The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship is one of the most anticipated in the history of the racing genre due to the introduction of the Gen3 vehicles.

The new era sees all Ford teams upgrading to the Mustang GT S650 and Holden teams switch to the Chevrolet Camaro from Holden Commodore. And while many fans are lamenting the loss of the infamous Ford v Holden rivalry, the update to the series will bring the cars much closer to their showroom versions, make the competition more competitive and sustainable, and is fitting considering that the Holden brand has (sadly) been wrapped up by General Motors.

What cars are racing in Supercars season 2023?

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship grid will currently be made up of 14 Chevrolet Camaros and 11 Ford Mustangs. Brad Jones Racing, Erebus Motorsport, Team 18, Matt Stone Racing, Triple Eight Race Engineering and PremiAir racing will campaign Chevrolet Camaros. Tickford Racing, Dick Johnson Racing, Grove Racing, Blanchard Racing Team and Walkinshaw Andretti United will stick with the Mustang.

2023 Supercars Season Calendar

The new era of racing will begin on the streets of Newcastle from 10-12 March and finish on the streets of Adelaide on 23-26 November 2023, hitting all of the fan favourite spots in between including Darwin and Gold Coast. But the jewel in the crown of the 2023 Supercars season will undoubtedly be the 60th anniversary of the Repco Bathurst 1000 on Sunday 8 October.

2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
Race Number	Event Name	Event Start Date	Event End Date	Circuit Name	Circuit Location
1	Thrifty Newcastle 500	March 10	March 12	Newcastle Street Circuit	Newcastle, NSW
2	Beaurepaires Melbourne 400	March 30	April 02	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit	Melbourne, VIC
3	Perth SuperSprint	April 28	April 30	Wanneroo Raceway	Perth, WA
4	NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint	May 19	May 21	Symmons Plains Raceway	Perth, TAS
5	Darwin Triple Crown	June 16	June 18	Hidden Valley Raceway	Darwin, NT
6	NTI Townsville 500	July 07	July 09	Townsville Street Circuit	Townsville, QLD
7	Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight	July 28	July 30	Sydney Motorsport Park	Sydney, NSW
8	OTR SuperSprint	August 18	August 20	The Bend Motorsport Park	Tailem Bend, SA
9	Penrite Oil Sandown 500	September 15	September 17	Sandown Raceway	Springvale, VIC
10	Repco Bathurst 1000	October 05	October 08	Mount Panorama Circuit	Bathurst, NSW
11	Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500	October 27	October 29	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Gold Coast, QLD
12	VALO Adelaide 500	November 23	November 26	Adelaide Street Circuit	Adelaide, SA

What to expect from Gen3 Supercars

There’s been a lot said about Gen3 and it seems to have taken forever to arrive. The new Gen3 Supercar regulations were originally slated to debut in 2022 but were pushed back a year due to supply chain issues and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what’s in store for the 2023 season:

NEW DUNLOP GEN3 CONTROL TYRES FOR ALL CARS

Dunlop have confirmed as the control tyre supplier for Supercars, with three dry compounds of SP Sport Maxx tyres in use this season — Hard, Soft, Super Soft, along with the new wet weather tyre.

Both Supercars and Dunlop are "very happy" with the new wet tyre compound for 2023, which has proven capable of dispersing impressive quantities of water.

The Soft tyre will be used at the Thrifty Newcastle 500, the Perth SuperSprint, NTI Townsville 500, Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, the OTR SupeSprint (The Bend), Repco Bathurst 1000, Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 and VALO Adelaide 500.

The Super Soft will be used at the Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint at the Australian Grand Prix, NED Whisky Tasmania SupeSprint, BETR Darwin Triple Crown and Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

The Hard tyre’s only appearance will come at Albert Park, the scene of the only mixed compound round of the 2023 Championship.

Competitors will hand back two sets of 'event marked' tyres and pre-marked tyres for each car before the first qualifying session.

GEN3 CARS WILL LOOK MORE LIKE A ROAD CAR THAN A RACE CAR

To increase road relevance and improve racing, Gen3 cars will bear a closer resemblance to their street car equivalents. This decision was based on feedback about Supercars being too dissimilar to what’s available to general consumers.

The new-look Gen3 cars will also increase purchase appeal for the manufacturers and require more skill to control at speed, improving the racing spectacle for fans. The objective is to have as many panels on the race car match those of the production version, which will also help lower the cost of parts, helping secure the long-term sustainability of Supercar racing. 

Supercars’ goal is to cut down downforce by at least 65 per cent, making the cars more challenging to drive and ultimately relying more on driver skill and less on car setups.

CAR ENGINE CAPCITIES WILL INCREASE, BUT CARS MAY BE SLOWER

A new engine formula will see a 5.4L DOHC V8 replace the current Coyote 5.0L V8 engines for Mustang and 5.7-litre for Camaro. But the target is to cap the power output at 485kW to 447kW.

The new cars may be slower than the Gen2 cars, but with less downforce and more power, they should be more challenging to drive, which is what the series aims for, what the drivers love and what the fans want to see. It will be interesting to see if any track records are broken in 2023.

Where to watch the Supercars 2023 season?

Supercars have confirmed the broadcast details for the 2023 Supercars Championship season.

Foxtel will broadcast every practice, qualifying, shootout and race live and ad free.

Kayo will also livestream every practice, qualifying and race of the season.

And good news for fans is that Channel 7 will broadcast six rounds live on free to air TV, including the Thrifty Newcastle 500, Darwin Triple Crown, NTI Townsville 500, Repco Bathurst 1000, Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 and VALO Adelaide 500. These events will all be streamed live on 7plus, with delayed highlights packages available for the other rounds.

Experience Supercars live in 2023

Experience the most exciting motorsport season in Australia in this historic new generation with a Sportsnet Holidays travel package, including official tickets, local accommodation and unique access to experiences on and off the track, such as exclusive functions, helicopter rides and local tours!

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