An unprecedented amount of kerb hopping penalties in the final V8 Supercars practice session of the day has caused widespread concern in the Armor All Gold Coast 600 pit lane.
The Turn 1-2-3 and 6-7-8-9-10 chicanes on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit have been fitted with electronic kerb hopping counters this year – the same system that was used effectively in Adelaide and Hamilton earlier in the season.
This weekend has also seen 800mm high bollards installed at the points where kerb-hopping is being electronically monitored as a visual aid for the drivers.
The fourth session appears to have highlighted issues with the system, with an inordinate number of infringements recorded.
As regulations state that each car will only be allowed five infringements before a drive-through penalty is applied in tomorrow’s races, the system has the potential to dramatically affect the final results.
VIP Petfoods Racing’s Steve Owen copped 15 penalties in Practice 4, and believes the system was malfunctioning.
“The first chicane, I was three foot away from the kerb and I got pinged,” he told Speedcafe.com.
“I don’t know what has happened. In the first session, I jumped the kerb twice and I knew both times when I’d done it.”
International driver Mika Salo, who is sharing the #6 Trading Post Racing Falcon with Will Davison, says that if the problem is not fixed, it has the potential to ruin the race meeting.
“Those bollards and the warnings – they don’t make any sense,” said Salo.
“Sometimes you hit them and you don’t get the warning and vise-versa. There must be a better way to do it because it will destroy the race for some of us. I hope the organisers will do something about that.”
V8 Supercars will hold a meeting tonight at the circuit with the intention of finding a solution for the problem in time for Race 21 Qualifying tomorrow morning.
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 4 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 3 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 2 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 1 report and results
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Armor All Gold Coast 600 Race Guide
