Soldato
Commonly referred to as the 'Supercars Championship' or 'V8 Supercars' this thrilling series runs from February to December throughout Australia with a trip to New Zealand for some light international flavour.
The 2020 championship will see the series revert to having only two manufacturers, Ford and Holden, for the first time since 2012 as Nissan will no longer be represented on the grid. This will be the Holden Commodore's final season
Scott McLaughlin will enter the series as the defending drivers' champion.[2] DJR Team Penske will enter the season as the reigning teams' champions. Ford will enter the season as reigning manufacturers' champion.
The cars are front engine, rear wheel drive with an output of 620-650bhp currently using a 5.0 litre V8 although new regulations have also opened up the engine options although no teams have committed to this yet.
Calendar
Round Event Circuit Location Dates
1 Adelaide 500
Adelaide Street Circuit Adelaide, South Australia 22–23 February2 Melbourne 400
Albert Park Circuit Melbourne, Victoria 13–15 March3 Tasmania Super400
Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 4–5 April4 Auckland Super400
Hampton Downs Motorsport Park North Waikato, New Zealand 25–26 April5 Perth SuperNight
Wanneroo Raceway Neerabup, Western Australia 16–17 May6 Winton Super400
Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 6–7 June7 Townsville 400
Townsville Street Circuit Townsville, Queensland 27–28 June8 Darwin Triple Crown
Hidden Valley Raceway Darwin, Northern Territory 18–19 July9 Sydney SuperNight
Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek, New South Wales 29–30 August10 The Bend 500
The Bend Motorsport Park Tailem Bend, South Australia 20 September11 Bathurst 1000
Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales 11 October12 Gold Coast 600
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Queensland 31 October–1 November13 Sandown Super400
Sandown Raceway Springvale, Victoria 21–22 November14 Newcastle 500
Newcastle Street Circuit Newcastle, New South Wales 5–6 DecemberTeam changes
Tekno Autosports will relocate to Western Sydney and expand to a two-car operation under the Team Sydney brand. A second Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) was acquired from Supercars management. It will enter two Triple Eight-built Holden ZB Commodores.
Brad Jones Racing will expand to a three-car team, after acquiring an REC that was formerly owned by Britek Motorsport and had been leased to Matt Stone Racing. Brad Jones Racing will continue to operate a fourth car on behalf of Tim Blanchard Racing.
Kelly Racing will scale down from a four-car team to a two-car team and race with the Ford Mustang GT. Two of the team's RECs were purchased by Charlie Schwerkolt Racing and Matt Stone Racing, with both to expand to two car entries. Matt Stone Racing acquired a second REC from Garry Rogers Motorsport to replace the one it had been leasing from Britek Motorsport. Rogers elected to withdraw from the championship, citing escalating costs of competing and a model that required them to purchase parts rather than develop them as the reasons for his decision to withdraw.
Driver changes
Walkinshaw Andretti United will field a completely new line-up in 2020 after James Courtney and Scott Pye left the team. Courtney will move to the Team Sydney, with his seat at Walkinshaw Andretti United filled by Chaz Mostert. Jack Le Brocq left Tekno Autosports and joined Tickford Racing, where he replaced Mostert. Scott Pye joined Charlie Schwerkolt Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United named reigning Super2 champion Bryce Fullwood as Pye's replacement. Chris Pither returned to the championship on a full-time basis, racing with Team Sydney. Pither last competed full-time in 2016.
Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki will graduate from the Super2 Series and make their championship débuts driving for Matt Stone Racing. Goddard and Kostecki will share a car as part of the new SuperLite program, allowing both drivers to compete in five rounds of the series each before teaming up for the Enduro Cup.
Todd Hazelwood left Matt Stone Racing to join Brad Jones Racing. He will replace Tim Slade who will join DJR Team Penske as a co-driver. Jack Smith will make his full time début in the championship with the team. Smith had previously competed for Brad Jones Racing in the Super2 Series and at selected Supercars rounds as a wildcard in 2019.
Richie Stanaway and James Golding left Garry Rogers Motorsport after the team's decision to withdraw from the championship. Stanaway retired from motorsport, while Golding joined Charlie Schwerkolt Racing for the endurance races.
Simona de Silvestro and Garry Jacobson left Kelly Racing as the team's decision to scale down to two cars left both drivers without a seat. De Silvestro returned to the Formula E championship as a test driver for Porsche, while Jacobson joined Matt Stone Racing.
How to watch:
Internationally the series can be live streamed and races played on demand via Supercars Superview which goes for a fairly reasonable $60 AUD for the season.
I think you can also get it on MotorTrend On Demand.
Teams and Drivers
#2 Mobil 1 Middy’s Racing - Bryce Fullwood
#3 Team CoolDrive - Macauley Jones
#4 SCT Logistics - Jack Smith
#5 Truck Assist Racing - Lee Holdsworth
#6 Monster Energy Racing - Cameron Waters
#7 NED Racing - Andre Heimgartner
#8 Brad Jones Racing - Nick Percat
#9 Penrite Racing - David Reynolds
#12 Shell V-Power Racing - Fabian Coulthard
#14 Plus Fitness Racing - Todd Hazelwood
#15 Castrol Racing - Rick Kelly
#17 Shell V-Power Racing - Scott McLaughlin
#18 IRWIN Racing - Mark Winterbottom
#19 Team Sydney - James Courtney
#20 DEWALT Racing - Scott Pye
#22 Team Sydney - Chris Pither
#23 Milwaukee Racing - Will Davison
#25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing - Chaz Mostert
#34 UNIT Racing - Zane Goddard/Jake Kostecki
#35 Yellow Cover Racing - Garry Jacobson
#55 Supercheap Auto Racing - Jack Le Brocq
#88 Red Bull Holden Racing Team - Jamie Whincup
#97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team - Shane van Gisbergen
#99 Penrite Racing - Anton De Pasquale
