Strategy curveball for Sydney SuperNight

A subtle format change could have major strategy implications for Supercars Championship teams at next week’s Sydney SuperNight.

The Sydney Motorsport Park event is unique this year in so much that it is comprised of one refuelling race, to be held on Saturday evening, and one sprint, on the Sunday afternoon.

The former is to be run over 51 laps totalling 200km of the 3.91km Western Sydney circuit, and had been set to include two compulsory pit stops for each car.

Now, however, the issue of the Further Supplementary Regulations has changed the CPS requirement to just the one stop.

The fuel drop has been locked in at 80 litres, down from the 100 litres for Newcastle and Townsville but proportionate considering those races were 250km long, while the two-tyre requirement across the CPS(s) remains.

Although teams thus now have the freedom to get through the race on one pit stop, they face the dilemma of whether they attempt to do so or not.

Fuel range will not be a problem, given Sunday’s 140km race does not require refuelling, and the 80-litre drop is well within the 133-litre cell capacity of the new-for-2023 Gen3 race cars.

However, tyres will be the big question.

The soft compound, which is in fact the middle of Dunlop’s 2023 Supercars range, has been allocated for Sydney Motorsport Park, with each car to receive 32 new slick tyres for the weekend, of which they must hand back eight after practice.

‘Eastern Creek’ is regarded as a high-degradation circuit, even in the latter years of the Gen2 era, when cars had much more downforce and hence moved around less, which protected tyre life.

For the Ford teams, there is even more at stake after how their Mustangs performed last time out at the NTI Townsville 500.

In each of those two races, the top-finishing Mustang, including that of Race 17 winner Anton De Pasquale, stopped three times instead of the usual two.

However, that was before testing of a new-spec, 80mm throttle body which is intended to calm down the rear tyres of the Fords and make the rubber last longer.

The new Engine Specification Document, which would likely include a new throttle map translation table, is yet to be locked in, although there should likely be some improvement in the Mustangs in Sydney.

While the official pre-season test was also held at SMP, teams will have just a pair of half-hour practice sessions next weekend before they get into qualifying and racing.

Track activity starts on Friday, July 28 for support categories.

Sydney Supercars schedule

All times local/AEST/UTC+10