POLL: Rolling begins in Supercars - Speedcafe

Beginning of Race 22 of the Supercars Championship at The Bend

After the big shunt at The Bend, we asked if you think the Supercar should use a rolling start, in this week’s Pirtek Polling.

Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner were taken to hospital for scans, while there are question marks as to whether their car will race again, after their collision at the start of Race 22.

Randle came to a halt on the outside of the front row and his Ford Mustang was nailed by Heimmartner, who had gathered plenty of power as he qualified five rows further back, in 38 minutes. g impact.

Other drivers, including championship leader Shane van Gisbergen, have given conflicting opinions on how well the Supercars car warning system handled the situation.

However, another issue now raised by fans commenting on the report is that the roll is starting.

Supercars have not used this practice since the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, where a number of experiments were made to the format before it became a points-earning event on the calendar in 2018.

Getting started is, of course, a great tradition in Australia and Europe.

The 1988 Bathurst 1000, for example, stands out because it was the only rolling start used in the Great Race, when it was part of the Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship.

Here, rolling starts tend to be used for reasons of necessity, noting that the two most notable examples of competitions featuring them are the Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS.

While the categories are sibling to the Australian Racing Group family, they have little in common except for the fact that the vehicles in each field vary greatly, a standing start would put some competitors at a rather big advantage.

Supercars, on the other hand, are a technical parity category.

So why might change be desirable?

Due to the Randle-Heimgartner incident, a rolling start may be safer, given that there is no possibility of the car breaking down and being pushed over.

However, the safety argument cuts both ways, as demonstrated by the early carnage that rolled out at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

The supercar changed procedures for the following year’s appearance at Albert Park, with the car allowed to accelerate after a red light went out, rather than waiting for the leader to jump in the designated Acceleration Zone.

While it may be safer, it reduces the gains gained by the pole-sitter, and is also inconsistent with the current category restart procedure.

Regardless, it also makes sense that a rolling start means that the car will inevitably arrive not later, but potentially sooner, to the first corner of the race than it would otherwise be.

When the fields are very dense, potentially from multiple files, the risk of crashing is greater.

How does a rolling start work in Adelaide, for example, where cars have to flow into the Senna Chicane at near-race speeds? Jason Bright’s 2014 rollover, albeit from a single-file Safety Car restart (during the Acceleration Zone era), shows what can happen when drivers jostle for position.

It’s also worth noting that in North America, where rolling starts are king, many races are conducted on ovals, which don’t have hard braking zones.

Then there is the entertainment corner.

Is it more entertaining to see the driver forced to accelerate from rest, with the rear wheels smoky, or is the initial rolling speed more exciting?

While there is an element of skill in executing a rolling start, having to hold the engine at optimal revs then negotiating clutch release, with cold tires and relatively heavy fuel loads, is a much more difficult process.

The task of getting the Supercar off the track is thus a task that differentiates drivers in categories based on skill – like heel-and-toe.

Interestingly, Formula 1 even uses a standing restart, which of course creates its own action potential.

What do you think? Should Supercars use a rolling start, stick with the standing start tradition, or use a mix?

Cast your vote below in this week’s Pirtek Poll.

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