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Provisional licence holders have effectively been banned from driving Supercars and other high-powered vehicles from next year, Motorsport Australia has announced.
An announcement from the governing body states that provisional circuit licence holders will no longer be permitted to drive a vehicle with a power-to-weight ratio of less than 3.5kg per kilowatt.
The decision thus impacts not only Supercars, but also S5000s, GT3s, Carrera Cup cars, Trans Ams, and other categories of vehicle.
Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca explained, “As of 1 January 2023, provisional circuit licence holders will not be able to drive a vehicle with a power-to-weight less than 3.5kg/kw.
“After three races in car of a lesser power, and formally upgrading their licence, drivers would then be permitted to race in a higher power vehicle, so it isn’t an onerous change and provides a level of extra experience on track.
“This is an important tweak to the regulations that is based entirely on safety for all competitors.
“For example, some drivers were obtaining a provisional licence, completing an observed licence test on a Friday and then racing in a high powered vehicle, such as a GT3 car, at state level competition with very limited experience a day later.
“This is a risk to not only themselves, but the other more experienced drivers sharing the track.
“Motorsport Australia is not trying to stop people from competing at these higher levels, instead it’s about providing some certainty that competitors in these high powered vehicles have the relevant experience before making the step up.”
The new restriction is consistent with another which was imposed earlier this year, whereby an age criteria based on power-to-weight rations was also implemented.
The provisional licence restriction announced now was a recommendation to Motorsport Australia’s Board from the Australian Motor Racing Commission and the Motorsport Risk and Safety Committee.
While the Superlicence system effectively quarantines inexperienced drivers from the Repco Supercars Championship, licencing is less stringent for competitions such as the Dunlop Super2 Series and S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.
S5000 has also been affected recently by a decision to ban those cars from racing at all at Mount Panorama, which was to have seen a round of the Tasman Series at this weekend’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst International, pending a safety review.
The new provisional licence restrictions will be included in next year’s Motorsport Australia Manual.
