Three Supercars teams fined for track walk breach

Triple Eight Race Engineering, Erebus Motorsport and Team 18 admitted to Supercars stewards that drivers circulated in road cars during Friday night's track walk.

While the stewards conceded that the vehicles weren't travelling at high speed, it was still determined to be a breach of Article 12.1.1.h of the FIA International Sporting Code – any unsafe act or failure to take reasonable measures, thus resulting in an unsafe situation – given that there were people walking and working on the circuit.

The result is a $1000 fine for each team, $500 of which is suspended until June 30 next year.

"The stewards imposed fines on each of Chasports Racing, Erebus Motorsport and Triple Eight Race Engineering in the sum of $1,000 (of which $500 is suspended until 30 June 2021) for breaches of Article 12.1.1.h of the FIA International Sporting Code after receipt of a report that each team had drivers circulating the race track in motor vehicles during the track walk session on Friday 17 July," read the stewards report.

"The teams had not sought nor been granted permission to use motor vehicles on the circuit during the track walk.

"Albeit that circuit lighting was activated at the time, there were a number of drivers and team personnel of other teams walking the track and event operational staff were on the circuit undertaking works. Notwithstanding that none of the vehicles concerned were reported to be travelling at high speed, the stewards considered the conduct of the teams to represent an unsafe act resulting in an unsafe situation.

"Each team admitted to the breach."

Team 18 also copped a separate $1500 fine and was docked 30 points thanks to Mark Winterbottom pulling away from his pit bay with the air spike still attached in yesterday's final race.

"The air spike attendant had attempted unsuccessfully to free the air spike after car #18 had driven away with the result that the air hose was torn away," the stewards report explained.

"Rule D11.7.3 mandates that a car must be completely free from all hoses and equipment before leaving its pit bay.

"The Team, Chasports Racing, admitted to a breach of that rule.

"The Stewards were satisfied that the driver of car #18, Mark Winterbottom, was entitled to assume that the car was free of all equipment because the car could not have dropped unless the air spike had been pulled.

"The Stewards imposed a penalty of the loss of 30 teams' championship points on Chasports Racing and a fine in the sum of $1500, of which $750 is suspended until 31 December 2020."