V8 Supercars has clarified its policy for monitoring the pressures in time for this weekend’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
V8 Supercars has made it clear that teams caught violating its new regulations mandating minimum tyre pressures will face exclusion from Sunday’s race.
A mandatory minimum tyre pressure was announced by the V8 Supercars Commission in September to prevent teams running with settings down into single figures. Teams have previously experimented with low tyre pressures to extend the life of the tyre compounds, but this increases the risk of structural failures, particularly when coupled with aggressive camber settings and sharp kerbs.
The Bathurst 1000 is the first round at which teams must meet the mandatory minimum tyre pressure of 17psi across all sessions.
The rules state that during a race, teams must place the next tyre set they plan to use in a designated box in the front half of their garage no more than 10 minutes after each pitstop.
In order to to check or adjust the pressure of the tyres in the box, teams need the permission of V8 Supercars officials, who can undertake their own measurements at any time.
Any breaches of the 17 psi minimum will be referred to the stewards.
Breaches of 2 psi or less receive a drive-through penalty, with those greater than 2 psi lead to exclusion.
Six V8 Supercars technical staff will carry out tyre pressure checks, while volunteer event officials will observe the teams’ activities.
Penalties will also apply to teams found to have breached the 17 psi minimum in Practice and Qualifying. Those caught 2 psi or less under the minimum in Practice will receive a warning, while a breach in Qualifying will result in the fastest time in session removed.
Cars more than 2 psi under in practice will be issued a 60 second pitlane penalty, while the penalty in Qualifying is exclusion from the session.
