The biggest controversy, though, was not Broc Feeney’s race-winning pass on the Saturday when he made contact with James Golding, nor arguably was it even Ford teams’ renewed parity concerns.
Instead, it was a moment of levity during a cool down lap in Sunday’s Top 10 Shootout.
Brodie Kostecki had just finished his hot lap when he sighted Will Brown, his team-mate just six months ago, and decided to close in on the #87 Camaro and flash his headlights in a stated bid to “distract” the Triple Eight Race Engineering driver.
Brown laughed it off but Triple Eight lodged a complaint (officially, request for investigation) with stewards, who ultimately determined there was no rule breach and thus No Further Action was the decision.
But now we ask you: Should drivers be allowed to distract their rivals during a shootout?
Kostecki was investigated for a potential breach of Rule D6.3.7.6 of the Supercars Operations Manual, specifically part (c), which states:
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The Driver [after the Car has been shown the chequered flag at the end of its timed lap] must not interfere with, baulk or cause obstruction to any other Car which may be on the Race Track at the same time.
In this instance, it was conceivable that Kostecki had ‘interfered with’ or ‘baulked’ Brown by closing the gap to Car #87 and flashing his headlights.
That question was answered quite quickly, though, with the stewards report stating: “At the commencement of the hearing the Driver of Car 87 said that nothing that he had seen Car 1 [Kostecki] do had affected his push lap in any way.
“He agreed that nothing that Car 1 had done had interfered his push lap or his preparation lap, nor had it baulked him or caused any obstruction to his Car.”
Kostecki told the hearing had explained that he was motivated by the idea that his antics, which unfolded during his post-hot lap in-car television interview, would be “entertaining.”
Brown laughed it off when he was queried on television shortly after the session, while Driving Standards Advisor Craig Baird told Speedcafe he was “surprised” at the request for investigation, and found the “banter” to be “refreshing.”
Even Triple Eight Team Principal Jamie Whincup was in a jocular mood when he fielded questions on the drama in the post-race press conference, feigning indignation at the “disgusting stuff” perpetrated by a “community pest.”
However, Whincup stood by his Team Manager Mark Dutton’s right to lodge the complaint if he thought a breach of the rules may have occurred.
But should it even be a rule?
Plainly, allowing a driver to ‘obstruct’ a rival during a shootout would be ridiculous, but what about a genuine, effective attempt to distract them by, for example, swerving just behind their car?
Supercars starting grids are often decided by very slim margins – the biggest qualifying spread over the Hidden Valley weekend was 1.0042s from first to last in a 25-car field – and hence tyre phasing is crucial, especially in a shootout.
Why not allow someone to upset a rival’s preparation by finding a way to distract them?
Some would argue that it would add to the entertainment, in much the same way that football goalkeepers were, until recently, allowed to use all manner of actions to put off the taker of a penalty/kick from the penalty spot (the laws were changed in 2023-24 to prohibit “unfairly distract[ing]” the taker).
We would see if a driver could keep their composure during a warm up lap, and how a driver might try to unsettle them.
In a sport characterised by repeatability, allowing such antics would add another variable to the contest and hence promote a more mixed-up grid and less predictable results.
On the other hand, some might argue that genuinely attempting to distract a rival in such a fashion is unsporting and thus should remain outlawed.
There may yet be a rule or procedure change in any case, with stewards recommending that the Race Director consider adjusting releases to ensure there is sufficient space between cars on short circuits such as Hidden Valley – which would achieve the opposite of the rule change we are proposing.
But, what do you think? Should drivers be allowed to distract their rivals during a shootout lap? Cast your vote below in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
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