Thomas Randle and Brodie Kostecki required medical attention following the Saturday race in Darwin and subsequently withdrew on Sunday.
Randle had suffered a cool suit failure while Kostecki entered the event with a virus and raced without a working drink bottle, resulting in a variety of symptoms.
A spate of cool suit failures earlier in the year had led to a revised Supercars’ heat policy ahead of Darwin, which was not enacted as the threshold temperature was not reached.
Kostecki aside, an increase in the number of cool suit failures has been at the heart of heat stress issues this year, leading to calls for a control system.
However, long-time category medical delegate Dr Carl has urged teams and drivers to ensure they are adopting best practice in all areas.
“Recent events have reinforced the need for a systematic, evidence-based approach to heat illness prevention within Supercars competition,” reads the note.
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“Contributing factors have included cooling suit malfunctions, elevated ambient and cockpit temperatures, extended race durations, reduced pit stop durations, and failure of in-car hydration systems.
“It must be recognised that each driver responds differently to heat stress, with variations in sweat rate, thermoregulatory efficiency, body composition, and acclimatisation status.
“What may be tolerable for one driver could pose significant risk to another.”
The five-point advisory is broken down into pre-conditioning in the lead-up to events, pre-cooling in the hour before race start, hydration protocols, driver mass monitoring and post-race cooling.
Recommended cooling strategies include use of ice vests, cold towels, cold fluid, cooling rooms and cold water immersion, while hydration advice includes drinking between 150 and 250 ml every 15-20 minutes during races.
Weighing of drivers immediately pre- and post-race is “highly recommended” to provide individualised hydration data, with an in-race weight loss greater than two percent indicating “inadequate hydration requiring intervention”.
Drivers are typically looked after at the track by either their own or team-supplied physiotherapists, employed to manage and monitor driver condition and welfare.
“Heat-related illness is largely preventable through appropriate preparation, monitoring and timely intervention,” Dr Carl concluded.
“Responsibility for effective heat management is shared between drivers, teams, and their medical/paramedical personnel.
“Adoption of these recommendations will minimise risk while supporting optimal driver safety and performance throughout the Supercars Championship.”
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