Another Repco Supercars Championship round, another weekend where a fair share of drivers will be getting their first tastes of a circuit in the main game.
For the third consecutive round, Supercars heads to a destination that has been off the calendar for the past few years, with Winton Motor Raceway hosting the Pizza Hut Winton Supersprint.
Just like the Formula 1 Heineken Australian Grand Prix and the Bunnings Trade Perth Supernight, Winton will finally welcome the championship after two COVID-19 interrupted years with Supercars to be making its 33rd appearance at the Victorian circuit.
And with that two-year gap, six of the young full-time drivers will experience Winton for the first time, despite having raced there in other categories, such as Broc Feeney, Bryce Fullwood, Will Brown, Thomas Randle and the two Kosteckis.
In addition to those six will be two drivers making their official Supercars/Australian Touring Cars Championship debut in Jayden Ojeda and Jordan Boys – the duo having had some experience in the main game, but as co-drivers.
Interestingly, despite never having raced at Winton in the past two years, Brodie Kostecki will be reaching his 50th race Supercars start this weekend, while Jack Le Brocq is also on track for a milestone, with his 150th start on Sunday morning.
With three 36-lap races awaiting the field, there will be plenty of drama expected across the weekend with every weekend there having had some form of safety-car period for the past two decades.
That streak isn’t the only one to keep an eye on with Red Bull Ampol Racing having endured a difficult run since 2019 with only one race win occurring at the circuit since 2013, which unsurprisingly went to Shane van Gisbergen in 2017.
It won’t be the first time this year that van Gisbergen will be looking to break a drought with the current championship leader having won a race in Western Australia for the first time in his career – and doing it twice as well.
The reigning champion is in scintillating form at the moment and after extending his lead out west, he seems to have the mental edge over his title contenders, who continue to have inconsistent runs.
No matter the current form of the drivers, the milestones or the welcoming of debutants, it will be exciting to return to another circuit that has been absent since 2019.
The Pizza Hut Winton Supersprint takes place at Winton Motor Raceway on 21-22 May.
Championship Top 10 (after Bunnings Trade Perth Supersprint)
1. Shane van Gisbergen - 1087 points
2. Anton De Pasquale - 923
3. Will Davison - 876
4. Cameron Waters - 751
5. Chaz Mostert - 745
6. Broc Feeney - 725
7. David Reynolds - 709
8. Brodie Kostecki - 709
9. Tim Slade - 659
10. James Courtney - 639
Schedule
Saturday 21 May
8:50am - 9:20pm - Practice 1
10:45am-11:15am - Practice 2
1:05pm-1:45pm – Armor All Qualifying Race 13
3:35pm - 5:00pm – Race 13
Sunday 22 May
9:40am - 9:50am – Armor All Qualifying Race 14
10:10am – 10:20am - Armor All Qualifying Race 15
12:25pm – 1:45pm – Race 14
3:35pm – 5:00pm – Race 15
(All times are marked as AEST)
Support Categories
Formula Ford
Aussie Racing Cars
Sports Sedans
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
Entry List
Walkinshaw Andretti United
#2 Holden Commodore ZB - Nick Percat
#25 Holden Commodore ZB - Chaz Mostert
#27 Holden Commodore ZB – Jayden Ojeda
Tim Blanchard Racing
#3 Ford Mustang - Tim Slade
Brad Jones Racing
#4 Holden Commodore ZB - Jack Smith
#8 Holden Commodore ZB - Andre Heimgartner
#14 Holden Commodore ZB - Bryce Fullwood
#96 Holden Commodore ZB - Macauley Jones
Tickford Racing
#5 Ford Mustang - James Courtney
#6 Ford Mustang - Cameron Waters
#55 Ford Mustang – Thomas Randle
#56 Ford Mustang - Jake Kostecki
Grove Racing
#10 Ford Mustang - Lee Holdsworth
#26 Ford Mustang - David Reynolds
Erebus Motorsport
#9 Holden Commodore ZB - Will Brown
#99 Holden Commodore ZB - Brodie Kostecki
#49 Holden Commodore ZB - Jordan Boys
Dick Johnson Racing
#11 Ford Mustang - Anton De Pasquale
#17 Ford Mustang - Will Davison
Team 18
#18 Holden Commodore ZB - Mark Winterbottom
#20 Holden Commodore ZB - Scott Pye
PremiAir Racing
#22 Holden Commodore ZB - Chris Pither
#76 Holden Commodore ZB - Garry Jacobson
Matt Stone Racing
#34 Holden Commodore ZB – Jack Le Brocq
#35 Holden Commodore ZB – Todd Hazelwood
Triple Eight Race Engineering
#88 Holden Commodore ZB - Broc Feeney
#97 Holden Commodore ZB - Shane van Gisbergen