Supercars has delayed the introduction of Gen3 for a third time, pushing back its racing rollout to 2023.
In a statement, the category blamed “factors outside the control of Supercars” such as international supply chains and domestic disruptions due to COVID-19.
Lengthy lockdown periods in New South Wales and Victoria were noted as a contributing factor in the delay of its testing programme.
Supercars has confirmed the Gen3 prototypes will publicly debut on Friday, December 3 at this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
“Lockdowns in various states which have forced Supercars to condense its racing programme over the final three months of 2021, have also limited the Gen3 testing programme as originally planned,” the statement read.
“Supercars has arrived at this decision following consultation with key stakeholders including Repco, Ford, General Motors and Supercars’ broadcast partners.”
Supercars has earmarked plans to showcase the Gen3 platform at events throughout 2022 in the lead-up to the 2023 racing debut.
The rollout of Gen3 has long been troubled. Initially outlined for a 2021 debut, the project was first delayed to 2022 citing manufacturer market considerations among the reasons why.
Earlier this year it was announced the new regulations would be introduced midway through 2022.
That would have seen Supercars start the season with the incumbent Gen2 cars before switching over to Gen3 in the events leading up to the Bathurst 1000.
The mid-year debut came as rumours grew surrounding the feasibility of the platform’s delivery.
Those rumours were exacerbated by a high degree of secrecy surrounding the project.
Ultimately, a crisis meeting was held where it was decided a mid-year rollout would take place, though that statement came with a note that there would be “regular reviews in the coming months”.
This year was meant to be the last for the Holden ZB Commodore at The Mountain, but the platform will get a stay of execution for yet another season.
The ZB Commodore will eventually be replaced by the Chevrolet Camaro as the designated General Motors product.
The Ford Mustang will remain, albeit in a new guise when the new S650 model is released.
Triple Eight Race Engineering has been tasked with the homologation of the Chevrolet Camaro while Dick Johnson Racing has responsibility for the Ford Mustang.
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer has been at the forefront of the project alongside head of motorsport Adrian Burgess, engine specialist Craig Hasted, and the homologation teams.
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