A FORMAT shake-up is coming to Supercars next year, with the introduction of timed races the biggest change.
There will be no pre-determined lap count for any of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship races at the Perth, Darwin or Tasmania rounds.
CALENDAR: 2024 Repco Supercars Championship
Instead, those SuperSprint events will revolve around a pair of 60-minute races, one on the Saturday and the other on the Sunday. Both will necessitate a compulsory pitstop for at least two tyres.
The move marks a shift away from three-race rounds.
The main game has not run a timed race since the 2000 season-opener at Phillip Island. Two 45-minute races were held there, after which the concept was scrapped.
V8 Sleuth understands it has been revived at the request of Supercars broadcasters and Commission members.
The Dunlop Series has made a successful switch to 40-minute timed races this year, although that was motivated by allowing a slightly longer window to facilitate more opportunities to compete under green flag conditions.
Albert Park will be the only round with more than two races; drivers will compete for the Larry Perkins Trophy across four sprints in support of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Elsewhere, Taupo Motorsport Park and Sydney Motorsport Park will adopt a Super400 format (two lots of 200km races).
It will be 2x 250km races at the Bathurst season-opener, Townsville, Gold Coast and Adelaide, and a two-driver enduro at each of the Sandown 500 and Repco Bathurst 1000.
