Historic absence from Perth Super2 round

When the Dunlop Super2 Series field rolls out for Round 2 of the 2023 season at Wanneroo, there will be a notable absence.

For the first time in over two decades, neither of Matthew White himself nor his MW Motorsport team will be on the grid.

MWM fielded Jaylyn Robotham at the season-opener in Newcastle, although that was a single-round deal with the option for further starts this year.

Robotham is racing a Ford Ranger in the Super Pickup category in the B-Quik Thailand Super Series this weekend, but will not be partaking in Round 2 of Super2 at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint next weekend.

Nor will MWM which, with four series wins, 21 round wins, and 51 race wins, is the most successful team in history on any of those metrics.

White, who acquired a Gen3 Ford Mustang from Tickford Racing ahead of the 2023 season, will watch on until at least the second half of the campaign, having found himself jaded at circumstances which unfolded last year and in Newcastle in recent weeks.

Asked if missing Perth would be emotional, he told Speedcafe, “Not really; you’ve got to be positive about the sport at the time and last year it just seemed that it was a kick in the teeth after kick in the teeth.

“When that’s going on, you’re not enjoying it.

“I personally really enjoy the programme of bringing young drivers through and trying to give them a competitive platform so that they can show their skills.

“That’s been very rewarding over the years because that’s what Super2 is there for. I just think they [series management] needed to do a better job, particularly last year.”

MWM fielded as many as four Nissan Altimas in Super2 last year, although those cars are now only eligible for Super3 following something of a backflip from the category last year.

That left White considering his future in Super2 at the time, and has played a part in his decision not to fill the Gen2 Mustang seat in Perth, among other factors.

“We’ll just sit back on the sidelines till we sit down and see what the options are,” he said.

“Last year was a very frustrating year for us, from many points of view, but probably hit a tipping point at Sandown were Supercars went back on the eligibility of the Nissans, which came from nowhere; culminated in Tyler Everingham getting penalised for tangling with a backmarker car from Super3 when he was leading the race and given what was effectively a 20-place penalty.

“Just a series of pretty unfortunate events that just knocked the enthusiasm around for the sport a little bit.

“This year started exactly the same as last year was; all the time-certain finishing last year was an absolute disgrace, and Newcastle was 100 percent the same except it was worse.

“The drivers just got such poor value; last year was definitely the worst I’ve ever seen it and we’ve been involved in the category since day one.

They keep saying it’s TV, it’s TV, but if that’s what TV does to a sport, get rid of TV.

“I know TV is important for sponsors but the guys are there to learn how to race; that’s what Super2 is for and that’s why we’ve been involved for so long.

“It’s just been frustrating, all this, race after race after race, and it’s not good enough. They’ve got to do better.”

Supercars has moved to address that gripe, with a change of format which takes effect at Wanneroo next weekend.

Races will now be fully time-certain but at 40 minutes long, rather than fitting a prescribed lap count within a 30-minute window.

“We’ll sit back and watch how Perth goes and what they can do going forward,” added White.

After Wanneroo, Super2 heads to Townsville in July for Round 3 and then Sandown in September for Round 4, where MWM may return.

In the meantime, 27 cars, will contest Round 2, split 19 in Super2 and eight in the Super3 class.

Practice starts on Friday.

Entry list: Round 2, Wanneroo Raceway