Supercars driving standards advisor Craig Baird says the likelihood of racing being red flagged or abandoned is significantly less than the category’s last visit to Sydney.

The penultimate race of the 2021 season never got underway due to persistent rain, which followed a spate of off-road excursions in qualifying as well as a scary crash in the Super2 Series race.

Despite the weather, drivers including Nick Percat came out after Race 30 was abandoned believing it could have gone ahead.

Supercars ultimately decided not to risk damaging cars, considering the Bathurst 1000 was just around the corner with Queensland teams unable to return home beforehand.

Speaking with Speedcafe.com, Baird said that the same rationale won’t be employed this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“From our point of view in race control, it’s a totally different scenario than what we had after four weeks in a row at Sydney Motorsport Park, no real break to Bathurst, and Queensland teams couldn’t come home if they crashed their cars in those conditions at SMP4,” said Baird.

“We did take into account a lot of what the end goal was, and that was Bathurst and finishing the season with all the cars going in their trucks.

“I always speak and listen to drivers, but I think everyone was of the opinion that we had to get to Bathurst.

“The teams, the owners, the drivers, the engineers, none of them wanted to go,” he added.

“I had to take that onboard, because who was I to say ‘go, crash your car, and don’t go to Bathurst’.

“Our end goal was we had to do five rounds in six weekends. That’s what we did and very successfully.”

The championship is bracing for a wet start to the 2022 season as wild weather beats down on New South Wales.

In the past week, southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales copped heavy rain.

The states are still reeling from devastating flooding, which has resulted in fatalities and missing persons.

Baird’s comments come as the New South Wales capital Sydney braces for extreme winds and heavy rainfall.

In some parts, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a downpour of up to 200mm during a six-hour period which may lead to flash flooding in metropolitan Sydney.

Rain is also expected to hit Sydney over the course of the three-day race weekend, although Baird said Supercars would do everything in its power to race on in wet conditions.

“We would be pushing a lot harder to keep the drivers on track,” said Baird.

“It’s up to them [the drivers]. I’ve raced my whole life, including a lot in Europe and America. You never got red-flagged or brought to the pit lane. You were told by your team owner, manager, or engineer to be careful, slow it down, bring it home.

“I’m not saying that we have the ideal wet weather tyre – and we don’t – but at the end of the day, if someone crashes at Turn 1 and then blames the rubber that’s down from the weekend prior or some other event that they’ve held there, it’s there for everybody and we know it’s there. Skaifey crashed there in the ‘90s. It’s never changed.

“We are an entertainment business, there’s no doubting that. You can’t get everyone along and say it’s too wet, we’re flagging it. My goal is always to try and keep pushing on with things.

“If I’m in race control and I can hear someone coming down the straight and the thing is flaring up in fourth or fifth gear and it’s aquaplaning or wheel spinning, that’s too dangerous because then you’re just a passenger, but the speed they enter Turn 1 is not up to me. That’s a key component.

“It’s a different scenario of what we had at SMP4. I have a lot of people asking me if we’re going to cancel the meeting. We push on to get this race going as hard as we can. They are supposed to be the best touring car drivers in Australia, the best drivers in Australia if not the world. They have to get on with it. As I say, it’s just a very different situation.”

Baird said he’s conscious that it’s a tough time for the sport as Queensland personnel endure the impact of the recent rain.

“Not only myself, but everyone involved in Supercars is extremely sympathetic to the cause of what people are going through in this country at the moment,” said Baird.

“I’ve spent four days at a mate’s nursery in Clagiraba [on the Gold Coast] up to my knees in water moving plants and lifting.

“Everyone is trying to do their bit. I’m not saying our sport isn’t important, it is, but we’ve got bigger issues.”

The Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight takes place across March 4-6.