Defending champion Josh Rogers has lost the early lead of the Repco Supercars Pro Eseries after being penalised for a series of pitlane infringements last night.
The Germany-based sim racing star had dominated Round 1, taking wins at both Belle Isle and Silverstone to pick up where he left off in the 2019 edition.
Rogers however came forward upon realising he had inadvertently broken regulations around use of the pitlane limiter – given that a small gain can be made by not using the system.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver confessed to an oversight in reading the rules, leading him to not use the limiter in any of the three races.
Rogers was subsequently handed a five-second time penalty for each heat.
That has not affected his Race 1 win, given he had cruised to victory with a 6.1s margin in hand.
He does though drop from sixth to 13th in Race 2, and from first to third in Race 3.
As a result, he has slipped back to second in the standings, now 30 points behind WAU teammate Dayne Warren.
Testing start for Eseries debutant
The biggest surprises from the standings to date could arguably be Pro Eseries rookie Jordan Caruso up in the third – now just seven points behind Rogers – while highly regarded Triple Eight recruit Jarrad Filsell is way down in 12th.
Repco Supercars Pro Eseries standings: Round 1
1. Dayne Warren 267
2. Josh Rogers 237
3. Jordan Caruso 230
4. Madison Down 219
5. Fawzan El-Nabi 211
6. Cooper Webster 195
7. Richard Hamstead 183
8. Josh Anderson 166
9. Harley Haber 161
10. Jake Burton 158
11. Ethan Grigg-Gault 147
12. Jarrad Filsell 147
13. Jackson Souslin-Harlow 144
14. Jobe Stewart 143
15. Andrew Gilliam 136
16. Brady Meyers 134
17. Benjamin Smith 120
18. Sam Blacklock 117
19. James Golding 104
20. Emily Jones 99
21. Josh Muggleton 89
22. Jake Blackhall 68