PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge

Introduced in 2017 to recognise the efforts of the category's hard working pit crews, the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge awards $20,000 and the coveted 'Golden Rattle Gun Trophy' to the winner.

The competition takes place throughout the year, awarding points to teams based on the pit stop times in each nominated race during the season.

The top four in the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge points standings after the last nominated event will then go into the knock-out finals, which traditionally take place in front of a live television audience in the Repco Bathurst 1000 pit lane during the event.

The two semi-finals and final each require crews to change all four tyres.

The finale is a winner-takes-all affair and provides a typically tense and drama-filled scene, none more so than in 2018 when the result was so close that the winning squad DJR Team Penske volunteered to share the winners' cheque with Brad Jones Racing.

Last year, Brad Jones Racing won both semi-finals over Grove Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering to guarantee a fifth-straight victory, with the #8/#14 crew trumping the #4/#96 crew in the grand final.

RULES

Entrants

In 2024 entrants will compete as ‘Teams’ as opposed to ‘Cars’. Teams are defined by Pit boom, with each Team comprising two Cars. The fastest Pit Stop by either Car within each Team from each race will count towards the “Preliminary Races” point score. For avoidance of doubt a single Car Team paired by a Pit boom will be deemed a two-Car Team and a single Car Team with a single Pit boom will also count for Pit Stop Challenge points.

What is a Pit Stop?

The Compulsory Pit Stop (CPS) is as required by Schedule A2 of Supercars 2024 Operations Manual. Should a Team complete multiple stops in a race which comply with the requirement of a CPS, the quickest time of all will be used to calculate points. Should a Team fail to complete a CPS in a race, no points will be awarded to that Team for that race.

How are points earned?

Points will be earned on a descending scale per race, with the quickest Pit Stop earning 13 points, second quickest earning 12 points and so on, with the slowest time earning 1 point. If a Driver or Team incurs a penalty in completing the Compulsory Pit Stop(s), the Car will be disqualified (see below), resulting in no points for that race.

How is a Pit Stop timed?

The Pit Stop time used in calculating points is the duration between crossing the Pit entry line and Pit exit line, as recorded by Timing. This Pit Stop time is final.

Can a Pit Stop time be disqualified?

A Pit Stop time can be disqualified for various reasons, as noted below.

Any Pit Stop time disqualification is final and is not subject to an appeal. Any Car disqualified will not have its time considered. The Team points will then be determined using the Pit Stop of the remaining eligible Car from that Team.

What if there’s a Safety Car during a race?

To avoid any potential impact for a BP Pulse Safety Car to influence Teams’ performance in Pit Lane and therefore results, any race where a Safety Car is called will not count toward the point score.

What if multiple Teams finish on equal points?

In the event of two or more Teams being equal on points at the conclusion of the Preliminary Races, the Teams best individual performance across the Preliminary Races will be used to rank the Teams. For example, if over the Preliminary Races, Team A earns a best score of 10 points and Team B earns 11 points, regardless of the Preliminary Race in which those points were earnt, Team B will place higher on the table.

If this fails to break the tie, then the Team’s second-best individual performance regardless of the Preliminary Race will be used and so on until the tie is broken.

SCHEDULE

This year multiple* races will decide which four (4) Teams move onto the live finals:

*Schedule subject to change as events and event formats are confirmed.

^All the above races require one compulsory Pit Stop (CPS).

The top four (4) Teams from the above Preliminary Races will compete in a live eliminator final at an event to be confirmed. The winner will receive the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge Golden Rattle Gun and a cash prize.

PRIZE POOL

Preliminary Races

At the completion of the Preliminary Races segment for the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge program, the top three Teams on the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge Leaderboard will be awarded the following prize pool ($AUD):

1st = $5,500 2nd = $3,500 3rd = $2,000

Live Final

The winner of the Live Final will be awarded the following prizing ($AUD):

1st = $20,000 and PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge Golden Rattle Gun

Rules surrounding the Live Final will be distributed to relevant Teams closer to the Event.