Supercars News: Grove Racing Loses Pit Lane Pole Position Due to Points Penalty

Grove Racing has lost its second-place position in the live pit lane order for the Christchurch Super440 after being handed a 30-point teams’ championship penalty for a pre-event breach at Taupō.

The penalty stems from an investigation into Grove Racing exceeding the prescribed eight-person skeleton crew limit during Thursday’s set-up day ahead of the Taupō round. The team was found to have conducted pitstop practice with additional personnel, which stewards determined was not required for safety compliance and could have provided a sporting advantage.

Although Grove Racing argued they had sought approval from then Supercars CEO James Warburton on safety grounds to bring more than eight crew members, the defence was not accepted as mitigating for the points penalty. The team was fined $750, but the 30-point deduction was applied due to the pitstop practice component.

Grove Racing will be housed in the third set of garages at Ruapuna Raceway for the Christchurch Super440, behind Triple Eight and Walkinshaw TWG Racing. The team had been on course to regain second place in the live pit lane order following a strong performance at Taupō, but the penalty drops them to third.

Three teams were found guilty of exceeding the personnel limit for Taupō as part of industry-wide cost-saving measures. Grove Racing received the harshest sanction among them, while Blanchard Racing Team was also fined $750 and Team 18 was fined $2000 for bringing additional people to the track after observing others breach the directive.

The penalty comes despite Grove Racing’s strong weekend at Ruapuna in the Christchurch Super440, where they won three of four races and vaulted back to second place in the teams’ championship standings. Kai Allen won the opening race, while Matt Payne secured a dominant victory in the second race and contributed to the team’s first-ever 1-2 finish with Allen.

Heading into Round 5 at Symmons Plains, Grove Racing sits just 10 points behind Triple Eight for the teams’ championship lead, with 1547 points compared to Triple Eight’s 1557. Walkinshaw TWG Racing follows in third with 1291 points after moving up from sixth following the Taupō to Christchurch period.