A Supercars judge of fact snapped a photo of a Team 18 crew member using a device to take a temperature reading from the left-front wheel assembly of David Reynolds’ Camaro while under parc ferme conditions following Race 1 qualifying.

Motorsport Australia stewards subsequently convened a hearing in which the team acknowledged the incident occurred but argued that because the crew member at no time “touched the car or worked on it”, the action did not breach the rules.

However, stewards deemed that using the device without the permission of Supercars’ general manager of motorsport, Tim Edwards, amounted to undertaking an activity outside that permitted and issued the fine.

Amusingly, moments before the qualifying session Team 18 boss Adrian Burgess made a dig at Supercars and its technical department on the television broadcast regarding recent staff movement between the organisations.

Team 18 poached two engineers from Supercars Technical as it gears up to become the GM homologation team. The move is understood to have displeased Supercars which is now recruiting for replacements.

Supercars hunting tech staff after Team 18 raid

TV pundit Mark Larkham cheekily asked Burgess within the Team 18 garage moments before the qualifying session: “You’re nicking staff from Supercars, that must be political, how’s that going?”

Burgess, who worked in Supercars’ top motorsport job for five years prior to moving to Team 18 ahead of the 2024 season, replied: “I put an advertisement out there and they replied. The question is why they all want to leave.”

While Speedcafe does not suggest the two issues are related, the apparent beef between the series and the team was a notable subplot on a day in which Team 18 scored its first podium of the year through Anton De Pasquale.

Read the stewards’ full decision reasoning below

The Stewards reviewed the DRD (Deputy Race Director)’s report which included a photograph taken by a Judge of Fact – Technical, summonsed and heard from the Competitor’s Authorised Representative and heard from the MOM (Manager of Motorsport),” it read.

Both the Competitor’s Authorised Representative and Assistant Authorised Representative attended the Hearing.

A copy of the report and the photograph were given to them. The MOM stated that the GMM (General Manager of Motorsport) had not given permission to the Team to use the device and considered the incident amounted to an operational, rather than a technical, breach.

The ARs acknowledged the incident occurred but submitted that because at no time the Team Member touched the Car (in a relevant sense) or worked on it, the Team Member’s actions did not amount to a breach of the Rule.

The Stewards find that the use of the device, without the permission of the GMM, amounts to undertaking an activity outside the permitted activities pursuant to the Rule and therefore a breach of the Rule.

The Stewards accept that the GMM’s determination that this activity was an operational rather than a technical breach, warranting a fine as the appropriate penalty to impose.