SUPERCARS endurance co-drivers won’t take part in a Gen3 race weekend until the Sandown 500 itself.
That has been confirmed as the first version of the OTR SuperSprint track schedule comes to light, for August 18-20 at The Bend Motorsport Park.
The return of Supercars’ pre-Bathurst enduro has allowed the category to do away with an additional driver practice, as was run on the corresponding weekend last year at Sandown.
It’s an exercise that arguably had questionable return on investment, teams needing to fly extra drivers for a single half-hour hitout.
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While the schedules for Sandown and Bathurst are yet to surface, the former’s presence will help co-drivers be the most race-ready they’ve been for Mount Panorama since 2018.
The bulk of co-drivers have already had a taste of Gen3 machinery during test days.
As for The Bend event, the South Australian venue will host the final SuperSprint format of the 2023 season.
The Repco Supercars Championship action will be packed into the Saturday and Sunday, leaving support categories to shine on the Friday, namely: S5000, Touring Car Masters, Carrera Cup Australia, V8 SuperUtes and the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series.
EVENT SCHEDULE: 2023 OTR SUPERSPRINT (in ACST)
Friday, August 18
| Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 0930-0950 | Touring Car Masters | Practice |
| 1000-1020 | S5000 | Practice 1 |
| 1030-1050 | V8 SuperUtes | Practice |
| 1100-1120 | Toyota 86 Series | Practice |
| 1135-1200 | Carrera Cup Australia | Practice 1 |
| 1210-1230 | Touring Car Masters | Qualifying |
| 1240-1300 | S5000 | Practice 2 |
| 1310-1330 | V8 SuperUtes | Qualifying |
| 1345-1405 | Toyota 86 Series | Qualifying |
| 1415-1440 | Carrera Cup Australia | Practice 2 |
| 1450-1510 | S5000 | Qualifying |
| 1520-1540 | Touring Car Masters | Trophy Race |
Saturday, August 19
| Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 0800-0825 | S5000 | Race 1 |
| 0835-0855 | Touring Car Masters | Race 1 |
| 0905-0925 | V8 SuperUtes | Race 1 |
| 0950-1020 | Supercars | Practice 1 |
| 1035-1055 | Carrera Cup Australia | Qualifying |
| 1105-1130 | S5000 | Race 2 |
| 1140-1210 | Supercars | Practice 2 |
| 1230-1250 | Touring Car Masters | Race 2 |
| 1300-1325 | V8 SuperUtes | Race 2 |
| 1340-1355 | Supercars | Qualifying Part 1 – Race 1 |
| 1400-1415 | Supercars | Qualifying Part 2 – Race 1 |
| 1420-1430 | Supercars | Qualifying Part 3 – Race 1 |
| 1450-1510 | Toyota 86 Series | Race 1 |
| 1520-1545 | Carrera Cup Australia | Race 1 |
| 1630-1725 | Supercars | Race 1 (20 laps) |
Sunday, August 20
| Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 0800-0820 | V8 SuperUtes | Race 3 |
| 0830-0855 | Toyota 86 Series | Race 2 |
| 0905-0930 | S5000 | Race 3 |
| 0945-1000 | Supercars | Qualifying – Race 2 |
| 1010-1025 | Supercars | Qualifying – Race 3 |
| 1040-1120 | Carrera Cup Australia | Race 2 |
| 1130-1150 | Touring Car Masters | Race 3 |
| 1200-1220 | V8 SuperUtes | Race 4 |
| 1250-1345 | Supercars | Race 2 (20 laps) |
| 1405-1425 | Toyota 86 Series | Race 3 |
| 1435-1500 | Carrera Cup Australia | Race 3 |
| 1550-1645 | Supercars | Race 3 (20 laps) |
