SVG, Kostecki ‘confused’ by Supercars racing rules

Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki have been left “confused” by Supercars’ rules of engagement after their bruising battle which decided the outcome of Race 7 in Perth.

Van Gisbergen gave the rear end of the #99 Erebus Motorsport Camaro a thorough working-over in the closing stages and would ultimately force his way down the inside at ‘Kolb Corner’ on the penultimate lap around Wanneroo Raceway.

Not before that pass, however, Kostecki had been issued a bad sportsmanship flag for the manner in which he had blocked the #97 Triple Eight Race Engineering Camaro.

While the two combatants enjoyed the battle, they were left less than clear about how exactly they are allowed to race each other.

“It’s pretty awesome and then you know get out afterwards and make sure he enjoyed it too,” said race winner van Gisbergen.

“You’re obviously on the edge of what’s legal and what’s not but I love that stuff.

“But, it’s obviously a fine line like with what’s allowed in our rules; like, he got a bad sportsmanship flag and I’m not allowed to bump him out of the way, so it’s a fine line.

“But yeah, I loved it, but it’s obviously always a grey area in our rules.

“[In] a one-on-one battle, you should be able to do what you want, but I don’t know.

“I loved it but they gave him a warning but you want to be allowed to race for the lead.”

Asked if he was confused about the warning, van Gisbergen quipped, “I’m always confused with this series.”

Kostecki recounted, “I was pretty confused by it afterwards, but I’ll have to go through it and see what’s allowed and what’s not.

“Like Shane said, it’s pretty confusing.”

Van Gisbergen, who is one of the leading figures in the fledgling Supercars drivers’ association, said that it may be worth clarifying the matter with Driving Standards Advisor Craig Baird.

“Maybe it needs clarifying, and maybe it’s a personal thing for me to understand or clarify with Bairdo on what we can do or how we can race,” remarked the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver.

The three-time champion’s preferred rules of engagement are a more laissez-faire approach.

“You want to be able to defend your position,” said van Gisbergen.

“He was doing nothing wrong with his defending. He was propping me up a bit but there should be some leeway for me to do it in the opposite way, I feel. Yeah, I’m not sure.”

Kostecki retains the drivers’ championship lead, with van Gisbergen 78 points back in third, while Erebus holds a 79-point margin over Triple Eight atop the teams’ standings.

Qualifying for the final two races of the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint takes place tomorrow from 09:15 local time/11:15 AEST.