Penalty loophole closed with regulations tweak

A penalty rule has been tweaked ahead of the Repco Bathurst 1000, closing a loophole which presented itself at Sandown.

Under the new rule, cars cannot serve a time penalty while the Safety Car (SC), Full Course Yellow (FCY) boards or red flag are displayed, or while the race is suspended.

Previously, the rule stated SC or red flags only, with the tweak ensuring teams cannot serve penalties while the race is under FCY conditions.

A number of cars were issued five-second penalties at Sandown, with Brad Jones Racing attempting to clear a penalty on the Andre Heimgartner/Declan Fraser car under full Safety Car conditions, which is not allowed.

The tweaks, added in Further Supplementary Regulations released Thursday, read:

1.3.1 At this Event, note the following amendment to Rule B7.7.1.7:

B7.7.1.7 Time Penalty, during or after the Event. Unless otherwise directed by the Stewards, a Time Penalty imposed during a Race must be served at the Car’s next Pit Stop during that Race. Any Time Penalty to be served during a Pit Stop:

a) May not be served while the SC, FCY boards or Red Flag are displayed or while the Race is suspended.

b) Must be served after the completion of all work being performed on the Car during the Pit Stop.

It comes after teams were advised on Tuesday of changes to the SC and FCY procedures, with maximum speed increased and the removal of a minimum lap count.

Track action at Mount Panorama will commence with two 60-minute practice sessions on Thursday October 10. Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are on sale now.