Supercars Faces Dilemma After Awkward Appeal Verdict

Motorsport Australia this morning confirmed its National Court of Appeal upheld a stewards’ decision not to penalise Kai Allen following a breach of tyre pressure rules in Perth. The case marked the first time Supercars had appealed a decision made by the MA stewards who are engaged to uphold a rulebook written by the championship.

Stewards had cited a number of mitigating factors in their decision not to penalise, including “an acknowledged TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring sensor) accuracy of 0.4 psi”. Supercars launched its appeal amid an uproar from rival teams and its own frustration that a proven breach of a rule with a recommended penalty of disqualification went unpunished.

It was a case designed to test the integrity of Supercars’ own rulebook, and the verdict leaves it in an uncomfortable position, with a Pandora’s box appearing to have been opened. Dick Johnson Racing team boss Ryan Story warned as much last week, declaring teams will now “spend an enormous amount of time and energy understanding where they can take the mickey”.

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While there are specified tolerances on various parts of the cars, the tyre pressure rule had previously been viewed as an absolute in the same fashion as minimum weight and fuel tank capacity. Supercars responded to the appeal verdict by declaring it “will consider its position in relation to the future of this matter upon receipt of the written reasons”. But those full reasons are not required to be given by the court until 14 days after the judgement, and Supercars has an event to run this weekend.

There are fears that teams will at the very least roll the dice on low tyre pressures and rely on the precedent of being able to argue their way out of a penalty if dipping below the stated level. Preliminary discussions are already understood to have taken place around whether rules can and should be amended to prevent such anarchy at Ipswich. The most obvious solution is to rewrite rules to remove the power of discretion from the hands of the stewards in such cases.

That Supercars’ rules stipulated disqualification as a recommended but not minimum penalty opened the door for Grove Racing to mount the case it did, and for the stewards to consider mitigating factors. The appeals court was always unlikely to overrule a discretionary decision that the stewards of the meeting were within their rights to make. Supercars is believed to have argued that the tyre pressure breach was a safety issue, having introduced the regulations to prevent dangerous failures from occurring. However, the relevant rules sit in the category’s sporting regulations, rather than technical – an area where all breaches are disqualifications, outside of minor ineligibility.

Moving these rules – or removing the discretion via a tightening of the ‘recommended penalties table’ provided by Supercars to MA – are possible solutions. Removing discretion from the stewards’ hands could be a drastic step, but with chaos looming, Supercars may have no other choice.