V8X Supercar — November-December 2017

W

hile all eyes
have been
on how the
Supercars
category
adapts to the end of Ford Falcon
and Holden Commodore local
production and the opening
up of engine and body-shape
regulations under Gen2, a quiet
revolution has been happening
within its support categories.
Supercars will now move
forward with what’s labelled as
the “five pillars” of its future,
namely the following five
categories:

SUPERCARS

The Virgin Australia Supercars

Championship remains at the

core of the Supercars business

as the premier motorsport

category in Australia and with

the Bathurst 1000 still the most

revered race in the country.

However, concerns remain

about how Supercars will move

on from V8-powered Ford Fal-

cons and Holden Commodores,

which have been the foundation

of the series for the last 25 years.

Other manufacturers haven’t

rushed in to help fill the void,

even with the easier criteria

of being able to run non-V

engines and coupes under

Gen2. This leaves the category

racing three cars that are

no longer sold in Australian

showrooms. The survival of the

series without manufacturers

is, therefore, crucial. But is a

privateer formula sustainable

with a lack of suitable cars in

the marketplace?

There’s also a question mark

over how the fan base, so

ingrained in supporting Falcon

and Commodore V8s, will react

to turbocharged imported cars.

If Supercars deems that

manufacturers are key to the

growth, let alone survival, of

the category, aligning it with GT

racing seems inevitable because

it’s where the manufacturers

are racing.

SUPER

Supercars’ second-tier Develop-

ment Series, rebranded as

Super2 in 2017, is not just a

crucial feeder category for driv-

ers, teams, engineers, etc. It’s

also the place where Supercars

hardware is handed down,

creating a valuable market for

main-game teams and giving

Supercars’ deal to run the Australian GT Championship and the launch of SuperUtes and

Super5000 secures what it calls the “five pillars” of the sport moving forward. This is

what the five categories bring to the table for the overarching business of Supercars.

SUPERCARS