Sports · Other Sports · 16 hrs ago
Lowndes warns Ford teams face a team-orders dilemma in Supercars finals
Craig Lowndes says Ford teams face a choice over whom to help as Supercars’ Finals Series continues.
The issue follows the Gold Coast 500, where team tactics affected the fight to stay above the finals cut-off.
Seven drivers remain, with five from Ford and one each from Chevrolet and Toyota.
Lowndes expects teams linked to Chevrolet and Toyota to support their own manufacturers, while Ford has several drivers still competing.
Team orders are not new, and rules bar manufacturers from imposing them on teams, but one team can choose to help another.
The final four places are the next major target, and Lowndes says support from other teams could matter in reaching them.
Triple Eight also has both Broc Feeney and Will Brown still in contention, creating a choice over which car leads.
The next round is the Sandown semi-final, where Lowndes says a safety car could make being the second car a disadvantage.
Craig Lowndes says Ford teams face a difficult choice over which drivers or teams to support in the Supercars Finals.
He expects General Motors and Toyota teams to help their respective championship contenders.
Five of the seven drivers remaining in the Finals Series are from Ford, while Chevrolet and Toyota each have one.
The Gold Coast 500 featured team-order decisions and late pit stops that affected the Finals cut-off.
General Motors denied claims that its teams colluded to help Anton De Pasquale reach the cut-off.
- Who
- Craig Lowndes warned Ford teams about the dilemma. Seven drivers remain in the Finals Series.
- What
- Teams may help other drivers or teams, raising questions about team orders and manufacturer tactics.
- When
- After the Gold Coast 500, ahead of the Sandown semi-final.
- Where
- The Gold Coast 500 and the Supercars Finals Series; the next semi-final is at Sandown.
- Why
- Teams may try to improve their drivers’ chances of reaching the final four.
General Motors and Team 18
Claims of collusion
Tactics
General Motors and Team 18
Team 18 team principal Ryan Burgess said there had been no specific pre-race agreement to help other teams.
Claims of collusion
Team 18’s team principal suspected two Chevrolet teams may have needed fuel, while the late stops helped De Pasquale stay above the cut-off.
Pit stops
General Motors and Team 18
General Motors motorsport boss Simon McNamara denied claims of collusion, and Supercars said the two cars needed extra fuel to finish.
Claims of collusion
De Pasquale’s cut-off position was affected by two other Chevrolet drivers making late pit stops.
Team 18 kept David Reynolds ahead of Anton De Pasquale rather than swapping their cars.
De Pasquale made the Finals cut-off after two Chevrolet drivers made late pit stops for fuel.
Speedcafe reported on Team 18’s decision and the questions about the late pit stops.
Lowndes’s comments on team orders and the Ford teams’ dilemma were reported by Speedcafe.com and V8 Sleuth.
- Drivers remaining in Finals
- Seven: five Ford, one Chevrolet and one Toyota
- Ford team outside Finals
- Blanchard Racing Team
- Chevrolet driver who made the cut-off
- Anton De Pasquale
- Toyota driver who missed the cut-off
- Ryan Wood
- Next Finals round
- Sandown semi-final
3 sources
What people are saying
The big problem Ford has is, who’s going to help who?
You don’t need to be Nostradamus to forecast that the GM teams will help the GM car, and the Toyota teams will help the Toyota.
We didn’t sit down or anything and say, ‘right, we’re going to do this’.
We’re here to go racing.