2023 Supercars Championship

The 2023 Supercars Championship (known for commercial reasons as the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship) is an ongoing motor racing series for Supercars. It is the twenty-fifth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-seventh series in which Supercars have contested the Australian Touring Car Championship, the premier title in Australian motorsport.

The 2023 season saw the introduction of Gen3, a revision to the sport's technical regulations. These regulations were designed to cut costs for competitors by introducing more standardised components to the cars and redesigning the chassis to favour coupé body shapes.

Shane van Gisbergen and Triple Eight Race Engineering entered the season as defending Drivers' and Teams' Champions respectively.[1][2]

Brodie Kostecki (not pictured) and Erebus Motorsport are the current Drivers' and Teams' Championship leaders respectively.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers are competing in the 2023 championship.

Championship entries Endurance entries
Manufacturer Model Team No. Driver name Rounds Co-driver name Rounds
Chevrolet[3][4] Camaro ZL1-1LE Brad Jones Racing 4 Australia Jack Smith[5] 1–2 TBA 9–10
8 New Zealand Andre Heimgartner[5] 1–2 TBA 9–10
14 Australia Bryce Fullwood[5] 1–2 TBA 9–10
96 Australia Macauley Jones[5] 1–2 TBA 9–10
Erebus Motorsport 9 Australia Will Brown[6] 1–2 Australia Jack Perkins[7] 9–10
99 Australia Brodie Kostecki[6] 1–2 Australia David Russell[8] 9–10
Team 18 18 Australia Mark Winterbottom[9] 1–2 TBA 9–10
20 Australia Scott Pye[10] 1–2 TBA 9–10
PremiAir Racing 23 Australia Tim Slade[11] 1–2 TBA 9–10
31 Australia James Golding[12] 1–2 Australia Dylan O'Keeffe[13] 9–10
Matt Stone Racing[14] 34 Australia Jack Le Brocq[15] 1–2 TBA 9–10
35 Australia Cameron Hill[16] 1–2 TBA 9–10
Triple Eight Race Engineering 88 Australia Broc Feeney[17] 1–2 TBA 9–10
97 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen[5] 1–2 New Zealand Richie Stanaway[18] 9–10
Ford[3][4] Mustang GT Walkinshaw Andretti United[19] 2 Australia Nick Percat[20] 1–2 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard[21] 9–10
25 Australia Chaz Mostert[22] 1–2 Australia Lee Holdsworth[23] 9–10
Blanchard Racing Team 3 Australia Todd Hazelwood[24] 1–2 TBA 9–10
Tickford Racing 5 Australia James Courtney[25] 1–2 Australia Zak Best
Australia Tyler Everingham
Australia Garry Jacobson
Australia James Moffat[26]		 9–10
6 Australia Cameron Waters[27] 1–2
55 Australia Thomas Randle[28] 1–2
56 Australia Declan Fraser[29] 1–2
Dick Johnson Racing 11 Australia Anton de Pasquale[30] 1–2 Australia Tony D'Alberto[31] 9–10
17 Australia Will Davison[30] 1–2 Australia Alex Davison[32] 9–10
Grove Racing 19 New Zealand Matthew Payne[33] 1–2 Australia Garth Tander[34]
France Kévin Estre[35]		 9–10
26 Australia David Reynolds[33] 1–2 9–10
Wildcard Entries
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1-1LE Triple Eight Race Engineering 888 N/A Australia Zane Goddard
Australia Craig Lowndes[36]		 9–10

Manufacturer changes

Chevrolet returned to the series for the first time since 1984. All Holden-backed teams are running the Camaro model, after General Motors retired the Holden brand.[37]

All Ford teams upgraded to the Mustang GT S650.[38]

Team changes

Walkinshaw Andretti United switched from Holden to Ford.[19] In addition, Walkinshaw Andretti United is receiving the same treatment as Dick Johnson Racing, Tickford Racing, Blanchard Racing Team and Grove Racing by earning a full-factory support from Ford Performance.

Driver changes

Cameron Hill graduated from the Super2 Series to race full time at Matt Stone Racing. He replaced Todd Hazelwood, who left the team and join Blanchard Racing Team, replacing Tim Slade, who joined PremiAir Racing replacing Chris Pither.[39][24][16]

Declan Fraser graduated from the Super2 Series to replace Jake Kostecki after Tickford Racing terminated his contract early. Kostecki was intended to race with the team throughout 2023.[29][40]

Matthew Payne graduated from the Super2 Series to race full time at Grove Racing. He replaced Lee Holdsworth, who announced his retirement from full-time competition at the end of the 2022 season.[33][41]

Calendar

Twelve, down from thirteen in 2022, circuits are due to host a round of the 2023 championship.

Round Event Circuit Location Dates Map
1 Newcastle 500 New South Wales Newcastle Street Circuit Newcastle, New South Wales 11–12 March
2 Melbourne SuperSprint Victoria (Australia) Albert Park Circuit Albert Park, Victoria 30 March – 2 April
3 Perth SuperSprint Western Australia Wanneroo Raceway Neerabup, Western Australia 29–30 April
4 Tasmania SuperSprint Tasmania Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 20–21 May
5 Darwin Triple Crown Northern Territory Hidden Valley Raceway Darwin, Northern Territory 17–18 June
6 Townsville 500 Queensland Reid Park Street Circuit Townsville, Queensland 8–9 July
7 Sydney SuperNight New South Wales Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek, New South Wales 29–30 July
8 The Bend SuperSprint South Australia The Bend Motorsport Park Tailem Bend, South Australia 19–20 August
9 Sandown 500 Victoria (Australia) Sandown Raceway Springvale, Victoria 17 September
10 Bathurst 1000 New South Wales Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales 8 October
11 Gold Coast 500 Queensland Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Queensland 28–29 October
12 Adelaide 500 South Australia Adelaide Street Circuit Adelaide, South Australia 25–26 November
Source

Calendar changes

The Newcastle 500 returned as the season opener, after a three year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42]

The Melbourne 400 and Perth SuperNight reverted to a SuperSprint format.

The Sandown 500 will return to the calendar for the first time 2019, and the first as the precursor to the Bathurst 1000 since 2018.[43]

Pukekohe Park Raceway will close, citing the focus on horse racing and club facilities:[44] a new venue in New Zealand was unable to be secured for 2023.[45]

The Winton SuperSprint was omitted from the calendar.[45]

Rule changes

Gen3
The Gen3 regulations saw the introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (top) and Ford Mustang S650 (bottom).

Gen3 made its debut, replacing the Car of the Future regulations that débuted in 2013, with regulations designed to lower costs of a standard Supercar.[46] It was due to début midway through 2022, but due to ongoing challenges with international supply chains and domestic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed to 2023.[47]

The regulations introduced more controlled components into the cars to address the rising costs of maintaining a car. The pedal kit, brake kit and wheels became control components, with tenders needing the rims to be 'finger friendly' for pit crew during a pit stop. The roll cage lowered by 100mm to be suited to coupes, after the controversy surrounding the Ford Mustang GT, which required the roof to be stretched beyond the dimensions of its road-going counterpart to fit the Car of the Future chassis. Supercars manufacturered the roll cage in kit form for teams that do not have the budget to build one themselves.[48][49][50][51]

The engines on Gen3 overhauled, with pushrod engines replaced with fuel-injected, V8 engines, with the Camaro running a 5.7 Litre LTR V8, while the Mustang will run a 5.4 Litre Coyote V8. This is intended to modernise the engine and significantly reduce costs of building and maintaining them.[52][53][54]

Aerodynamic downforce cut by 67% to encourage closer racing and easier overtaking after complaints from drivers about dirty air and aerowash from current Gen2 cars.[55]

Minimum weight decreased from 1,400 kg to 1,335 kg, with a 95 kg minimum of driver and seat weight combination.[56]

Triple Eight Race Engineering oversaw the development of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as a replacement for the Holden ZB Commodore. The Camaro ZL1 was chosen after parent company General Motors decided to discontinue the Holden brand and shut down production of the Commodore.[37] Dick Johnson Racing also oversaw the development of the S650 Mustang.[57][58]

Other changes

A new E75 fuel blend introduced, down from E85 that was used from 2009, which utilizes more renewable bio fuels to lower carbon emissions.[59]

Results

Season summary
Round Race Event Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Report
1 1 Newcastle 500 Australia Brodie Kostecki Australia Chaz Mostert Australia Cameron Waters[lower-alpha 1] Tickford Racing Report
2 Australia David Reynolds New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Race Engineering
2 3 Melbourne SuperSprint Australia Anton de Pasquale Australia Broc Feeney New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Race Engineering Report
4 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Australia Scott Pye Australia Brodie Kostecki Erebus Motorsport
5 Australia Brodie Kostecki New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Australia Brodie Kostecki Erebus Motorsport
6 Australia Broc Feeney Australia Broc Feeney Australia Broc Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering
3 7 Perth SuperSprint Report
8
9
4 10 Tasmania SuperSprint Report
11
12
5 13 Darwin Triple Crown Report
14
15
6 16 Townsville 500 Report
17
7 18 Sydney SuperNight Report
19
8 20 The Bend SuperSprint Report
21
22
9 23 Sandown 500 Report
10 24 Bathurst 1000 Report
11 25 Gold Coast 500 Report
26
12 27 Adelaide 500 Report
28

Points system

Points were awarded for each race at an event, to the driver or drivers of a car that completed at least 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the race. At least 50% of the planned race distance must be completed for the result to be valid and championship points awarded. No extra points were awarded if the fastest lap time is achieved by a driver who was classified outside the top fifteen.

Points format Position
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th  FL 
Endurance 300 276 258 240 222 204 192 180 168 156 144 138 132 126 120 114 108 102 96 90 84 78 72 66 60
Two-race 150 138 129 120 111 102 96 90 84 78 72 69 66 63 60 57 54 51 48 45 42 39 36 33 30
SuperSprint 100 92 86 80 74 68 64 60 56 52 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 5
Melbourne 75 69 64 60 55 51 48 45 42 39 36 34 33 31 30 28 27 25 24 22 21 19 18 16 15
  • Endurance: Used for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
  • Two-race: Used for the Newcastle 500, Townsville 500, Sydney SuperNight, Gold Coast 500 and Adelaide 500.
  • SuperSprint: Used for all SuperSprint races (exc. Melbourne) and the Darwin Triple Crown.
  • Melbourne: Used for the Melbourne SuperSprint.

Drivers' Championship
Pos. Driver No. NEW
New South Wales		 MEL
Victoria (Australia)		 WAN
Western Australia		 SYM
Tasmania		 HID
Northern Territory		 TOW
Queensland		 SYD
New South Wales		 BEN
South Australia		 SAN
Victoria (Australia)		 BAT
New South Wales		 SUR
Queensland		 ADE
South Australia		 Pen. Pts.
1 Australia Brodie Kostecki 99 3 6 2 1 1 3 0 514
2 Australia Chaz Mostert 25 2 2 5 4 4 14 0 482
3 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen 97 DSQ 1 1 2 2 4 0 428
4 New Zealand Andre Heimgartner 8 5 7 17 16 5 2 0 386
5 Australia Will Brown 9 4 13 3 6 3 23 0 383
6 Australia Cameron Waters 6 1 12 7 19 10 10 0 369
7 Australia Broc Feeney 88 DSQ 5 4 3 7 1 0 368
8 Australia David Reynolds 26 10 3 19 23 14 8 0 325
9 Australia Jack Le Brocq 34 9 8 8 Ret 6 5 0 325
10 Australia Bryce Fullwood 14 15 11 11 7 12 18 0 275
11 Australia Will Davison 17 11 19 16 11 11 6 0 271
12 Australia Mark Winterbottom 18 6 10 21 9 Ret 19 0 267
13 Australia James Golding 31 18 4 22 21 19 16 0 263
14 Australia Thomas Randle 55 17 18 12 8 9 11 0 262
15 Australia Scott Pye 20 7 17 15 18 20 13 0 260
16 Australia Tim Slade 23/400 22 9 20 13 8 15 0 253
17 New Zealand Matthew Payne 19 12 14 13 17 21 12 0 247
18 Australia Anton de Pasquale 11 16 16 6 5 Ret 22 0 239
19 Australia Todd Hazelwood 3 14 15 DSQ 20 15 9 0 217
20 Australia Macauley Jones 96 19 22 10 12 Ret 7 0 208
21 Australia Jack Smith 4 21 20 23 14 18 17 0 188
22 Australia Declan Fraser 56 13 Ret 24 10 13 21 0 175
23 Australia Cameron Hill 35 20 21 18 15 17 Ret 0 169
24 Australia James Courtney 5 8 DNS 9 22 Ret DNS 0 151
25 Australia Nick Percat 2 Ret 23 14 Ret 16 20 0 117
Pos. Driver No. NEW
New South Wales		 MEL
Victoria (Australia)		 WAN
Western Australia		 SYM
Tasmania		 HID
Northern Territory		 TOW
Queensland		 SYD
New South Wales		 BEN
South Australia		 SAN
Victoria (Australia)		 BAT
New South Wales		 SUR
Queensland		 ADE
South Australia		 Pen. Pts.
Key
Colour Result
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenOther points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
PurpleNot classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap

Teams' Championship
Pos. Driver No. NEW
New South Wales		 MEL
Victoria (Australia)		 WAN
Western Australia		 SYM
Tasmania		 HID
Northern Territory		 TOW
Queensland		 SYD
New South Wales		 BEN
South Australia		 SAN
Victoria (Australia)		 BAT
New South Wales		 SUR
Queensland		 ADE
South Australia		 Pen. Pts.
1 Erebus Motorsport 9 4 13 3 6 3 23 0 897
99 3 6 2 1 1 3
2 Triple Eight Race Engineering 88 DSQ 5 4 3 7 1 0 796
97 DSQ 1 1 2 2 4
3 Brad Jones Racing 8 5 7 17 16 5 2 30 631
14 15 11 11 7 12 18
4 Walkinshaw Andretti United 2 Ret 23 14 Ret 16 20 0 599
25 2 2 5 4 4 14
5 Grove Racing 19 12 14 13 17 21 12 0 572
26 10 3 19 23 14 8
6 Team 18 18 6 10 21 9 Ret 19 0 527
20 7 17 15 18 20 13
7 Tickford Racing 5 8 DNS 9 22 Ret DNS 0 520
6 1 12 7 19 10 10
8 PremiAir Racing 23/400 22 9 20 13 8 15 0 516
31 18 4 22 21 19 16
9 Dick Johnson Racing 11 16 16 6 5 Ret 22 0 510
17 11 19 16 11 11 6
10 Matt Stone Racing 34 9 8 8 Ret 6 5 0 494
35 20 21 18 15 17 Ret
11 Tickford Racing 55 17 18 12 8 9 11 0 437
56 13 Ret 24 10 13 21
12 Brad Jones Racing 4 21 20 23 14 18 17 0 396
96 19 22 10 12 Ret 7
13 Blanchard Racing Team 3 14 15 DSQ 20 15 9 0 217
Pos. Driver No. NEW
New South Wales		 MEL
Victoria (Australia)		 WAN
Western Australia		 SYM
Tasmania		 HID
Northern Territory		 TOW
Queensland		 SYD
New South Wales		 BEN
South Australia		 SAN
Victoria (Australia)		 BAT
New South Wales		 SUR
Queensland		 ADE
South Australia		 Pen. Pts.
Key
Colour Result
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenOther points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
PurpleNot classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap

Notes
  1. Cameron Waters unofficially finished 3rd, but he was credited the win after the cars of Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney were disqualified after a protest lodged by Tickford Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United related to the use of dry ice in a specific banned location.[60][61]

References
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  2. Herrero, Daniel (30 October 2022). "Van Gisbergen dominates Race 32, T8 wins Supercars teams' championship". Speedcafe.
  3. GM responds to WAU Ford switch Supercars Championship 6 May 2022
  4. Ford caps number of 2023 Supercars entries Autosport 10 May 2022
  5. Dale, Will (13 January 2023). "Supercars 2023 entry list: Every car and driver". V8Sleuth.
  6. Pavey, James (30 July 2022). "Erebus retains Brown, Kostecki for 2023". Supercars.
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  8. Erebus confirms David Russell for Bathurst 1000 Speedcafe.com 8 March 2023
  9. Pavey, James (11 September 2022). "Winterbottom signs new multi-year Team 18 deal". Supercars.
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  20. Pavey, James (26 October 2021). "WAU confirms Percat on multi-year deal". Supercars.
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  29. Declan Fraser confirmed at Tickford Speedcafe.com 13 January 2023
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  42. Supercars announces tentative date for 2023 season-opener Speedcafe 15 July 2022
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