Supercars boss tosses out 'impractical' plan B

2 years ago 127

Re-scheduling the Bathurst 1000 top-10 shootout to Sunday greeting was considered by Supercars officials, who yet determined it wasn't practical.

Long-range forecasts had suggested the worst of the upwind would get connected Saturday afternoon, and it did truthful close connected 3pm arsenic the Toyota 86 contention started.

The Carrera Cup contention aft the Toyotas was the archetypal to beryllium cancelled, earlier the Dunlop Series was besides abandoned.

Hope remained for the top-10 shootout arsenic rainfall began to ease, but drainage issues connected the pit and Mountain Straights near Motorsport Australia small choice.

The last determination was made astatine 4.55pm - 10 minutes earlier the scheduled commencement of the shootout.

The cancellation handed rod presumption to Cameron Waters, who had acceptable the fastest clip successful Saturday's qualifying session.

Speaking to media pursuing the cancellation, Supercars main enforcement Shane Howard said the clip taken to alteration the cars from a one-lap shootout set-up to a contention set-up meant it was impractical to clasp the shootout connected Sunday greeting earlier the race.

"Obviously we look astatine each the options that are unfastened to us, but it would beryllium precise hard to beryllium capable to redirect that top-10 sprout retired and the clip taken to bash that," Howard said.

SPOTTERS GUIDE: The 2022 Bathurst 1000 grid

"The cars tally a antithetic set-up successful a shootout than race, truthful we don't person the quality to negociate that successful the clip disposable tomorrow."

Supercars person a 20-minute warm-up league scheduled for 8am, with the contention scheduled for 11.15am.

Support races from the SuperUtes, Carrera Cup and Toyota 86 volition besides instrumentality place.

Howard said the biggest issues were the monolithic puddles connected pit and Mountain Straights - h2o which was being funneled retired of the campgrounds, paddock and down the driveways that enactment Mountain Straight.

Race manager James Taylor said marshals had astir got the way backmost to an acceptable level earlier a 2nd beforehand came through.

"That conscionable fundamentally damaged the works we were putting successful spot to close it," Taylor said.

"We can't bushed parent nature, and we request to marque definite the venue is perfectly harmless and everyone progressive is going to beryllium good protected."

Supercars caput of motorsport Adrian Burgess said the teams were each successful enactment of the shootout being cancelled.

Waters said helium felt similar helium had "only done fractional the job" to unafraid his 2nd Bathurst 1000 pole, but conceded that feeling would vanish erstwhile helium took his spot connected the grid.

"The shootout for maine is astir apt 1 of the highlights of the year," Waters said.

"I emotion getting into it and past putting it each connected the enactment for a thigh ... but the h2o that was connected the way was crazy."

Waters says drivers successful the shootout thrust with their egos much than anything.

"The drivers bash thrust to the conditions ... but successful the shootout it's our egos driving it a batch of the time.

"If we extremity up successful the obstruction and teardrop the car up and past not beryllium capable to contention tomorrow, that's astir apt the bigger contented for for me.

"We've got 28 cars starting the contention tomorrow, and that's the biggest happening that we each privation to win."

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