V8 Supercars says it has no plans to re-educate its participants on the gambling restrictions in the sport in response to a recent ‘friendly’ bet between two of its drivers.
Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat had a $50 wager between themselves to see who would be in front after the opening lap of Race 9 in Perth when the pair shared the seventh row of the grid.
Percat ended up winning the bet by moving into 13th while McLaughlin dropped to 16th after the first of 83 laps at Barbagallo.
Their personal bet would have gone unnoticed however McLaughlin posted a comment about the bet as part of a blog entry on his website (see bottom of story), which has since been edited.
V8 Supercars did not formally caution McLaughlin or Percat however the Volvo driver did receive a gentle reminder about the restrictions on competitors gambling on their sport.
“Our drivers, race teams, staff and contractors (participants and staff) are not permitted to gamble as outlined in the Commercial Rules and V8SC Staff Guidelines,” V8 Supercars spokesman Cole Hitchcock told Speedcafe.com.
“In the case of Scott this is not considered a major breach and he will receive a verbal reminder of his obligations.”
Ironically the incident co-incided with the meeting where V8 Supercars announced UBET as their wagering partner with the premier fixed price betting operator becoming naming rights sponsor for the Perth event.
The two-year agreement sees UBET hold naming rights for ‘victory lane’ at selected races, as well as various real and digital track signage.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport is meanwhile in the process of finalising its policy on the issue of licence holders gambling on their sport in the wake of the otherwise innocuous Perth incident.
Presently CAMS addresses the gambling issue under the FIA 16.1 International Sporting Code (ISC).
Read McLaughlin’s now deleted comment on the Barbagallo ‘wager’ below
“I was starting beside Nick Percat for the race, I get along with Nick quite well, and we go karting together as we both have gearbox race karts,” he wrote.
“He yelled out to me across the grid just prior to me jumping in ‘we betting some money on this?’ I said, ‘On what?’. ‘The start’.
“At this moment I am full of confidence and pumped just to start the race let alone try race my mate off the line. I yell back, ‘righto, 50 bucks says I’ll be in front of you at the end of the first lap.’
“We agree on this, I have never done anything like that before in my career but to be honest it was pretty cool!
“The bastard got me though so unfortunately I already knew after lap 1 I was down a pineapple ($50 note).”
“After learning I was down $50 I settled into a rhythm. The car was okay, but not really racey, I was lacking a little bit of front grip it wasn’t turning as quickly as other cars around me so I already was telling Richard (Hollway) we needed to make a change to the car at the first stop.”
An excerpt from V8 Supercars commercial regulations regarding betting
(c) No Gambling
The Driver shall not participate or engage directly or indirectly in any bet, wager or gamble in relation to any V8 Supercar motor racing event or accept or agree to accept directly or indirectly any inducement, pecuniary or other gift or other consideration or benefit whether in cash or kind relating to the ability of the Driver to exercise control over or influence a motor race in which he competes so as to bring about a result other than that which would be achieved in a fair contest.
3.10 Gambling
Participants must not bet, gamble or enter into any other form of financial speculation on any outcome involving V8 Supercars, including without limitation, a particular Race or Series result.
FIA International Sporting Code (ISC) 16.1
Banning the Placing of Bets: No person holding a Licence, a Super Licence or a Certificate of registration for the staff of Competitors entered in the FIA World Championships, and no staff member of the Organiser of a Competition registered on the International Sporting Calendar or on the national calendar of an ASN may, either directly or through an intermediary, place bets or gamble on a passage of play or a Competition, if they are involved in that Competition, in particular through taking part in or being connected in any way with it.
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