SUPERCARS driving standards advisor Craig Baird has hit back at suggestions a precedent has been set where bump-and-runs are acceptable.
Erebus Motorsport protested the result of Saturday’s race at the Perth SuperSprint on the basis that it believed Shane van Gisbergen’s Lap 41 pass for the lead on Brodie Kostecki was outside of the rules.
A hearing on Sunday morning found that to not be the case, triggering public comments from both Kostecki and Erebus CEO Barry Ryan about subsequently changing the way they go about racing.
“It set a pretty big precedent in my opinion,” Kostecki said on Sunday evening.
“It seems like you can just force your way into a hole and as long as you’re ‘in control of your car’ and touch someone wide and have the smallest bit of overlap it’s just considered game on.
“It’s fine in my book. It’s against the rules but it is what it is.”
But Baird has moved to clarify that stance is not at all what was discussed and agreed upon in the hearing.
“I’m just disappointed they didn’t take away from the protest hearing what we clearly explained to both drivers what the rules of engagement are,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“There’s a driver code of conduct and that has always been: you must have significant overlap.”
On the actual overtake and why it was deemed fair, Baird explained: “On the lap of the pass, Shane never got into the back of Brodie at Turn 3, 4 or 5 as he had on previous laps – because that would have again been a gamechanger too.
“This was clean all the way down to the point (of the overtake).
“They claimed that Shane hit the rear bumper, then the right-rear tyre of Brodie’s car to create the gap. Well, that was clearly not the case, which we proved on a frame-by-frame of my footage.
“So then, obviously the stewards take that onboard, but I clearly explained to them that Shane has got into the gap; at that point the onus starts to come back on Brodie. But I didn’t put any blame on either driver, because there was no penalties.
“Yes, there was fairly aggressive rubbing from this point on, but that’s what I consider Supercar racing.
“So it’s just disappointing to read in the media that they don’t understand and are now saying that the rules of engagement are any form of contact.
“That is clearly not the case.”
Kostecki also described the bad sportsmanship flag he received for excessive blocking as “stupid” and depriving fans of good racing.
Baird clarified that the warning was not to instruct Kostecki to stop defending but rather to note that certain actions were flirting with crossing the line.
“I said to Shane in the hearing, in front of everyone, he was very, very close to getting one himself,” Baird revealed.
“There was a lot of blocking that was fine but as Mark Larkham pointed out on the broadcast, there was a couple where he had overlap and Shane actually got out of the throttle to avoid a serious accident.
“So 95 percent of the blocking Brodie did I didn’t have a problem with but there was a couple he stepped over the line.
“I also have an accountability at Race Control that you can’t just let things go on and on. If it’s getting close, it’s just my way of tapping Brodie on the shoulder and saying ‘hey bud, you’re getting really close, just take it easy’.
“That’s all it was, there’s no penalty, just there’s a couple there I’m not happy with and that’s what it was and Brodie took that onboard and left the protest room obviously not happy but understanding what I did with the bad sportsmanship.
“Now, if I let that go on and on and on and there is a major accident and a car goes over the fence and people are injured, people would go, ‘well, why didn’t Race Control tidy that up a bit?’
“That’s the modern day we live in, everyone has got an accountability for people’s safety.”
Putting a full stop on what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing, Baird said: “The key in a pass is you must get into a gap that’s there, have significant overlap, and then the onus starts to come back on the car that’s being overtaken.
“Brodie didn’t do anything wrong, they just rubbed around the corner.
“That’s what motor racing is: you can’t force anyone off the road but once you’re in the hole, if the guy that is being overtaken doesn’t concede a bit more racing room, then there will be a little bit of contact.”
