much, much lower than that to get a margin. So there\u2019s a lot of work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n Supercars has warned that, should the heat policy be enacted, cars will be black-flagged if their systems aren\u2019t working to the requirements.<\/p>\n
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