TEGA gets serious on pitlane safety
4/6/2001 17:54 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Mandatory pitlane speed limiters, to be implemented for the first time at this weekend’s GMC 400, will slow cars in pitlane to 40kph.
The controversial move is one of many initiatives by the TEGA board to curb dangerous incidents along sport’s most intense piece of road.
TEGA met last Tuesday to rubber-stamp the plan to slow all cars along pitlane to 40kph – 20kph slower than at previous rounds – by means of the category-standard speed regulators.
Drivers will activate the device on entry to pitlane with the push of a button, limiting the car’s engine to 3000 RPM (40kph).
The move is seen by some as the first step to traction control, though regulations explicitly prohibit such steps.
TEGA rules state the device can only be used within pitlane, must be “momentary” in operation, cannot be connected to any other device, must only be achieved through interruption of the spark to the engine, and the RPM limit must return to the “normal” 7500 limit when deactivated.
Meanwhile, the pressures on Canberra’s condensed pitlane will be eased somewhat with a new system of pit bay allocation. Two-car teams will be located alternatively along pitlane, each separated by a single-car outfit.
This, along with new rules that prevent two-car teams bringing both their drivers in on the same lap, will ease much of the congestion.
The role of the car controller (the crew member who stands in front of the car while it is being serviced) has also been revised.
Supplementary regulations introduced for the GMC 400 state the car controller; “must not work on the car at all times and in all circumstances maintain full control of the pit stop, all the personnel and the car’s movements into and out of the pit bay.”
Despite arguments to the contrary, pitlane will remain closed under safety car conditions.
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