Standing starts to return at Perth Supercars event

Supercars has confirmed that standing starts will return at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint, after their abandonment at Albert Park in response to two fires.

The Ford Mustangs of Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Nick Percat and Tickford Racing’s James Courtney both caught fire in spectacular fashion in Races 4 and 5 of the season, respectively.

Following an emergency meeting of the Gen3 Technical Working Group, the Mustangs underwent mandatory technical changes ahead of Race 6, while Chevrolet teams were given the option of making the same modifications to their Camaros.

However, it was also decided commence the race from Safety Car conditions in order to eliminate one of the factors thought to have contributes to the blazes, namely that the high revs of a standing start increased the temperatures of components.

A Supercars spokesperson has now confirmed to Speedcafe that standing starts will return for the stop at Wanneroo Raceway next weekend, where Races 7, 8, and 9 of the season will unfold.

That news follows changes which are understood to have been made to both the Mustang and Camaro following further meetings of the Gen3 Technical Working Group.

In essence, they are an extension of the modifications which were made ahead of the Sunday encounter at the Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint, with the catch can ventilation hose being lengthened such that fumes are taken further from the engine bay.

Previously, the catch can breathed back into the engine bay, with piping introduced at Albert Park such that fumes were sent below the car instead.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will be back on-track on Friday week (April 28) for a single, 90-minute practice session at Wanneroo, before a knockout qualifying session on Saturday sets the grid for Race 7 later that afternoon.

A pair of 15-minute qualifying sessions then Races 8 and 9 of the season will round out the third event of the season on the Sunday.