The former Triple Eight boss would like to see Supercars follow the lead of the likes of NASCAR and global GT racing and ditch standing starts.
The primary reason for his radical proposition is the spectacle, which he feels would be improved by a move from stationary to rolling starts.
“I think rolling starts are more dramatic than standing starts,” Dane told the Apex Hunters United podcast.
“I think there’s a thunder, especially with our cars.
“I would love to see rolling starts. And we did it once at the [Australian] Grand Prix [in 2015]. I’d love to see rolling starts because I think they add to the drama.
“Every GT race the world over has rolling starts. NASCAR has rolling starts, IndyCar has rolling starts. There are more categories that at a professional level that have rolling starts than don’t.
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“So I think with our engines and the drama, the cars coming down in between the buildings, the pit building and the stand at Adelaide, for instance, or Bathurst, and having a proper start zone NASCAR style, that would be tremendous.”
Adding to his proposed changes, Dane said safety car restarts should be two-by-two at permanent circuits – as well as Mount Panorama.
“I think I would do two-by-two safety car restarts at the permanent circuits,” he said.
“I’d be nervous about doing it too much at the street circuits, but at the permanent circuits, I’d do it, and probably including Bathurst, to count that as a permanent one for it, to have two-by-two restarts.
“And the drivers would soon get the hang of not crashing into each other at Turn 1. They’d learn very quickly, they’d get their heads around it, otherwise they’d probably be looking for new jobs.”
Coming back to rolling race starts, Dane argued that it would also be a cost-saving measure, given there would be less wear and tear on the driveline.
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“Everyone who’s come up through karting is an expert at it,” he said.
“I think they really increase the drama of the start, and the atmosphere, and the show.
“And then they have the added effect of they remove a huge amount of strain on the drivetrain. And essentially, a GT3 car, most of the GT3 cars use a very similar or the same clutch to a Supercar.
“How often do you service it? End of the season? You know, almost never.
“Whereas here, you’re on top of the clutch, top of the clutch, then the latest thing hearing the last day or two about thrust bearings or this or that, or housings or all this stuff going on, because we’re loading the shit out of the thing.
“And then something has to give. And the softer the tyre you have, then the more likely you are to be putting a strain on the whole drivetrain. So, I see it as a cost saving.
“And the only thing that you’ve got to make sure is that the drivers are reasonably disciplined about their starts and restarts and everything, so you don’t spend that money over there.
“But, yeah, it’s perfectly possible to do.”
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