|
ELF Renault Clio Cup
organisers have hailed the introduction of judicial cameras into every
competitor’s car after seeing a significant reduction in the number of
driving standards penalties imposed in 2008. The cameras purchased by Renault
Sport UK have been used since the start of the season leading to a drop in both
the number of drivers penalised and the total number of penalties issued.
Comparing the first 12 races
of 2008 with the 12 championship rounds held in 2007, the number of individual
drivers penalised has fallen from 20 to 14. The total number of penalties
issued that carry a licence endorsement, and are therefore deducted from a
driver’s championship score, has fallen from 24 to 18.
The reductions indicate that
driving standards have improved in the one-make saloon-car series as drivers
are aware that all on-track action can be viewed immediately after the race by
the Clerk of the Course, in support of observers’ reports.
Commenting on the
introduction of on-board cameras in every car, ELF Renault Clio Cup Clerk of
the Course Ian Watson said: “In terms of the judicial process, what the
cameras enable us to do is view incidents from a driver’s point of view
using high quality images. It ensures we have strong evidence immediately
available to support observers’ reports and drivers’ comments,
which may not contain full details given the speed with which incidents
happen.”
Coastal Racing driver and
Team Manager Carl Bradley, who joined Clio Cup in 2007, said: “Last year
if someone rubbed you, you felt like you wanted to get them back but this year
you know you can’t do that because of the cameras. It’s definitely
helped and is a deterrent to the smaller rubs and nudges, I think big lunges on
the last lap are a part of racing. It’s also good to see the action after
the race and the Clerk may see that a move is a simple error instead of being
malicious and give you two points, rather than the possibility of losing places
or even being excluded. The Mini Challenge, in which we also run a team, has
introduced a similar scheme after its success in Clio Cup.”
Austrian driver Niki Lanik,
double Clio Winter Cup champion, said: “The two main incidents I’ve
been involved in this year have seen the person responsible penalised, which is
a good thing and that’s down to every car having a camera. People will
think about their overtaking because they don’t want to look stupid on
camera. In my opinion the cameras have calmed everyone down.”
Lee Brookes, Team Manager at
long-time Clio Cup team Total Control Racing, said: “It’s not a
straightforward question but it seems to me that the racing is cleaner at the
front although inexperienced drivers can cause problems in the midfield by
trying moves they shouldn’t. The amount of damage we’ve seen as a
team has stayed roughly the same, perhaps slightly less. Overall the Clerks are
doing a good job and having video evidence in judicial hearings makes it a lot
more clear cut.”
|
