Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars & Australian Touring Car Championship, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian states and the Northern Territory, with the Australian Capital Territory formerly holding the Canberra 400. Usually, an international round is held in New Zealand, with events previously being held in China, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The Melbourne SuperSprint championship event is also held in support of the Australian Grand Prix. Race formats vary between each event, with sprint races between in length, street races between in length, and two-driver endurance races held at The Bend 500 and Bathurst. The series is broadcast in 137 countries and has an average event attendance of over 100,000. With over 285,000 in attendance annually, the Adelaide Grand Final is the most attended Supercars race in Australia.
The vehicles used in the series are loosely based on road-going cars. Cars are custom made using a control chassis, with only certain body panels being common between the road cars and race cars. The cars are controlled for "technical parity" - ensuring that teams and drivers using any of the homologated cars have a chance to build and drive a winning car.
All cars use bespoke, race prepped variants of current engines supplied by GM and Ford. A 5.4L variant of the Ford Coyote DOHC V8 engine powering the Mustang and a 5.7L variant of the GM LTR pushrod V8 engine powering the Camaro. Toyota will provide a bespoke 5.2L variant of its 2UR-GSE DOHC V8 engine for the Toyota Supra when it enters the competition in 2026.
Originally only for Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, the new generation V8 Supercar regulations, introduced in 2013, opened up the series to more manufacturers. Nissan were the first new manufacturer to commit to the series with four Nissan Altima L33s followed briefly by Erebus Motorsport with Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs and Garry Rogers Motorsport with Volvo S60s. The series returned to a Ford and Holden duopoly in 2020 with the departure of Nissan, while Ford replaced the Falcon with the Mustang in 2019. Holden announced its final year of competition in 2022, to be replaced by the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2023 season. Starting in 2026, Toyota will make its debut in the championship, competing with the GR Supra.
History
Group 3A
The concept of a formula centred around V8-engined Fords and Holdens for the Australian Touring Car Championship had been established as early as mid-1991. With the new regulations set to come into effect in 1993, Ford and Holden were both keen to know the details of the new formula by the end of 1991, putting pressure on the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to provide clarity on the matter. However, CAMS was waiting to see what the FIA did with its proposed international formula for 2.5- and 2.0-litre touring cars.The new rules for the ATCC were announced in November 1991 and indicated that the V8 cars would be significantly faster than the smaller-engined cars. In 1992, CAMS looked at closing the performance gap between the classes, only to have protests from Ford and Holden, which did not want to see their cars beaten by the smaller cars. In June 1992, the class structure was confirmed:
- Class A: Australian-produced 5.0-litre V8-engined Fords and Holdens
- Class B: 2.0-litre cars complying with FIA Class II Touring Car regulations
- Class C: normally aspirated two-wheel drive cars complying with 1992 CAMS Group 3A Touring Car regulations:
Both the Ford Falcon EB and Holden Commodore VP ran American-based engines, which were restricted to 7,500 rpm and a compression ratio of 10:1. The Holden teams had the option of using the Group A-developed 5.0-litre Holden V8 engine, although this was restricted to the second-tier privateer teams from 1994 onwards, forcing the major Holden runners to use the more expensive Chevrolet engine. The V8s were first eligible to compete in the endurance races of 1992. The distinctive aerodynamics package, consisting of large front and rear spoilers, was designed partly with this in mind, to give the new cars a better chance of beating the Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in those races.
The new rules meant that cars such as the turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R and Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth were not eligible to compete in 1993, while cars such as the BMW M3 were. However, the M3 received few of the liberal concessions given to the new V8s and also had an extra added to its minimum weight, so with the Class C cars eligible for 1993 only, the German manufacturer's attention switched to the 2.0-litre class for 1994.
Cars from all three classes would contest the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as non-championship Australian touring car events such as the Bathurst 1000. However, for the purposes of race classification and points allocation, cars competed in two classes:
- Over 2,000 cc
- Under 2,000 cc
With the new regulations intended to be a parity formula, protests by the Holden teams indicated that the Fords had an aerodynamic advantage after they won the opening three rounds, beating the Commodores comprehensively. After round five at Winton, Holden was granted a new front and rear wing package. The BMWs were also allowed new splitters and full DTM-specification rear wings. Disparity between the Fords and Holdens continued to be a talking point during the next few years, with various concessions given to each manufacturer to try to equalise the two cars.
From 1995, the 2.0-litre cars, now contesting their own series as super touring cars, became ineligible for the Australian Touring Car Championship. They did not contest the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst, leaving these open solely to the 5.0-litre Ford and Holden models.
V8 Supercars
The Australian Vee Eight Super Car Company – a joint venture between the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia, sports promoters IMG and the Australian Motor Sports Commission – was formed in November 1996 to run the series. This set the foundation for the large expansion of the series during the following years. The category also adopted the name 'V8 Supercars' at this time, though the cars themselves were much unchanged. A new television deal with Network Ten and Fox Sports was organised, although this had follow-on effects for the Bathurst 1000 later in the year.In February, Tony Cochrane and James Erskine left IMG. Together with David Coe, they formed Sports and Entertainment Limited in April 1997. TEGA would have a 75% share in AVESCO, with SEL owning the other 25%. TEGA was responsible for the rules and technical management of the series and the supply of cars and drivers, while SEL was responsible for capturing and maintaining broadcasting rights, sponsorship, licensing, and sanction agreements.
The expansion of the series began in 1998, with the first round to be held in the Northern Territory taking place at Hidden Valley Raceway. In 1999, a new street race on a shortened version of the Adelaide Grand Prix Circuit became one of the first festival-style events, which would become common in later years. Australia's capital city, Canberra, hosted its first event on the Canberra Street Circuit in 2000. In 2001, a championship round was held in New Zealand for the first time, at Pukekohe Park Raceway. In 2002, the V8 Supercar support event at the Indy 300 on the Gold Coast became a championship round, having been a non-championship event since 1994.
Major format changes were made for 1999, with the incorporation of the endurance races into the championship. Control tyres were used for the first time, with Bridgestone selected as the supplier. The series was also renamed from the "Australian Touring Car Championship" to the "Shell Championship Series", by virtue of Shell's sponsorship of the category. Reverse-grid races were introduced for multiple rounds in 2000 before being confined to just the Canberra round for 2001. Also in 2001, compulsory pit stops were introduced at certain rounds and the Top Ten Shootout was used at all rounds. The control tyre supplier changed from Bridgestone to Dunlop in 2002 and the series name was changed to the "V8 Supercar Championship Series" after Shell discontinued their sponsorship.
Project Blueprint
Discussions about parity had returned in 2000, with trimmed from the front spoiler of the Commodore after Holden, in particular, the Holden Racing Team, had dominated in 1998 and 1999. This was in response to the removed from the Falcon in previous seasons, and coincided with a trim from the Falcon's rear spoiler. The small reduction for the Holden teams was quickly addressed with both cars receiving the same front splitter shortly afterwards, but the Falcon's rear wing remained trimmed. Ford had threatened to withdraw from the series, but nothing came of this. After Holden again dominated in 2001 and 2002, a new set of regulations, dubbed "Project Blueprint", was introduced in 2003 to close the performance gap between the Commodore and the Falcon, thus creating closer, fairer racing. Project Blueprint was developed by Paul Taylor and Wayne Cattach, who spent two years designing a formula which would eliminate most of the differences between the Fords and Holdens.Project Blueprint had the chassis pick-up points, wheelbase, track, and driving position become common across both manufacturers. The Holdens were now able and required to use double-wishbone front suspension, similar to that of the Falcon, rather than the MacPherson struts used previously, and a Watts link at the rear rather than a Panhard. The aerodynamic packages were comprehensively tested and revised and differences in the porting of each of the manufacturers' engines were also removed. The performance of the new Ford BA Falcon and Holden VY and VZ Commodores was fairly even for the next four years, with Ford winning the championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and Holden winning in 2006. Reverse-grid races were used at certain events in 2006 before unpopularity with the drivers, teams, and fans saw them abolished halfway through the season.
The Holden VE Commodore caused controversy when it was introduced in 2007. The production model was longer, wider, and taller than the rival Ford BF Falcon and outside of the limits set by Project Blueprint. As a result, the VE race car was granted custom bodywork – namely shortened rear doors and a lowered roofline to meet the regulations. Despite this, the VE was approved for use in the series, along with the BF Falcon, after several months of preseason testing. Sequential gearboxes were introduced in 2008 and became compulsory by the end of the year. In 2009, E85 was introduced in an effort to improve the environmental image of the sport. Carbon dioxide emissions decreased by up to 50%, but fuel consumption was increased by 30% to produce the same power as before. 2009 also had the introduction of a soft compound tyre at certain events to try to improve the quality of the racing and create different strategies.
In 2005, AVESCO changed its name to V8 Supercars Australia. The series continued to expand during this time, with races held outside of Australasia for the first time. The series travelled to the Shanghai International Circuit in China in 2005, originally on a five-year agreement, however the promoter of the race dropped their support and the series did not return thereafter. 2006 saw the series travel to the Middle East, with an event held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain. Multiple new street circuits appeared on the calendar in 2008 and 2009, with new events held in Hamilton in New Zealand, Townsville in North Queensland and at Sydney Olympic Park. The series' Middle East expansion continued in 2010 with a second round held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. In November 2010, the series was granted international status by the FIA for the 2011 season, allowing the series to race at up to six international venues each year. As a result, the series name was changed to the 'International V8 Supercars Championship'.
2008 saw the separate boards of directors of VESA and TEGA merge into a single board that was solely responsible for the administration of the category. The new board of directors was composed of four TEGA representatives, two members from SEL and two independent directors. In 2011, TEGA and SEL entered a sale agreement with Australian Motor Racing Partners, which had significant financial backing from Archer Capital. This agreement saw SEL lose its 25% stake in V8 Supercars, with Archer Capital taking up a 60% share and TEGA the other 40%. A new board of directors was appointed, with two TEGA representatives and two AMRP representatives.
In 2011, Archer Capital purchased a 65% shareholding in the series with the teams owning the other 35%. In December 2021, both Archer Capital and the teams sold their shareholdings to Race Australia Consolidated Enterprises.