DRIVERS will now need to top all three days at Hidden Valley to win Supercars’ rare Triple Crown trophy.
The Triple Crown associated with the annual Darwin round has only ever twice been won before.
Scott McLaughlin got the job done in 2019 by winning both races plus the Sunday pole position, while Jamie Whincup won it the following year when criteria was relaxed to be awarded based on the highest points tally for the round.
In 2024, the first qualifying session will be shifted to the Friday as part of a ploy whereby the Triple Crown will only be awarded if a driver tops that session as well as winning the Saturday and Sunday races.
The revised format will see a single 60-minute Friday practice precede Boost Mobile Qualifying for Race 1, and then a half-hour Practice 2 on Saturday morning prior to the Top 10 Shootout.
Both the Saturday and Sunday of the event will culminate in a 137km race, a change from the initial plan to run 60-minute timed encounters with no pre-determined distance.
“By moving the qualifying session to Friday afternoon, there’s something to drive for every day of the event, which is what fans want to see,” said Supercars general manager of motorsport Tim Edwards.
“Darwin is one of our marquee events on the calendar and we think this format adds another dimension to the on-track product.”
The betr Darwin Triple Crown will form Round 5 of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship on June 14-16.
