Double stack still worthwhile with longer Gen3 fill time

Double stacking is still likely to be the lesser evil despite the longer fuel fill time in the Gen3 era of Supercars, according to competitors.

Among the myriad of changes which have been introduced to the Repco Supercars Championship with Gen3 are new fuel rigging equipment, with a flow rate estimated at around 2.4 litres per second, or around two thirds of the old gear.

The practical effect is a much longer dwell time for a given amount of fuel, which necessitates a reassessment of pit strategy, notwithstanding that the aggregate drop is a relatively low 100 litres for each of the two, 250km races at the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

It also means that a car on the wrong end of a double stack will be waiting even longer to be serviced, but drivers are still better off copping the pain, according to Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki.

“I think you’ll be double stacking if that scenario comes out,” said the Friday practice fast man.

“The tyres are dead after 10 laps, so I think if there’s a Safety Car that comes out that will make a double stack, I think most teams will take that unless someone takes a punt.”

Triple Eight Race Engineering Team Manager Mark Dutton pointed out that the effect is the same for the cars which have to stack anyway, and hence they may well cancel each other out.

“You’ve got to think of that,” he told Speedcafe.com of the longer stack time.

“It’s the same for everyone, though. So, even though it’s longer, it’s not really that much difference, in the sense that, if you’re stacking, you’re stacking.

“If everyone peels in, clearly the first ones in the box will get the best treatment and then every second car will therefore stack.

“Yes, it’s worse if you stack longer, but you’re already dropping those spots anyway, so it’s not that much worse than you might think, but it’s definitely a little bit worse.”

Qualifying for Race 1 starts at 11:15 local time/AEDT, followed in the early afternoon by a Top 10 Shootout, and then the highly-anticipated 95-lapper around the Newcastle East Street Circuit later in the day.