Supercars looking into Hawk-Eye after pit stop controversy

Supercars is investigating the use of Hawk-Eye video technology at all rounds next season to help its judicial team make in-race decisions on incidents and prevent delays in declaring race results.

The move arrives following a controversial weekend at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint which saw the outcome of Saturday’s Race 28 only made official almost 24 hours after the fact due to a dispute over a pit stop incident.

Stewards came under fire when it appeared race winner Shane van Gisbergen breached rules by spinning his rear wheels during his final pit stop.

The matter was unable to be dealt with during the race and referred to a post-race investigation where no breach was determined.

DJR Team Penske lodged an appeal which left teams and fans in limbo regarding the race result before stewards elected to dismiss the protest on Sunday afternoon.

Supercars boss Sean Seamer says that Hawk-Eye’s sophisticated cameras, that provide multiple viewing angles, would have helped officials deal with the matter before the end of the race, preventing an appeal and the frustration from fans wanting to know the result.

The championship tested the system at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 last month, where Hawk-Eye was used to judge kerb hops, as the series pushes for a wider rollout of the concept next year.

Hawk-Eye has proved valuable in officiating several sports including tennis, cricket, football and rugby.

“I’m going to be really clear, there’s the administration of the sport and there is the governance, and they are very much church and state,” Seamer told Speedcafe.com.

“We’ve been focusing on Hawk-Eye as it relates to managing kerb hops, in places like the Gold Coast, and we did have it at the Gold Coast. 

“What we have learned is that actually Hawk-Eye could’ve helped make an in-race decision (on Saturday).

“The more that we can deal with in-race, the better and we will look at a broader rollout and application of Hawk-Eye to assist the judicial guys next year.”

Supercars has confirmed that the Hawk-Eye system will be in place for the final round of this year’s championship at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 from November 23-25.