V8 Supercars teams have the chance to add a touch of individuality to their racing numbers this season following a recent rule tweak.
The category’s Commission this week agreed to allow teams to choose their own fonts for the compulsory windscreen and rear passenger window numbers.
All numbers, which must continue to be day-glo yellow, had previously been required to be presented in Helvetica Bold Condensed.
New fonts will now be approved provided that they are “still legible by both timekeepers and trackside marshals.”
Window numbers were made compulsory in V8 Supercars in 2008, freeing up extra space on the doors for advertising.
Garry Rogers Motorsport ran its new numbers at Monday’s pre-season test across its two V8 Supercars Championship Volvos and pair of Dunlop Series Holdens.
“We’ve always liked a bit of showmanship, for want of a better word,” team owner Garry Rogers told Speedcafe.com.
“We wanted the numbers to stand out, like they did when we had them on the doors in 2014.
“It’s something that’s been lost in recent years with the numbers all on the windows.”
Using racing numbers as ‘brands’ for marketing purposes has long been in vogue in the United States and professional motorcycle racing.
It is now gaining increasing traction in Formula 1, where each driver was last year required to pick a number that they will carry for their entire career.