Rather, it was the first Supercars race co-commentated by a duo widely seen as the future of the category’s broadcasts, Chad Neylon and Garth Tander.

Neylon and Tander are staples of the Supercars TV product and team up in the commentary box for the Super2 Series races.

They have previously been deployed for main series practice sessions and took turns alongside Mark Skaife when Neil Crompton was sidelined for health reasons in 2021.

The change for the Thursday race at Albert Park took place because Crompton had an F1 commitment that clashed with the Thursday evening Supercars slot.

It provided Supercars TV a chance to give Neylon, who is an employee of Crompton’s AirTime Media, and Tander experience on the big stage.

While Supercars is currently negotiating a new television deal for 2026, there has been no indication that it will come with a change to the main commentary line-up.

Crompton has been the voice of Supercars for decades, paired in the box with Skaife since the five-time champion retired from full-time driving at the end of 2008.

Skaife stepped back from duties on the RACE Board late last year while the broadcast negotiations take place due to his close connections to Fox Sports.

Crompton and Skaife are set to be back on the mic for this afternoon’s second race of the weekend.