V8 Supercars has publicly released its full table of recommended penalties for the first time in a bid to add transparency to its judicial decisions.
The document exists as “a guide to the level of penalty that may be applied for various breaches of the rules”.
The revised document has been released following a review intended to bring penalties further into line with the severity of the individual breach.
The penalties are now listed as “recommended penalties” rather than “recommended minimum penalties” in order to allow greater scope for tailoring punishments to specific infractions.
The penalties table was only previously able to be viewed by teams upon special request, with reproduction of its contents specifically outlawed in the category’s sporting regulations.
Under V8 Supercars’ judicial system, the Stewards determine penalties based on the document and the recommendation of the Driving Standards Observer/Investigating Officer (Jason Bargwanna) or Category Technical Manager (Frank Adamson).
Whether the participant in question makes an early admission of the breach being investigated, their history of previous breaches and if the breach “assisted another team member to gain an advantage” are also considered in the process.
In addition to the penalties table, Stewards must take into account the FIA’s International Sporting Code, CAMS’ National Competition Rules and an extended clause in V8 Supercars’ operations manual outlining “other penalties” that can be applied.
All three of those are pre-existing public documents.
“We saw no reason why these penalties should not be made available and this has been clearly communicated with our teams,” explained V8 Supercars’ general manager of motorsport, Damien White.
“Making the document available to teams and fans alike obviously provides a greater level of transparency.
“Taking away that element of surprise, particularly for our passionate fans, will provide for a greater acceptance and, for the teams, stability in the process of applying the rules.”
CLICK HERE to view V8 Supercars’ Recommended Penalties document
