Rain looks set to raise the stakes for Supercars drivers coming to terms with a lack of tyre bundles at this weekend’s Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
While the Repco Supercars Championship has not yet had a genuinely wet session on its new-for-2023 wet tyre, notwithstanding that multiple races at Albert Park were officially declared wet.
However, the real challenge is likely to be experienced at Surfers Paradise’s wild Beach Chicane, from which tyre bundles have been removed, rather than because of the rain itself.
Rain is only likely to fall on Friday, but that will make all the difference because of the event schedule.
If weather forecasts prove to be correct, then the field will not enjoy any meaningful practice time without tyre bundles before launching into the weekend’s competitive sessions from late Saturday morning.
Driver are thus unlikely to be able to test the positioning of the kerb sensors which remain in place to police track limits, including at the front chicane, where one tyre bundle does remain, on the inside of Turn 1.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a 90 percent chance of rain on Friday in Surfers Paradise, when the Supercars Championship field is set to take to the track for two, half-hour practice sessions.
The chance of rain on Saturday drops to 40 percent, although winds of up to 40km/h are forecast, while Sunday is set to improve to cloudy with winds up to 25km/h.
However, it is the rain on Friday could make all the difference.
With the kerbs generally freshly painted for the start of the weekend, and the track ‘green’, they would be particularly slippery if showers do occur.
Drivers are therefore unlikely to be climbing over the top of them in practice, and hence the prospect of kerb hops is slim.
It means that the 15 minutes which make up Qualifying for Race 25 of the season on Saturday will be a journey into the unknown.
The sensors, though, have been in place for years, yet are often a source of controversy with drivers claiming that they are inconsistent in detecting kerb hops.
Weather forecast: Gold Coast 500
Source: Bureau of Meteorology, as at Wednesday 25/10 at 04:50 AEST
| Min | Max | Possible rainfall mm | Chance of any rain % | ||
| Fri | 16 | 21 | Showers. Becoming windy | 3-15 | 90 |
| Sat | 15 | 22 | Possible shower. Windy | 0-1 | 40 |
| Sun | 15 | 22 | Partly cloudy | 5 |
