Top 15 drivers hit in the backside in every practise session

from www.heraldsun.com.au
Extra practice time for V8 strugglers

Stephen Ottley
January 23, 2008 12:00am

THE best V8 Supercar drivers will be punished as part of a rules overhaul for the new season.

The top 15 drivers in the series will sit out the opening 30 minutes of the 2 1/2 hr Friday practice sessions at each round in order to help handicap the field.

Drivers allowed to compete in the extra practice will also be allowed to run as many laps as possible while the top 15 drivers will be restricted.

The top 15 drivers will be decided by last season's points, but that will change four times during the season.

Reigning champion Garth Tander told the Herald Sun he believed the rules penalised the best drivers.

"It certainly does penalise success there's no doubt about it. If you finish well you have to sit out that time," Tander said. "For us (Holden Racing Team), I don't think it is going to make too much difference. We'll just have to manage our time better."

But Britek's Jason Bright, who finished last season in 21st position, said the change would even out the series.

"I think it is a good thing," Bright said. "I think anything that can make the racing better is good."

The change is one of many for this season.

Another is the seemingly annual change to the points scoring system. The change comes despite last season's championship going down to the last lap of the series.

Points were only awarded down to 15th place. This season points will be awarded down to 30th place in the 32-car field.

Tander was sceptical about the changes, but said the tail end of the field would support the changes. "For the guys running in the top 10 it wasn't a major concern. For the guys between 10 and 20 it probably was," Tander said. "You had guys racing back into the points which was good for the fans."

Bright disagreed.

"I think it's a good thing. I think you should get more points for finishing 16th than 28th."

While top-15 drivers will be forced to watch early practice sessions, drivers for the Phillip Island 500 (September 12-14) and Bathurst 1000 (October 9-12) endurance races will be given special practice sessions during the year.

At Eastern Creek, Sandown, Queensland Raceway and Winton, the endurance race starters will be able to drive during the Friday practice session.

The move is designed to encourage teams to sign younger, inexperienced drivers for the long distance races, but veteran drivers will be allowed to compete in the session as well.

But Tander said another change was needed.

"The bigger issue for me is test days," Tander said. "They have cut the number of days but they have not limited the hours you can be on track."

Tander said that favours teams based in Queensland that are able to run at Queensland Raceway from 7am until sunset.

Victorian teams are only able to run between 9am-5pm.

"That's effectively an extra test day," Tander said.

The Fujitsu Development Series was not immune from changes. The top 10 finishing positions from the first race will be inverted for the start of the second race.