Thursday Supercars race at Australian GP

Organisers of the Formula 1 Australian GP will today unveil the track schedule for this year’s Albert Park event including four Supercars races.

Melbourne is Round 3 of this year’s Formula 1 championship, which kicks off early next month in Bahrain.

From there it ventures to Saudi Arabia before touching down in Albert Park for the March 30-April 2 event.

Session times for the headline act were confirmed in December with all sessions throughout the year announced by the FIA.

For the first time in the event’s history, Formula 1 will be supported by established open-wheel feeder categories Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Also on the cards is the Supercars Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.

The open-wheel action doesn’t begin until Friday, with Formula 3 practice kicking off the second day of track action in Melbourne.

That follows a day dedicated to Carrera Cup and Supercars, both of which have Qualifying and one race on Thursday.

Supercars will feature on all four days of this year’s Australian GP weekend, a point outgoing CEO Andrew Westacott was keen to see happen.

“I really want to make sure that F2, F3 are supported by a Supercars race on Sunday and a Porsche race on Sunday. Now, if we can achieve that, great,” Westacott told Speedcafe.com as planning was underway late last year.

“It might mean that they race early, but it is an important thing because the great attraction of our event is that families can bring young children, grandparents can bring their grandchildren, and they have a look at the off-track support categories in their paddocks, and they really are great entertainment for people walking around.”

The schedule reveals a practice session, two qualifying sessions, and the first race on Thursday.

There is just one session for the touring car class on Friday with Race 2 of the weekend immediately prior to Formula 1 Free Practice 2.

Two more qualifying sessions and another race are scheduled for Saturday before Supercars’ Australian GP concludes on Sunday morning at 10:50.

“We are thrilled to welcome Formula 2 and Formula 3 to the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2023,” said David Corrigan, Motorsport Division Manager for the event.

“With Australians on the track in every category, fans can expect four action-packed days of racing.

“The return of the popular Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup categories round out an incredibly exciting track schedule, including races for both categories on Thursday for the first time. There’s something for every motorsport fanatic and for those new to the sport.”

You can stay across F1 throughout the 2023 season with dates, drivers, key personnel and more with Speedcafe.com’s Key Details reference, available here.

2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix track schedule