2017 Supercars Championship
The 2017 Supercars Championship (formally known as the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship)[1] will be an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars, which prior to July 2016 had been known as V8 Supercars. It will be the nineteenth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-first series in which Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. Shane van Gisbergen will start the season as the defending drivers' champion. His team, Triple Eight Race Engineering, will be the defending teams' champions.
The 2017 season will see the category undergo a substantial revision of its technical regulations, with the introduction of Gen2 Supercar rules which will open the championship up to a wider range of body shapes and engine configurations.
Teams and drivers
The following drivers are currently under contract for 2017. Unless known otherwise, numbers and car types are presumed to carry over from 2016.
Team changes
- Jason Bright will move his Britek Motorsport Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) from Brad Jones Racing to Prodrive Racing Australia.[9][33]
- Super Black Racing will not compete in the series, with its REC sold to Prodrive Racing Australia co-owner, Rusty French, who on-sold it to Tim Blanchard.[15]
- Triple Eight Race Engineering will become the official Holden factory team. Walkinshaw Racing, which competed as the factory Holden Racing Team from 1990 to 2016, will become a customer Holden team instead under the Walkinshaw Racing brand.[34]
- Volvo withdrew from the series at the end of the 2016 season.[35] Garry Rogers Motorsport returned to using Holden Commodores, as it had done prior to switching to Volvo in 2014.[21]
Driver changes
- Jason Bright will move from Brad Jones Racing to his own team, Britek Motorsport, for which he had previously driven from 2007 to 2009. His entry will be prepared by Prodrive Racing Australia, who Bright drove for in 2005 and 2006.[9]
- Matt Chahda was scheduled to make his Supercars début with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, but his application for a racing licence was refused by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.[27]
- Simona de Silvestro will join the championship with Nissan Motorsport.[10] Having contested the 2015 and 2016 Bathurst 1000 events, De Silvestro will be the first female driver to contest the full championship since Melinda Price and Kerryn Brewer in 1998.
- Scott McLaughlin will move from Garry Rogers Motorsport to DJR Team Penske.[18]
- Nick Percat will move from Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport to Brad Jones Racing.[13]
- Chris Pither will leave Super Black Racing.
- Scott Pye will move from DJR Team Penske to Walkinshaw Racing.[2]
- Alex Rullo will become the youngest Supercars driver in the series' history when he makes his début for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.[26]
- Garth Tander will move from Walkinshaw Racing to Garry Rogers Motorsport, having previously driven for the team between 1998 and 2004.[22]
- Dale Wood will move from Nissan Motorsport to Erebus Motorsport, replacing Shae Davies.[4]
Scheduled events
The following fourteen events are scheduled to take place in 2017:
Calendar changes
- The Sydney 500—which was held at the Homebush Street Circuit from 2009 to 2016—will be replaced by a new event, the Newcastle 500.[38] The round will be held on a street circuit in the East End of Newcastle,[38] and will be run to the SuperStreet format, featuring two races of 250 kilometres.
- The KL City 400 at the Kuala Lumpur Street Circuit in Malaysia is contracted to host an event on the calendar from 2017 to 2019. The running of the event is pending the resolution of legal issues which cancelled the 2016 event,[39] and it was omitted from the provisional 2017 calendar.[36]
- Two international rounds to be held at the Sentul Circuit in Indonesia and a street circuit near Bangkok in Thailand were initially included on a draft of the season calendar, but were later deferred until the 2018 season,[40][41] with a demonstration event planned for Thailand in the interim.[42]
Format changes
- The Adelaide 500 will return to its original format of two races of 250 kilometres, which was last used in 2013. Event organisers cited the unpopularity of the format used between 2014 and 2016—two races of 125 km followed by one 250 km race—as the reason for the change.[43] The top ten shootout will also be re-introduced for qualifying for the Saturday race.[44]
- The Phillip Island 500 will consist of two races of 250 km.[44]
- The Auckland SuperSprint will adopt a new format, with its four 100 km races being replaced with two races of 200 km, and will include mandatory pit stops.[44]
Rule changes
Technical regulations
The 2017 season will see the introduction of Gen2 Supercar regulations. Two-door coupé body styles will be permitted alongside four-door sedans, while the engine regulations will be opened up to include turbocharged four or six-cylinder engines. However, cars will still be required to be based on front-engined, rear wheel drive, four-seater production cars that are sold in Australia. The chassis and control components will be carried over from the New Generation V8 Supercar regulations used since 2013.[45]
Sporting regulations
- Starting in 2017, drivers must earn a racing licence sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) in order to be eligible to compete in the category. The licence system will be structured similarly to the Superlicence used in Formula One, with drivers earning points towards their licence by placing in feeder series accredited by CAMS.[46]
- Teams from Supercars' support category, the Dunlop Super2 Series will be allowed to compete as wildcards in the main series in 5 rounds of the 2017 season, at Barbagallo, Winton, Hidden Valley, Ipswich and Bathurst. The 250km race held specifically for the Super2 Series at Bathurst will also become a non-championship round, to encourage more applicants.[47][48]
References
- ^ "V8 Supercars confirm Virgin as primary backer". Speedcafe. 27 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Howard, Tom (23 September 2016). "Walkinshaw confirms Courtney, Pye for 2017". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ a b Howard, Tom (4 February 2017). "Walkinshaw Racing announces co-driver line up". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ a b Bartholomaeus, Stefan (25 November 2016). "Dale Wood secures two-year Erebus deal". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Reynolds will stay with Erebus in 2017". v8superfans.co.nz. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Mostert signs new deal after contract tear up". Speedcafe. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b "New multi-year deals for Prodrive co-drivers". Speedcafe. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Busy Supercars silly season shapes up". Speedcafe. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ a b c Bartholomaeus, Stefan (5 December 2016). "Jason Bright Prodrive deal confirmed". Speedcafe. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d Gadeke, Kassie (17 November 2016). "Nissan wins race for Simona". Supercars. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b Lomas, Gordon (13 February 2017). "Le Brocq set for Supercars wildcard rounds". Speedcafe. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ "Nissan commits to Supercars". supercars.com.au. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "Percat joins BJR". supercars.com. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Isaacs, Lewis (14 February 2017). "BJR to add fourth entry for wildcards". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Super Black sells REC to Tim Blanchard Racing". supercars.com. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Penske focussed on form, not driver decision". Motorsport.com. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Premat locked in for 2017 Penske endurance seat". Motorsport.com. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ a b "McLaughlin to join Penske in 2017". Motorsport.com. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ "Holdsworth signs new two-year Team 18 deal". Speedcafe. 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Tekno announces multi year Davison deal". Speedcafe. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b Gadeke, Kassie (18 January 2017). "GRM to run Commodores in 2017". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Tander confirmed at GRM". Virgin Australia Supercars. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (14 February 2017). "GRM plans wildcards for James Golding". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Allan Moffat confirms James will stay at GRM in 2017". V8 Superfans NZ. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Gadeke, Kassie (20 January 2017). "Pit lane order locked in". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ a b "LDM Makes History With Youngest Driver". Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ a b "CAMS statement: Matt Chahda superlicence". The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS). 9 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "Jamie Whincup extends Triple Eight contract". Speedcafe. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Van Gisbergen to join three car Triple Eight in 2016". Speedcafe. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "Campbell joins Red Bull HRT in Pirtek Enduro Cup coup". Speedcafe. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (14 February 2017). "GRM plans wildcards for James Golding". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Isaacs, Lewis (14 February 2017). "BJR to add fourth entry for wildcards". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Jones confident of third REC". supercars.com. 22 November 2016.
- ^ Walkinshaw continuing with two Holdens in 2017 Speedcafe 16 August 2016
- ^ "Volvo confirms V8 Supercars exit after 2016". Touring Car Times. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Supercars releases 2017 calendar". supercars.com. Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ "Date and layout locked in for Newcastle Supercars race". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ a b Bartholomaeus, Stefan (27 September 2016). "Supercars confirms five-year Newcastle deal". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ "KL City 400 Supercar Extravaganza cancelled". Supercars. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Indonesia, Thailand to join Supercars calendar". speedcafe.com. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ "Asian races fall from 2017 Supercar calendar". speedcafe.com. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ "Supercars plans Thailand demo for 2017". speedcafe.com. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (8 October 2016). "Format change for Clipsal 500 Adelaide". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "Format changes confirmed at Supercars events". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
- ^ "V8 Supercars blueprint for 2017 and beyond". V8Supercars.com.au. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ http://www.speedcafe.com/2016/10/12/cams-introduces-supercars-superlicense/
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (27 September 2016). "Supercars releases 2017 calendar". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (9 February 2017). "Supercars launches Super2". Supercars. Retrieved 13 February 2017.