THREE Supercars drivers will be back in action tomorrow for a rookie test day at The Bend Motorsport Park.
Matt Payne (Grove Racing), Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing) and Declan Fraser (Tickford Racing) will take part in the outing.
Ordinarily, teams are only permitted to test at their nominated track: Queensland Raceway for northern teams and Winton Motor Raceway for southern squads.
There is flexibility in the rules to help rookie drivers get up to speed though, allowing their respective teams to nominate an alternate circuit (other than Wanneroo Raceway or Hidden Valley) for up to three further days of running.
Drivers in either their first or second full-time season are classified as rookies, except in the case of Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney per an off-season tweak to the definition.
“Rookie Driver (second year) means a Driver entered in their second consecutive full year of Competition in the VCS who did not finish in the top ten Championship Driver standings in their Rookie Season,” reads an updated section from the category’s Operations Manual.
Second-year rookies are not eligible to test at alternate circuits, however.
EXPLAINED: Supercars’ 2023 testing rules
MORE: Whincup slams Supercars rule backflip
Every car/driver completed a shakedown plus two test days prior to Newcastle, and are allowed another two tests in-season (not counting the rookie allocation).
Albert Park hosts Round 2 of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship across March 30 to April 2.
Neither Winton nor QR appear on the calendar this year, but Tailem Bend does in August.
