Motorsport Australia has confirmed that it will abolish its endorsement of the Superlicence from the start of next year.
The Superlicence was introduced for the 2017 season in response to criticisms raised following Kurt Kostecki’s role as a substitute driver for Team 18 after Lee Holdsworth crashed in Darwin.
It courted further controversy when Matt Chahda was denied a licence in 2017 and Nathan Herne in 2020, Motorsport Australia unwilling to offer either dispensation.
Without a Superlicence, or dispensation, a driver cannot compete in the Supercars Championship.
Changes have been made to the specifics surrounding the Superlicence over the years, though it fundamentally follows the FIA system of requiring points to be accumulated over a five-year period.
A weighting points value was attributed to a raft, but not all, categories based on their perceived importance/relevance – which has also been a bone of contention in some quarters.
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Supercars has added its own layer of requirements to the process, which has in many regards undermined the effectiveness of the Superlicence.
Coupled with broader changes to licencing requirements, the Motorsport Australia Board voted to scrap the concept from next year.
“The Board today considered and discussed a recommendation put forward by the Australian Motor Racing Commission (AMRC). Following those deliberations, the Board resolved to no longer require Supercars drivers to hold a Superlicence from the start of next year,” confirmed Eugene Arocca, Motorsport Australia CEO.
“This decision follows recent changes to the power-to-weight requirements and age limits imposed on those seeking to obtain a Circuit licence.
“Those requirements did not exist when the Superlicence was introduced, therefore the Board is comfortable that these restrictions effectively ensure that only qualified drivers of the right age will be able to apply for and receive an International Circuit Licence, in line with FIA requirements.
“The Superlicence was always a free endorsement for Australian drivers on their existing licence, so this will not require Supercars drivers to make any changes in 2024 and beyond as current drivers will already hold an International Circuit Licence and can simply renew as normal.
“New drivers can apply for an International Circuit Licence via the Motorsport Australia website or by contacting our membership team.”
The decision to abolish the Superlicence follows recent changes by Supercars to its own eligibility criteria, laid out within the Supercars Operations Manual.
To satisfy Motorsport Australia, a driver need only have accumulated sufficient points during the past two seasons to be eligible for a Superlicence.
However, Supercars built on that, with a driver having to have finished in the top six of the Super2 Series, have competed in three rounds of the Supercars Championship in the last five years, competed in at least six Super2 Series rounds in the past three years, or hold Gold FIA Driver Categorisation.
In effect, it weighted the system towards Supercars’ ladder categories.
As such, the Motorsport Australia aspect of the system has become largely redundant and, given changes to the licensing requirements outlined by the sport’s governing body, unnecessary as of 2024.
That follows changes made by the FIA to international the licencing structure for the start of 2022, designed to simplify the structure.
Under Appendix L of the International Sporting Code, competitors are eligible for the International C licence after serving a probation period – during which they cannot compete in machinery above a specified power-to-weight ratio.
That is now all that will be necessary for drivers to potentially compete in Supercars from next season, though Supercars will remain the gatekeeper as to who it deems is or is not suitable.
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