Damien White: The Official Word

We are inundated with fan feedback and questions; some positive, some not so. All of it, however, is driven by one core ingredient – passion! The teams, sponsors, fans and we at V8 Supercars have an endless passion for V8 Supercars racing, and it’s on that we thrive.

These regular columns following each event, and some in between times, aim to discuss the topics of the day, of which there are usually a few.

My points will mostly refer to the rules under which the sport operates. Sometimes the rules may not make sense to casual observers; however I can assure everybody that each rule within the 276 page operations manual has sound rationale and is a core piece of what we do day to day.

Most recently, based on the fan feedback, at the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 there were two hot topics: the kerbs, and the Mark Winterbottom mechanical black flag.

Firstly, to the kerbs. There are clear rules on how much kerb a car can use. In basic terms a car is expected to have the two tyres within the limits of the circuit at all times. The limits of the circuit are defined by the painted lines on either side of the track. Naturally, as is their job, drivers will push that limit until sanctioned or warned otherwise.

It’s been no secret that over the years we have tried to develop a system for all street circuits that enables officials to accurately monitor a car's use of kerbs, while still allowing the drivers to push the limits of car control and track width which, in turn, delivers entertainment and excitement.

At the Gold Coast there is a primary kerb that follows the radius of the corner and on the inside, at 90 degrees to the apex, another kerb. And it is this last piece which, from a team perspective, caused much frustration over the race week.

Many passionate discussions took place across the Gold Coast weekend between key CAMS Officials, circuit engineers and V8 Supercars management. The decision was to investigate changes for next year, but a change in the middle of a race meeting this year wasn’t possible.

So the frustration from an outside observer may be, “if a change is accepted as being possible next year, why not straight away?”. The answer is actually easy; well in advance of the event the circuit design, including kerbs, are submitted for approval from which a circuit licence is granted. To alter the design of the kerb would mean a dramatic change to the circuit, effectively voiding the licence. We just couldn’t do it over night.

The other outcome at the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 that got many excited was the mechanical black flag for Mark Winterbottom. Some questioned the fact that he didn’t “just drive through for his penalty”, while others asked, “how were his team allowed to work on his car?”.

A mechanical black flag, which Winterbottom was shown, is different from a black flag. The mechanical black flag means the car has a mechanical problem and the driver must come to the pit lane and his crew must address the issue prior to it being permitted to continue.

A black flag of course means a driver must serve a pit lane penalty (PLP) which would mean the car would drive through without being permitted to stop or have work carried out. The lesson from this for us is perhaps the word black should be dropped and we call it a “mechanical flag”…

We are just weeks away from Phillip Island and with such an incredibly tight battle at the top we are sure to generate some passion from you all. I’ll be back then to respond.