SUPERCARS teams will have increased opportunity to go testing in the first year of Gen3.
Every team will essentially have an additional two days of unlimited running per car at their disposal.
It was already known that the 60km limit for shakedowns had been lifted for the pre-season in order to allow for maximum mileage ahead of next month’s Thrifty Newcastle 500.
The championship’s recently published 2023 operations manual has now confirmed teams will have four test days (outside of shakedowns) to use this year between January 30 and December 8, up from three.
Two of those tests are mandated to take place prior to Newcastle, one of which is the all-in session at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 22.
The remaining two days can be used during the season at the respective teams’ choice but must be done so at their designated home track (either Queensland Raceway or Winton). That location restriction also applies to the non-SMP pre-season test.
Rookie drivers, which covers those in their first or second season in the main game, will again be granted an additional three tests.
That’s good news for Matt Payne (Grove Racing), Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing), Declan Fraser and Thomas Randle (both Tickford Racing).
Triple Eight sensation Broc Feeney however has been deemed ineligible due to an off-season rule change relating to his top 10 championship ranking on debut.
The operations manual reveals another rookie testing tweak, being the tightening of regulations regarding where such occasions can take place.
Triple Eight last year exploited some vague wording which allowed Feeney to run rookie tests at Winton and Tailem Bend, despite QR being its nominated track.
The rookie test rules now read: “Teams will be permitted to nominate one (1) alternate Circuit excluding Wanneroo Raceway and Hidden Valley Raceway up to a maximum of three (3) Test days.”
Also of note is that the 60km shakedown limit will return for new cars after the initial batch of Camaros and Mustangs debut.
That effectively prevents teams from building more cars to benefit from more unlimited running.
“One (1) New Car Shakedown for each TRC is permitted to complete unlimited kilometres in the Car prior to Event – 1 (Newcastle 500),” the regulations read.
“Any additional New Car Shakedowns are only permitted to complete a maximum of sixty (60) kilometres in the Car.
“If the additional New Car Shakedown is conducted at the Teams’ Test Track, and the Team elects to continue after the completion of sixty (60) kilometres, the New Car Shakedown will be counted as a Test Day.”
Unlike test days, new car shakedowns do not necessarily have to be held at a team’s nominated home track. They do however have to be run at a circuit in the same state as they are located; so, for example, Victorian teams could run at Phillip Island.
Unchanged is the wet weather rule, which allows teams to reschedule a test on one occasion should they cancel before 11am due to rain.
