Yes, the time has come when we can safely say that it is race week!
The Supercars championship will resume this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park after three months of being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There are changes aplenty all over for the championship, chiefly in adapting new bio-security measures to ensure safety for all on track during the event, which will still not feature any fans. Scheduling also has been a key talking point in the build-up to the season’s restart, from event formats to the shape of the calendar itself.
Only last week, Supercars confirmed a second revised schedule, which saw the Bend, Auckland and the proposed sprint race at Bathurst cancelled – with the championship now to finish on December 13 under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park.
While the owners of the Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia publicly voiced their frustration with the omission of their event, contractual obligations, which are set to expire on December 31, were cited for the second reshuffle of the calendar.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
This also means that the Sandown event initially slated in December will move to the Bend’s slot on September 19-20 and retake its place as the precursor to the Bathurst 1000, which keeps its coveted October 8-11 date. What’s key with Sandown, too, is that it’s more than likely to not be an endurance event with all races apart from the Mount Panorama enduro slated to be two-day sprints.
Three 130-kilometre sprint races will see the resumption of the championship at Sydney Motorsport Park, as well as a rookies-only practice session, two 30-minute practice sessions and a two-part qualifying including a top-15 shootout on the Saturday.
Sunday will feature two regular qualifying sessions for the final two 33-lap races of the weekend. All races will see one compulsory pit stop for all to change a minimum of two tyres as part of new restrictions to minimise personnel on-site. Cars will be fuelled from the start of each race, while only a crew of six will service their respective cars instead of the traditional eight.
There will also be a restriction on data logging, which will be a cost-cutting measure and also hopefully create unpredictability on-track, as drivers will be forced to rely on what they feel inside the car.
Such a long layoff is bound to see rustiness from the teams and drivers, so expect there to be mistakes in their return to the track. All this will be crucial in the championship hunt. It is easy to forget that it started back in February at the Adelaide 500 and saw heavyweights Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin split wins.
The best teams such as DJR Team Penske and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team should still be at the fore, though any blemishes could see some fast competition ready to capitalise, given there is no shortage of contenders.
Such a big headline over the off-season was the defection of Chaz Mostert from Ford to Holden and signing with the rebuilding Walkinshaw Andretti United team. Vindication perhaps came in Adelaide with the former Bathurst 1000 winner sitting third in the standings after a podium finish. Although there is more to come from this combination.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
It was disappointing to hear that Will Davison will not be racing full-time for the rest of 2020, after his 23Red Racing Team were forced to exit the championship, due to the affect of the pandemic financially on their title sponsor Milwaukee Tools. An endurance drive perhaps beckons for the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner, with that event likely to be the only long-distance race for the season.
In his place, the 2010 Supercars champion James Courtney will return to the grid after a controversial split with Tekno Team Sydney following the Adelaide 500. In partnership with Boost Mobile, Courtney will take over the vacant Mustang in the Tickford stable, which secures that car’s crew their jobs and gives the 39-year old a fast car.
Don’t forget the off-season changes in parity between the Holden Commodore and Ford Mustang, as well as the switch to a control shock absorber. The impact of that has not been fully witnessed.
It’s been a long time coming and with the safety of all involved still the key priority, but it will be exciting to hear those V8 engines igniting and see some of the best touring-car racing in the world do battle on the race track again.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Mate, I've become an Aussophile of sorts. I pick up all kinds of things.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I think Dad's joining me as well on Saturday morning! But we've conceded defeat with Sunday's action - a 3am start is just too much! :laughing: Re. The Bend - the race was supposed to go ahead in September - I moved it three weeks earlier to the final weekend in August - so I can't see any problems in terms of border restrictions and logistics that wouldn't have been there already. And I still kept the three week gaps between races which is a practical thing to do by Supercars so kudos to them for that. The big problem is that it's too late to move the first round from SMP. As you say, it is what it is and we have to move on. But still it's quite the blow for The Bend, isn't it?
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I have not heard a direct reason why. Sean Seamer, the Supercars CEO, has said that he wanted to have the races in Perth, Darwin and Townsville and in my view, that decision may have come at the expense of The Bend. From what I understood from Seamer's statement, he prioritised keeping the championship as national as possible (so visiting all the states and territories - Adelaide ticked the box for SA). The season has to end in NSW so there's no room for The Bend as we'll finish at SMP.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Phillip Island was not on the original race calendar.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
It's been the Triple Crown since 2006 - there were 3 races back then. Now, it's the top 10 shootout and the 2 races. So pole position and both race wins gets you the Triple Crown, which Scotty won last year, becoming the first driver in Supercars history to do so.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Hang on Josh, I thought you're in the UK? How do you know local broadcasting? :stoked:
Micko
Roar Rookie
And also why not Phillip Island?
Micko
Roar Rookie
Any idea why the Darwin round is called the "Triple Crown"? I think it's only two races held there, not three, so I don't understand the name.
Micko
Roar Rookie
It's baffling why they're not racing there (The Bend). Any idea why?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Good to see you are onboard with the Supercars and will wake up this weekend to the sound of those thundering V8s! We should see some great racing at Eastern Creek and hopefully some surprises too. As for the calendar discussion, The Bend could have slotted in for the dates as suggested, but given the current state border restrictions and the logistics involved - I think the current space between events will have to suffice. That doesn't change how it's not an ideal situation for the Shahins and their impressive new circuit, but that is the reality unfortunately.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Completely forgot about Daytona. I've become too Aussie centric! :laughing:
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Yeah, even if if it's under the pretense of business - it still is possible to do the GT3 race in all its pomp, with the Radio Le Mans crew also onsite. If anything, it is the quarantine period that will be interesting to see how it is applied. Remember that a lot of the drivers that do the 12 Hour, also race the Daytona 24 Hour which is traditionally the week before. Another factor to consider, though as you say there is still 7 months till then.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Crowds should be allowed by then. Perhaps hold all the Supercars support races that haven't been able to race since the Adelaide 500 in February to form a celebration of Australian motorsport at the greatest race track in Australia. That sounds wonderful!
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I'm actually pretty optimistic about the 12 Hours in February as I believe that international travel restrictions will have been eased enough for the race to take place. The cars and teams should be able to travel at least - spectators probably just from Australia only or none at all (it's FTA on 7mate so no worries there). There's 7 months to sort that out so I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
The night round will take place in December for the final round of the season. That wasn't possible for the round this weekend so as Jawad explains above, three 130km daytime races this weekend.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Really looking forward to the resumption of Supercars. All ready for a 6am start on Saturday morning for race 1 at SMP! The final season then of Ford v Holden continues and it's looking pretty close at the top. Red Bull Holden were beginning to get the upper hand in qualifying at Melbourne (we will obviously never know how that would have played out across the weekend) and it'll be interesting to see whether that momentum can continue. Of course, DJR Team Penske will be in the running but it definitely looks like there has been a shift in the championship with this year's regulation changes with things swinging Holden's way a little bit. Come the end of the season, will there be a final hurrah for Holden? That'd be nice to see but we've got a close fought out battle ahead of us. Having pledged my allegiance to Scott McLaughlin upon becoming a Supercars fan, I am hoping that he can get his third consecutive drivers' title. He has the ability to do it without a shadow of a doubt but it's whether all the right things fall into place. It won't be as easy as last year with Ford's dominance reigned in by the regulation change. The stuff with The Bend Motorsport Park is ridiculous and could have easily been avoided. If only Supercars had got their act together in the beginning. General Motors announced in February that the Holden brand would be axed at the end of 2020. Not February 2021 (when the Supercars season would have ended). It is my view that Supercars knew full well that there were contracts that ended at the end of 2020 therefore making a Feb 2021 finish impossible. If Supercars had realised all of this or accounted for all of this rather then The Bend could have got a spot on the calendar as I shall outline below: Jun 27-28: Winton Jul 18-19: Darwin Triple Crown Aug 8-9: Townsville Aug 29-30: The Bend Sep 19-20: Sandown Oct 8-11: Bathurst 1000 Oct 31-Nov 1: Perth Nov 21-22: Tasmania Dec 12-13: SMP Obviously, that is only a draft calendar that I have literally just thrown together in a minute but hopefully it illustrates my point. The Auckland trip was already looking like it would be off the cards with Canberra and Wellington not agreeing on when a Trans-Tasman travel agreement should come into place. NZ are, quite rightfully, being more cautious after their hard efforts paid off with the removal of any restrictions a fortnight ago. Anyhoo, what's been done is done. It's a closed book. Nothing we can do about it so let's move on and have three great races at SMP this weekend.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Unknown at this stage. Hopefully Supercars can put something on that weekend at Bathurst if the GT3 enduro doesn’t take place. Pending crowd restrictions being further lifted, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do a Supercars Test day with some kind of Goodwood style festival that they’ve talked about in the past?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
No Micko, the new lights were never going to be ready in time for this weekend’s races, so they’ll be done during the day. 3:30pm AEST Saturday and then 12:15pm and 2:35pm AEST for both Sunday races.
Micko
Roar Rookie
And if they're not doing the second Bathurst round in February what happens at Bathurst, assuming the 12 hour race still won't go ahead?
Micko
Roar Rookie
Wasn't this originally going to be a night round? If so, what are they doing this weekend then, day or night races?