THERE is set to be as many as eight brand-new cars on the grid at the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship season-opener.
While all cars still have no more than a year’s worth of running under their belt, some teams believe there is value in switching to fresher chassis assembled in less hasty fashion, given the 2023 pre-season rush.
Among them is Triple Eight, which is building two new Chevrolet Camaros for Broc Feeney and Will Brown to race in 2024.
Of the three cars it raced this year, at least one will be retained as a spare/wildcard chassis, while the Tony Quinn-owned 888A-063 which Shane van Gisbergen drove in Adelaide is heading to New Zealand.
Erebus Motorsport too is assembling two new cars this off-season, given a desire to park Brodie Kostecki’s championship winner and an unwillingness to re-use the car Brown crashed heavily in Adelaide.
Erebus already had made a headstart on a third Camaro, which once had been earmarked for a possible 2023 wildcard program, but a fourth needs the full works to be transformed from a bare chassis kit.
Grove Racing has committed to running a new Gen3 Mustang for recruit Richie Stanaway.
Likewise, Dick Johnson Racing has been building up a new rig for Anton De Pasquale; Will Davison having already moved into the squad’s lower mileage wildcard Mustang after Bathurst.
PremiAir Racing is set to roll out the unraced ex-Peter Adderton Camaro it acquired mid-year at the 2024 Thrifty Bathurst 500, with one of Tim Slade or James Golding to remain in their existing chassis.
It looks to be a similar story at Matt Stone Racing, which has gradually been putting together a third Camaro given its ambitions to field a wildcard in 2024.
Whether the new MSR car goes to Nick Percat or Cameron Hill, or is reserved for a wildcard effort, remains to be seen.
Teams currently not planning to bring a new car online this off-season include Tickford Racing, Team 18 and the Blanchard Racing Team.
Now two-car teams, Tickford and BRT each have three chassis at their disposal – the latter having acquired the 2023 Tradie Mustang.
Team 18 meanwhile would likely make arrangements to borrow a car if need be rather than carry a spare, as was their modus operandi pre-Gen3.
That just leaves Brad Jones Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United.
BJR is at this stage set to continue racing the same four chassis it did in 2023, but will complete the build of a spare car.
WAU is also likely to piece together a new car – giving it scope for a wildcard campaign – but appears destined to re-use its existing Mustangs come Round 1 next February.
