A more ‘play on’ approach to officiating races has been introduced to Supercars this year by driving standards advisor Craig Baird in a bid to spice up the racing.
The rough and tumble has already provided some excellent on-track action, although the shift in philosophy hasn’t been universally popular.
Some of the criticism has been centred on the cost to teams given the higher risk of cars sustaining damage.
Despite that, the reaction from team land has been largely positive, with a pair of Ford team bosses confirming to Speedcafe that they are firmly in support of Baird’s vision.
One is Dick Johnson Racing CEO David Noble who has a strong take on the matter.
“I love it,” he said of the new approach.
“We recruit athletes to be competitive. You can’t then go, ‘well, don’t be too competitive’.
“We recruit risk takers. That’s what they are. They want to get into a corner three wide. I think you have to give them the license to make those decisions in the car.
“The competition just has to manage that it doesn’t become an uncontrollable competitiveness.
“But when we’re trying to position ourselves as a sport that competes with other sports across the nation, we need to be conscious of providing a product that is watchable. That creates the appetite for people to want to switch back onto the broadcast and keep watching.”
Blanchard Racing Team co-owner Tim Blanchard concedes there are cost considerations for teams, but says they are outweighed by the need for better entertainment.
“When I’m looking at the bank balance I’m not a big fan of it but from an entertainment point of view it is fantastic,” he explained.
“If you look at the racing at the first two events and the way casual fans are talking about our category it’s been evident that it’s more entertaining. And, ultimately, that’s what we’re here.
“We’re not here to do processional racing. We’re here to do touring car racing.
“And in my view touring car racing is tough, hard door-rubbing racing. That’s what we’ve seen at the last two events. I think it’s great and I hope it continues.”
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