The Repco Supercars Championship will feature on the support bill at next year’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The touring car class will sit alongside Formula 2 and Formula 3 across the four days from March 30-April 2, as exclusively revealed by Speedcafe.com this morning.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation boss Andrew Westacott confirmed Supercars’ will once again be present.
That follows a statement from Supercars itself in June that it intended to continue as part of the Albert Park event.
“They are there,” Westacott confirmed to Speedcafe.com.
“Now, we will work out – there are going to be schedule changes when it comes to the programme.
“What I know is we’ve got four days of fantastic activity that will now be headlined by F1, F2, F3, and Supercars.
“And we’re working on the detail about what else is on the programme.
“Now, that’s got a few more months to play out with Formula 1, but it’s a bumper programme.
“To be able to be able to come along to Albert Park, have a four-day event with F1, F2, F3, and Supercars guaranteed, as well as other support action which we’re stepping through, it’s a great reason to register your interest and get in first at the head of the queue when tickets go on sale.”
The Australian Grand Prix will likely be Round 2 of the 2023 Supercars season, which is poised to open on the streets of Newcastle on March 10-12.
The addition of the Formula 1 feeder series brings with it some formatting requirements, with both having a single practice session preceding qualifying, typically on a Friday.
A ‘Sprint’ race for each then comes on a Saturday before the ‘Feature’ race on a Sunday to complete the weekend.
The timing of those, and the fact they’re owned by Formula 1 Management, makes it likely that Supercars will find itself slotted in once that programming has been complete.
There are also unanswered questions, as Westacott alluded to, regarding track action on the Thursday, which has traditionally seen the support categories take centre stage.
With Formula 2 and Formula 3 unlikely to be on track, and only Supercars announced, there is significant track time to fill, but comparatively little time available from Friday.
The addition of a further racing category is possible, with Porsche Carrera Cup Australia the most likely to join the programme, with a combination of demonstrations, parades, and the speed comparison likely to have to fill the void.
Both Supercars and Carrera Cup this year had four races each over the weekend.
It’s also possible the weekend format for both will therefore have to change to fit into the gaps left by the Formula 1-aligned classes.
Tickets for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix are set to go on sale in the coming weeks.
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