THE start time for the main event today at the Newcastle 500 has changed, with officials acting to ensure Race 2 of the Repco Supercars Championship runs its course in full.
A slight extension to time certainty was granted for yesterday’s 95-lap, 250km race, the first of the Gen3 era.
With the two-hour window stretched despite an uninterrupted race run in dry conditions, a decision has been made to bring this afternoon’s race forward by 15 minutes to 3:05pm local time (AEDT).
Time certainty remains listed at one lap after 5:18pm, if the 95 laps have not already been completed.
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The move has had a slight impact on the final races of the weekend for Touring Car Masters and the Dunlop Super2/Super3 Series too.
Race 3 for TCM will start at 1:10pm with time certainty at one lap after 1:26pm, and for Super2/Super3 those figures are now 1:45pm and 2:13pm respectively.
It’s a slightly shorter pre-race window for Supercars now, with pit exit opening just 25 minutes before race start instead of the usual 35 minutes.
Another factor playing into the need for an extended race duration is the potential for wet weather to spice up today’s action.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a 90 percent chance of rain today, “most likely during this afternoon and evening” with thunderstorms possible.
It means a likely debut for the new-for-2023 Dunlop wet tyres, which only arrived in the nick of time.
The softer compound grooved rubber was twice tested on the Gen3 prototypes last year, at Sandown and Bathurst, and was widely hailed as a step forward on its predecessor.
However, teams have yet to run the new wets, the shipment having not arrived in time for the Sydney Motorsport Park test on February 22 at which rain fell.
Supercars action resumes this morning with qualifying from 11:15am.
