2024 NTI Townsville 500 Official Program

Page 1


The 2024 NTI Townsville 500 Official Program is published by AN1 Media Pty. Ltd for Supercars

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Welcome from Supercars

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024 NTI Townsville 500, North Queensland’s largest annual sporting event.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of this incredible event, and we are excited to celebrate the 40th Supercars race in Townsville.

We are thrilled to bring back the Repco Supercars Championship to North Queensland, showcasing this beautiful part of the world to a global audience of over 233 million households.

We are truly grateful for the support of our loyal and dedicated fans here in Townsville, many of whom have travelled across Australia to be part of this incredible event.

From Saturday night’s incredible line-up of music acts Tones and I, G Flip, and Cyril, to the annual transporter parade and the first-ever Townsville Track to Town event –this year’s NTI Townsville 500 is one of the biggest on record both on and off track.

While Supercars and support categories, including the Dunlop Series, will go

Welcome from NTI

NTI is proud and excited to welcome you to the 2024 NTI Townsville 500.

The Townsville round is unlike any other –a fantastic community event in sunny North Queensland that has people asking “what winter?”. It’s the perfect time of year to get out amongst it and have fun.

There’s something on offer for race fans and local families alike – including the Truck Parade, and this year’s concert featuring home-grown top touring artists Tones and I, G Flip, and international DJ sensation Cyril. Also, for the first time ever in Queensland, Supercars Track to Town will see all 24 Supercars take to public roads as they make their way to the Superfest signing session at Jezzine Barracks. It’s a rare opportunity to get up close with the teams and drivers.

head-to-head on track, this year’s event is packed with a variety of thrilling off-track entertainment to keep fans of all kinds engaged all week long. Make sure you check out the new Torque Alley display and NTI Car Giveaway in between displays by the ADF, aerial shows, the drone show and the dodgem cars, there is really something for everyone.

We extend our thanks to our major partners, the Queensland Government, Tourism and Events Queensland, Townsville City Council, and NTI Limited for their continuous support of this event that has been a major part of our calendar since 2009.

We hope you, our fans, have a fantastic weekend of celebrations both on and off the track. This event wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our series naming rights partner, Repco, as well as our valued partners, broadcasters, race teams, drivers, volunteers, officials, and fans.

Thank you for being part of the 2024 NTI Townsville 500, and we hope you have a memorable and enjoyable experience.

But whether you’re cheering trackside, or watching on the couch at home, it really is the fans that continue to make the Townsville round an exhilarating experience. On behalf of the NTI Team – thank you for your passion and support of this world-class competition.

This year, NTI will once again be drawing the winner of the MND and Me Raffle to win a modified, black Dual Cab 4x4, vintage style 1946 Ford Jailbar. All proceeds raised by the raffle go towards funding Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research grants within Australia. We are so appreciative of the continued support from the Supercars Community in helping us with this cause. Best of luck to all teams. We hope you enjoy the weekend of racing. Sit back, enjoy, and stay safe.

Welcome from the Queensland Government

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024 NTI Townsville 500 in Townsville Region.

The Townsville Region is known for its natural beauty and famous North Queensland outdoor lifestyle and friendly hospitality, making it the perfect destination for this event.

The Queensland Government is proud to support the NTI Townsville 500 through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Major Event funding.

The NTI Townsville 500 will be a

Welcome to the 2024 NTI Townsville 500. It is an absolute honour for our city to host the Supercars Championship annually, with this year marking the 16th time the blockbuster event has been held at Reid Park.

We know Townsville is a driver’s favourite. The city’s famous winter weather paired with driving on our unique street track makes for an unforgettable experience. But it’s also a fan favourite location, with local enthusiasts sharing the stands with supporters from across the country and abroad.

I’m thrilled to welcome global superstars Tones & I, G Flip and Cyril to Townsville to headline Saturday night’s main stage. The city prides itself on being the events capital of Northern Australia and having a lineup

Welcome from Repco

Welcome to the NTI Townsville 500 – a weekend that is one of the best on the calendar. Or as we like to say at Repco, an event that really gets you goin’.

The passion for Supercars in North Queensland is strong. Since the event’s inception in 2009, we’ve seen big crowds continue to flock to the half street, half permanent facility at the Reid Park venue. It’s a genuine street track with a twist, and a terrific venue to watch the mighty Repco Supercars.

And now with the world class football

quintessential Queensland experience in Townsville and is set to contribute towards a $850 million Queensland Events Calendar in 2024.

Queensland’s growing events calendar highlights our state’s reputation as a destination for great entertainment and unique visitor experiences.

If you are visiting for the event, I encourage you to make the most of your stay in this picture-perfect location by exploring the diverse and unique tourism experiences.

of some of the country’s biggest musical exports just goes to prove it.

I know there will be many young people attending over the coming three days who have ambitions to become the next Chaz Mostert or Broc Feeney. I hope these young people draw inspiration from the stands and that we can one day see them completing laps on the same track.

To all the drivers, mechanics, engineers, managers and Supercars staff, I’d like to wish you the best of luck.

And to everyone attending the 2024 NTI Townsville 500 I encourage you to make the most of Townsville’s perfect winter weather and our North Queensland hospitality when you visit locally run businesses and attractions.

stadium close by, it’s a sporting precinct like no other.

Yeah, you get the picture, Townsville gets us goin’.

The championship is also poised as a close fight. The Red Bulls have an edge, but the Mustang heroes are coming back. Do they have the ponies to run down the Chevys?

It’s another battle for the ages, and one that will keep us hangin’ on the edge of our seats –whether that’s at the track or on your couch.

From all the crew at Repco, enjoy the racing, wherever you may be watching.

Welcome from Townsville

Friday 5 July

Saturday 6 July

Sunday 7 July

8:40

9:00 9:05 Track Crossing

9:05 9:20 Entertainment

9:30

2024 NTI TOWNSVILLE 500

1

BRODIE KOSTECKI

Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 26

FROM Perth, WA

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD

FACEBOOK @brodiekostecki57 INSTAGRAM @brodiekostecki

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2019

ROUNDS 44

RACES 104 WINS 6

PODIUMS 24 POLES 11

TOWNSVILLE STATS

2021 ROUNDS 4

9

FINISH 2nd

1

QUAL 4th 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

5

FINISH 3rd

1 BEST QUAL 2nd CHAMP POS 24th

Brodie Kostecki capped his rise to the top of the Repco Supercars Championship by becoming the 26th driver to win the esteemed title. While the 2023 season was just his third full-time tilt at the ‘main game’, his journey is as far away as you can get from an overnight success story.

After racing karts in Australia, Kostecki and his family moved to America where he cut his teeth in the uncompromising world of Late Model stock car racing on short ovals, winning at the famous Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina at age 15 against future NASCAR stars Ty Dillon and Bubba Wallace. Kostecki went on to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and across 14 races he secured two poles, one track record and one top five finish.

He returned home and in 2017 debuted in the Dunlop Super2 Series in an older generation FG Falcon run by Matt Stone Racing. Kostecki joined cousins Kurt and Jake for 2018 in a three-car Kostecki Brothers Racing effort, breaking through for his first Super2 Series race and round wins at Sandown en route to fifth in the final standings.

After a strong start to 2019, Kostecki sat out the bulk of the season as KBR focused on its Enduro Cup wildcard entry, but the closure of the family team left his future uncertain beyond an Enduro Cup co-drive with Erebus.

Kostecki was given a chance by Eggleston Motorsport, and he drove for its Super2 squad while working in its workshop and staying with team owners Ben and Rachael Eggleston. A first-up win in Adelaide repaid their faith, but it was his Bathurst co-drive that turned heads; Kostecki raced door-to-door with several of Supercars’ biggest names without backing down and forced Jamie Whincup into making a race-ending mistake.

The effort landed him a ‘main game’ seat with Erebus for 2021, and he wasted no time dispelling any doubters by claiming his first podium finish in greasy, wet conditions at Sandown, while a swashbuckling final stint earnt him a trip to the Repco Bathurst 1000 podium with co-driver David Russell.

A career-first pole position and more podiums followed in 2022, but Erebus’ preparation for the arrival of Gen3 gave Kostecki his first shot at championship glory. In addition to a slew of wins and pole positions, it was the way Kostecki battled and fended off departing star Shane van Gisbergen that emphasised that he was truly a deserving champion.

However, he is just one round into his reign after sitting out the first two events of the 2024 season, with Todd Hazelwood driving in his stead prior to Kostecki’s return at Taupō. It’s been a challenging return so far, but Kostecki made his first trip to the podium as champion last time out at Hidden Valley.

RYAN WOOD

Mobil 1TM Truck Assist Racing Ford Mustang GT

AGE 20

FROM Wellington, NZ

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

FACEBOOK @ryanwoodracing INSTAGRAM @ryanwood40_

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2024

ROUNDS 5

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 2nd

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2024

ROUNDS N/A

RACES N/A

BEST FINISH N/A

PODIUMS N/A

BEST QUAL N/A

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 2nd

CHAMP POS 17th

Ryan Wood completed a rapid rise to the Repco Supercars Championship grid in 2024 by taking over the marquee #2 entry at Walkinshaw Andretti United.

The 20-year-old New Zealander was one of the standout stars of last year’s Dunlop Super2 Series despite it being his first season in a Supercar.

Driving for WAU, which returned to the Supercars’ second tier for the first time in over a decade, Wood took a season-high five race wins and four pole positions. The efforts allowed him to claim the Super2 Pole Award in his first – and, as it proved, only – campaign.

However, it was his performance in a mid-year test day at Winton aboard one of WAU’s Gen3 Ford Mustangs that sealed his promotion to the team’s ‘main game’ squad for 2024.

The deal validated a bold decision made at the end of 2022, when Wood had two clear options for his career going forward.

At that point, he’d just completed an impressive maiden season of racing in Australia in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge driving for Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport.

Wood claimed four out of six round wins and a sweep of all six pole positions on the way to a narrow second-placing behind Thomas Sargent in the Pro Class standings.

The result guaranteed graduation to Porsche Carrera Cup Australia for 2023 via the Team Porsche New Zealand scholarship.

On the other hand, he was also presented with the opportunity to do Super2 with WAU off the back of starring in a mid-November Evaluation Day test aboard one of the team’s Gen2 Holden Commodores ZBs.

History shows that Wood knocked back the Porsche opportunity and chose to move directly onto the Supercars ladder with WAU in order to pursue a career in the ‘main game’, a gamble that paid dividends in less than 12 months.

A multiple karting champion in his homeland, Wood earnt the Team Porsche NZ scholarship after impressing in his first two seasons of car racing.

Graduating from karting into the country’s Toyota 86 racing series for 2020, Wood finished 10th in his first campaign, then came agonisingly close to winning the title in his second.

He won six out of 15 races and claimed six pole positions, but a puncture in the final race of the season led him to finish third in the 2021 standings.

He then raced a Porsche 991 Cup Car in the 2021/22 South Island Endurance Series, taking victory in the series without losing a single race.

THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN’T HANDLE. FROM ENGINES TO DESIGN, PAINT, MACHINING AND FABRICATION.

AARON LOVE

CoolDrive Racing

Ford Mustang GT

AGE 22

FROM Perth, WA

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

FACEBOOK @AaronLove

INSTAGRAM @aaronlove78

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2023

ROUNDS 7

RACES 14

BEST FINISH 12th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 14th

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2024

ROUNDS N/A

RACES N/A

BEST FINISH N/A

PODIUMS N/A

BEST QUAL N/A

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 12th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 14th

CHAMP POS 23rd

Aaron Love is one of two Dunlop Super2 Series racers that has graduated to the Repco Supercars championship in 2024.

The son of Western Australian racer Ian and the younger sibling of fellow young gun Jordan, Love started karting at six years old and made his circuit racing debut six years later in Wanneroo’s Formula 1000 class.

Love then moved into Formula 4 in 2017 and claimed third place in the 2018 championship with Team BRM before following his brother onto the Porsche Motorsport ladder.

He joined Sonic Motor Racing Services for the 2019 Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge season, where he won six races but narrowly missed out on the title.

He became the youngest driver in Carrera Cup history when, at age 17, he made his debut at the 2019 season-ending Gold Coast round as a dress rehearsal for what was supposed to be a full-season tilt in 2020.

However, the following two seasons were both impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Love claimed his maiden top-three race finish in the opening round of 2020 at Adelaide only for the season to suddenly end midway through the Albert Park round, while he finished fifth overall in the five-round 2021 season.

Love spent the 2022 season primarily in Europe to race in France’s Carrera Cup series. Driving for longtime Porsche squad Alméras Frères, he finished fifth in the final standings with a fourth-place finish his best race result of the season, coming at former French Grand Prix venue Magny-Cours.

The Alméras squad also fielded him in a pair of cameo appearances in Porsche Supercup, racing on the Formula 1 support card at Paul Ricard and Silverstone.

Closer to home, he did just six of the eight Carrera Cup Australia rounds as he focused on his French campaign but still won the Enduro Cup and finished within a few points of nabbing the overall title after taking 12 wins in just 18 race starts.

Last year marked a full-time return to Australian shores for Love, whose season in Europe prompted him to focus his energies on trying to climb the Supercars ladder.

He linked up with Blanchard Racing Team, which branched into the Super2 Series for the first season that Gen2-era machinery was eligible. Love proved fast aboard BRT’s Petronas-backed Ford Mustang, and claimed his first race win in the category at Mount Panorama – a victory that was also the first in any category for BRT.

Love also made his ‘main game’ debut with BRT in a wildcard entry at last year’s endurance races aboard the same Gen3 Mustang he is steering in 2024.

4

CAMERON HILL

Matt Stone Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 27

FROM Canberra, ACT

LIVES Canberra, ACT

FACEBOOK @cameronhill11

INSTAGRAM @cameron_hill4

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2022

ROUNDS 18

RACES 41

BEST FINISH 5th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 4th

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2023

ROUNDS 1

RACES 2

BEST FINISH 17th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 16th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 5th

PODIUMS 0 BEST QUAL 4th

CHAMP POS 16th

Cameron Hill embarked on his second Repco Supercars Championship season in 2024, remaining with Gold Coastbased outfit Matt Stone Racing.

Hailing from Canberra, Hill won a host of state and national titles in karting before graduating to Formula Ford in 2014, where he romped to the Australian title a year later.

He continued his strong form into the Toyota 86 Racing Series, winning more races than any other driver in the class across 2016 and 2017 while posting a pair of top-three championship finishes.

His success led to an opportunity in Carrera Cup. In 2018, Hill was one of four promising young drivers recruited to Porsche’s Michelin Junior program.

After finishing ninth in the standings in his rookie season, Hill claimed his maiden pole position and race wins at Hidden Valley in 2019 on his way to sixth in the title, and took his maiden round win at the second and final event of the category’s COVID-impacted 2020 season.

Hill was peerless on his way to the Carrera Cup title in 2021, finishing in the top three in 11 of the 13 races held – including a streak of six straight race wins.

His rise through Australian motorsport, from junior open-wheel racing to Carrera Cup, came in cars entered and prepared by his own family-run team. However, for his step up to Super2 in 2022, Hill landed a plum seat driving for reigning champions Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Hill impressed in his first season in a Supercar. Although his more experienced teammate Declan Fraser took out the title, Hill matched him six-all across the year’s qualifying sessions and stood on the podium twice.

A rough Sandown round, where he was spun early in the first race then boxed around in the mid-field shuffles during the second, plus a crash at Adelaide’s infamous Turn 8 left him fifth in the final points standings.

Hill also made his ‘main game’ debut in that year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 with PremiAir Racing, losing a potential top 10 finish with a late power steering problem.

He’d already tasted Mount Panorama success earlier in the year, winning the Bathurst 6 Hour production car race with Tom Sargeant in a BMW that started from the tail the grid, sealing the win with an electric late-race pass over Skyline on Supercars rival Tim Slade.

He had a steady rookie Supercars campaign last year with flashes of speed and has enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 season, qualifying for Top 10 Shootouts at Bathurst, Taupō and Hidden Valley, and posting a career-best race finish of fifth place in the opening race at the Mount Panorama round.

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CAM WATERS

Tickford Racing

Ford Mustang GT

AGE 29

FROM Mildura, VIC

LIVEs Melbourne, VIC

@camwaters94

@cam_waters

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

2011

122

263

12

49

25

TOWNSVILLE STATS DEBUT 2016

10

23

2

8

4

1

2

3

Cam Waters faces an uphill pursuit of a maiden Repco Supercars Championship after a tough start to 2024. While he sits sixth in the standings and won at Wanneroo, a lost wheel at Bathurst and clashes at Albert Park, Taupō and Hidden Valley leave him over 500 points off the lead.

Waters began his racing career in go-karts, collecting multiple national and state titles before graduating to Formula Vee in 2009, then winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2011.

He also made headlines that year by taking out the Shannons Supercar Showdown TV series, earning a drive alongside Grant Denyer in the Bathurst 1000 where he became the youngest driver to compete in the famous race. Later in the year he made his Super2 Series debut in a Kelly Racing-run Commodore and continued with the team into 2012, competing under the Dreamtime Racing banner, and returned to Bathurst to share a car with 2012 Shannons Supercar Showdown series winner Jesse Dixon.

He spent the next few years learning his craft in Super2, firstly with Minda Motorsport in 2013 before moving to Ford Performance Racing in 2014, romping to the 2015 title with four round wins, four poles and 10 race wins. Waters filled in for an injured Chaz Mostert in late 2015 in the #6 Pepsi Max Crew Falcon before a full-time step up to the ‘main game’ in 2016. He claimed his first championship race win in 2017 alongside Richie Stanaway at the Sandown 500 on his way to eighth in the final standings, but he slumped to 16th during Tickford’s difficult 2018 campaign.

However, the departure of Mostert for 2020 paved the way for a coming-of-age campaign for Waters as Tickford team leader. He scored his first single-driver race win at The Bend and then turned on a sublime performance at Bathurst, taking pole position and pressuring Shane van Gisbergen all the way to the flag to finish second in the race and the championship.

Hobbled in 2021 by Tickford’s struggles at Sydney Motorsport Park’s four rounds, Waters returned to form in 2022 and was often the biggest thorn in van Gisbergen’s side on his way to second in the championship.

Waters was awarded the first race victory of the Gen3 era in Newcastle following Triple Eight’s double-disqualification from the season-opener, giving him the championship lead for the first time. However, the balance of the season was a struggle amid the Ford Mustang’s wider parity issues, although lateseason changes allowed Waters to end the year with wins at the Gold Coast and Adelaide.

Waters achieved a life dream in 2024 of racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma, having made a pair of starts in the third-tier Truck Series earlier in the year.

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JAMES COURTNEY

Snowy River Racing Ford Mustang GT

AGE 44

FROM Penrith, NSW

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD FACEBOOK @JamesCourtneyRacing INSTAGRAM @jcourtney

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2005

ROUNDS 250 RACES 566

WINS 15

PODIUMS 65 POLES 10

TOWNSVILLE STATS DEBUT 2009 ROUNDS 17

38

1

6

1

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

12 BEST FINISH 6th

0 BEST QUAL 7th CHAMP POS 18th

Former Supercars Champion James Courtney and backer Snowy River Caravans switched teams for 2024, from the downsizing Tickford Racing to the expanding Blanchard Racing Team.

Courtney’s famed ‘Frank the Tank’ victory celebration hasn’t been sighted since 2016, a drought he is looking to end this year.

His list of achievements before joining Supercars full-time in 2006 is impressive, with two world karting championships, a Formula Ford title and Formula 3 race wins in Britain. Those feats landed him a Formula 1 testing role with Jaguar until a high-speed crash at Monza in 2002 changed the course of his career. Courtney moved to Japan to win the 2003 Japanese Formula 3 title and then shifted to Super GT. His versatility caught the attention of the then-Holden Racing Team, which signed him as an endurance driver alongside veteran Jim Richards in 2005.

Stone Brothers Racing signed Courtney to replace the NASCAR-bound Marcos Ambrose for 2006 and he finished on the podium at Bathurst for three straight years, taking his maiden Supercars race win at Queensland Raceway in 2008.

Courtney then moved to Dick Johnson Racing, winning a pair of races in 2009 then delivering five more in 2010 on the way to an underdog championship victory.

Courtney took the reigning champion’s #1 plate across to the Holden Racing Team in 2011 but results were sporadic, with seven race wins coming from his nine seasons with the team.

He rounded out his time with the squad in a strong fashion, a third-place finish in the Bathurst 1000 headlining a run of top 10 finishes to end 2019.

He began the 2020 season with Team SYDNEY but they parted ways after just one round, and teamed with backer Boost Mobile to pounce on an opportunity at Tickford Racing when 23Red Racing closed its doors. Courtney showed flashes of the speed that won him a Supercars title 10 years earlier with a podium result at Hidden Valley in Darwin and a further three fourth-place finishes.

Courtney continued his streak of podium appearances through 2021, 2022 and into the Gen3 era in 2023, although his Wanneroo podium proved his only trip to the dais for a season in which Ford’s parity troubles and a pair of non-starts through accident damage restricted him to 17th in the championship standings, and left Tickford at the end of the season as it cut back from four cars to two.

He has brought a wealth of experience to BRT as it hopes to progress up the grid as a now two-car squad.

8

ANDRE HEIMGARTNER

R&J Batteries Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 29

FROM Auckland, NZ

LIVES Perth, WA

FACEBOOK @AHRacing

INSTAGRAM @andreheimgartner

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2014

ROUNDS 113 RACES 256 WINS 2

PODIUMS 16

3

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2015

ROUNDS 10

RACES 23 BEST FINISH 3rd

1

QUAL 4th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

12

1

1 BEST QUAL 3rd CHAMP POS 12th

In his third season now with Brad Jones Racing, Andre Heimgartner has cemented his reputation as one of the new generation of stars of the Repco Supercars Championship, the Kiwi taking an emotional win on home soil at Taupō in April.

Heimgartner’s early career progressed through Formula Ford, Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and the Dunlop Super2 Series. His Supercars Championship debut came as a wildcard with Super Black Racing in an FPR-prepared Falcon in the 2014 Bathurst 1000 ahead of a full-time drive in 2015.

The Kiwi showed flashes of speed aboard the Super Black Falcon but was not given the opportunity to complete the season and shifted to Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2016. He then missed out on a full-time seat in 2017 and, without so much as a co-drive, appeared lost to Supercars before a call-up to replace an injured Ash Walsh at BJR on the Friday of the Bathurst 1000.

Heimgartner continued with the team on the Gold Coast where a stirring drive in wet conditions helped net a podium alongside Tim Slade, a result that caught the attention of Kelly Racing. The then-Nissan squad signed him to a full-time deal in 2018 and retained the Kiwi through 2019 – its last year fielding Nissan Altimas – and into 2020, when it scaled back to two cars and switched to Ford.

He came close to breaking through for his first win during that COVID-impacted season, adding two second place finishes in Kelly Racing’s first season running Mustangs to the podium finish he’d achieved with the Altima in 2019 at Phillip Island. After edging teammate Rick Kelly in the standings in 2019, Heimgartner was clearly the team leader in 2020.

Heimgartner also matched well against David Reynolds in 2021; his breakthrough victory at The Bend was one of 11 top-10 finishes that put him clear of his teammate in the final points standings, despite the now-Kelly Grove Racing Mustangs’ form varying sharply from circuit to circuit.

He returned to BJR on a full-time basis in 2022 and settled in quickly as team leader he was its fastest qualifier 27 times, and posted four podiums amid 21 top-10 finishes that delivered him his first finish inside the championship top 10. Heimgartner continued leading the Albury squad in the Gen3 era, last year taking pole position for the night race at Sydney Motorsport Park and six podium finishes on the way to a career-best seventh in points.

Originally from New Zealand, Heimgartner is the only Perth resident on the Supercars grid this weekend having moved here last year with fiancée Jemma and daughter Summer.

JACK LE BROCQ

Erebus Motorsport

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 32 on Sunday

FROM Melbourne, VIC

LIVES Brisbane, QLD

FACEBOOK @JackLeBrocq.com.au

INSTAGRAM @jack_lebrocq

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2015

ROUNDS 95

RACES 210

WINS 2

PODIUMS 3

POLES 1

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2018

ROUNDS 8

RACES 19

BEST FINISH 7th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 2nd

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 5th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 5th

CHAMP POS 13th

Jack Le Brocq reunited with Erebus Motorsport for 2024 in a move that saw him join the reigning Repco Supercars Championship-winning team.

Coming up through the ranks of karts and Formula Vee, Le Brocq won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2012. That same year he was bestowed with the CAMS Rising Star award, before being recruited into the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.

Le Brocq caught the attention of Erebus team owner Betty Klimenko, who drafted him into her squad’s academy to drive Formula 3 and GT machinery; the latter included a podium in the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour.

He made his Supercars Championship debut at Sandown in 2015 sharing one of the team’s E63 AMGs alongside Ash Walsh.

By that point Le Brocq had already completed nearly two Dunlop Super2 Series seasons, having debuted in 2014 in an Image Racing-run Falcon and then an MW Motorsport Ford in 2015.

Le Brocq moved to Tickford Racing – then known as Prodrive Racing Australia – for 2016 and won seven races, but was beaten to the crown by teammate Garry Jacobson. He dovetailed his Super2 program at the Ford squad with an Enduro Cup co-drive alongside Cam Waters, the pair finishing fourth together at Bathurst.

In 2017, he moved back to MW Motorsport for the Super2 Series and became Nissan’s first Super2 race winner at Symmons Plains. He also competed as a wildcard entry in a selection of Supercars Championship events, in addition to serving as Kelly’s Nissan co-driver in the Enduro Cup.

Le Brocq moved into the ‘main game’ with TEKNO in 2018, finishing the season as the best of five rookies, but a difficult second year led to a return to Tickford.

A first Supercars Championship career win came in 2020 in a mixed tyre format race at Sydney Motorsport Park, backing it up with a second at The Bend.

Le Brocq’s second season with Tickford started strongly with sixth in the opening race at Mount Panorama but, although he finished just one place lower in the final points standings than the previous year, top five results proved elusive.

Le Brocq shifted north to Matt Stone Racing for 2022, a season highlighted by strong qualifying performances; Le Brocq scored the team’s first front-row start at Symmons Plains and led the opening lap of the race.

He then shone in the inaugural season of Gen3, taking his maiden Supercars pole position at Hidden Valley and converting it to a commanding race victory, both firsts for the Gold Coast-based Chevrolet outfit.

NICK PERCAT

Matt Stone Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 35

FROM Adelaide, SA

LIVES Melbourne, VIC FACEBOOK @nickpercat INSTAGRAM @nickpercat

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS DEBUT 2010

148

328

5

15

2

TOWNSVILLE STATS DEBUT 2014

12

28

4th

0

1

12

1

1

QUAL 4th

POS 4th

It took just two rounds for Nick Percat’s shift to Matt Stone Racing to bear fruit, taking an emotional race win in Supercars’ visit to Albert Park in March.

The move followed two challenging seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United, the team that ushered him through the junior ranks towards Supercars and a shock Bathurst 1000 win on debut in 2011 with Garth Tander.

Signed by Walkinshaw Racing in 2007, Percat won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2009 with a record number of race wins, then finished fourth in the 2010 Super2 Series to earn the endurance drive that, in 2011, saw him become the first rookie Bathurst winner in over 30 years.

Percat remained part of HRT’s endurance line-up while racing in Super2 for Walkinshaw Racing until the end of 2012, before switching to drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup in 2013.

He finally joined the ‘main game’ full time with Walkinshaw in 2014 under a Racing Entitlements Contract owned by James Rosenberg.

A second place finish at Sydney Motorsport Park and a third place at the Bathurst 1000 headlined a season where Percat was the highest-placed rookie with 12th in points, but he was left without a drive when Rosenberg elected to sell his REC at the end of the season.

Percat landed at Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2015 and spent the following two seasons driving for his former Formula Ford teammate’s minnow squad.

While it was a tough period, the combination scored an upset Adelaide 500 win in 2016, a season that also included a Bathurst 1000 podium alongside Cameron McConville, before he settled into a long stint at Brad Jones Racing.

It was at BJR where Percat established his credentials as a driver capable of winning races in his own right. In five seasons with the Albury-based team, he brought home top-10 points finishes in all but 2017, his first year driving for it.

Percat took a pair of upset victories during the COVID-impacted 2020 season, while a string of consistent top 10 results across 2020 and 2021 delivered back-to-back seventh placings in points.

His return to WAU was heralded as a homecoming but highlights were few, headed by a second-place finish behind teammate Chaz Mostert at the season-ending 2022 Adelaide 500, the team carrying a retro Holden Racing Team livery in the marque’s final event in the championship.

Things didn’t improve last year amid the team’s switch to Ford Mustang machinery, and the fourth-generation Holden employee renewed his links with General Motors at MSR this year.

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ANTON DE PASQUALE

Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang GT

AGE 28

FROM Melbourne, VIC LIVES Gold Coast, QLD

@antondepasquale86

@antondepasquale

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

2018

84

193

9

34

16

8

Astrong weekend in Taupō, a round he won overall to claim the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, highlights how Anton De Pasquale and the Shell V-Power Racing Team are rebounding from a challenging 2023 season.

De Pasquale posted the team’s only victory of the inaugural year of Gen3, his triumph in the Sunday race in Townsville aided by an extra set of fresh tyres saved through his early retirement from the Saturday race.

He was also the first Ford driver home in the Repco Bathurst 1000, claiming his first ‘Great Race’ podium finish alongside co-driver Tony D’Alberto.

Like many Supercars stars before him, De Pasquale followed a successful career in karting by winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship, taking the title in 2013.

He then set his sights on European open wheelers, winning the highly competitive Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Championship in 2014 with nine victories in 15 races. The next step was the Formula Renault 2.0 Series, but a lack of funding meant opportunities beyond that proved limited and he returned to Australia determined to break into Supercars.

De Pasquale joined Paul Morris Motorsports in 2016 in the Dunlop Super2 Series, finishing 11th as a rookie and third in the Bathurst 250-kilometre mini-endurance race in an older generation FG Falcon.

The following year he stepped into an ex-Prodrive FG X Falcon with Morris’ team and claimed his first Super2 race and round wins at Phillip Island, followed later in the year with another race and round win at Sydney Motorsport Park, plus his first Super2 pole at Sandown on his way to fourth in the series.

He was given a rookie test with Erebus late in 2017 and subsequently signed on as a full- time driver for the following year as teammate to David Reynolds. The headline of De Pasquale’s rookie season was a stunning Top 10 Shootout lap at the Bathurst 1000, where he stormed to third on the grid fractionally behind polewinning teammate Reynolds and seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup. All up though, Reynolds had the youngster’s measure across their first two seasons together but the tide turned in 2020, with De Pasquale taking his first race win at Hidden Valley.

He shifted to Dick Johnson Racing in 2021, replacing the departing Scott McLaughlin and working with the three-time series champion’s former crew, headed by engineering guru Ludo Lacroix. De Pasquale claimed race wins in each of his first three seasons with DJR – including Ford’s milestone 400th ATCC/Supercars Championship race win in 2021.

This year, De Pasquale has been paired with a new race engineer with Perry Kapper taking over duties on the #11 Mustang.

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JAXON EVANS

SCT Motorsport

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 27

FROM Levin, NZ

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD

FACEBOOK @jaxonjevans

INSTAGRAM @jaxonevans_

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2022

ROUNDS 8

RACES 15

BEST FINISH 10th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 16th

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2024

ROUNDS N/A

RACES N/A

BEST FINISH N/A

PODIUMS N/A

BEST QUAL N/A

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 10th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 16th

CHAMP POS 21st

Jaxon Evans arrived this year as a full-time Repco Supercars Championship rookie with substantial international pedigree, the Kiwi having spent the past few seasons as a Porsche factory racer.

Born on the Fijian island of Rotuma, Evans was adopted as a baby by John and Deborah Evans, both of whom were involved in New Zealand motorsport as a mechanic and a racer respectively. In fact, Evans is a third-generation racer; his mum Deborah is part of the Lester their parents were a driving force behind the creation and running of the Manfeild Park circuit for several decades.

Moving to Australia when he was nine, Evans became interested in motorsport via the career of cousin Jono Lester, and started karting at age 11. That led to several seasons of karting and Formula Ford, but it was a test at Queensland Raceway aboard a McElrea Racing-run Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car when he was 17 years old that launched his career.

Evans’ impressive performance saw him brought under team boss Andy McElrea’s wing, ushering him up the Porsche ladder through GT3 Cup in 2015-16 and into Carrera Cup in 2017, culminating in a dominant 2018 season where he won six races amid 16 top-3 finishes on the way to the title.

His next career step came at the end of the year when he won the annual Porsche Junior Programme Shootout at Paul Ricard in France, beating out 10 other rising stars to earn a €225,000 scholarship and a drive in the 2019 Porsche Supercup, a regular support category at Formula 1 Grands Prix around Europe.

Despite no knowledge of the circuits, Evans impressed with a pole and a pair of podiums during a tough rookie season and landed a full-time drive in the Carrera Cup France for 2020. A title-winning season earnt him a return to Supercup for 2021, where he won at the Red Bull Ring on the way to second in the championship.

That result earnt him a multi-year contract with Porsche as one of its pool of gun steerers that it deploys to its GT partners in sportscar categories around the world.

Evans had dovetailed his 2021 Supercup season with a full-time World Endurance Championship drive with Dempsey Proton Racing – the team co-owned by movie and television star Patrick Dempsey – including making his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while his Porsche contract saw him race across Europe and the United States in 2022 and 2023.

He made his Supercars debut as a co-driver with Brad Jones Racing at the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000, and rejoined the team for last year’s endurance races before taking over the reins of the SCT Motorsport entry full-time this year.

BRYCE FULLWOOD

Middy’s Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 26

FROM Darwin, NT

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD

FACEBOOK @brycefullwoodracing INSTAGRAM @brycefullwood

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2018

ROUNDS 59

RACES 141

BEST FINISH 3rd

PODIUMS 1

BEST QUAL 3rd

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2020

ROUNDS 6

RACES 15

BEST FINISH 8th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 8th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 7th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 5th

CHAMP POS 20th

Bryce Fullwood looks to build on a strong first Gen3 season with Brad Jones Racing after coming agonisingly close to a maiden Repco Supercars Championship podium last year.

The Darwin product crossed the line third in the third race at Albert Park, only to drop to 12th with a post-race time penalty for an unsafe release from his pitstop.

The result had followed a career-best third-placing on the grid, one of several times Fullwood qualified the #14 Camaro inside the top 10.

A string of strong runs through the middle of the season, headlined by a top-five at Sydney Motorsport Park and a seventh at Bathurst with Dean Fiore, almost allowed him to crack the top 10 in points at year’s end.

The performances followed a steady first season with BJR in 2022, his best result of the season a fighting ninth place finish at the Repco Bathurst 1000.

Fullwood graduated to the ‘main game’ with Walkinshaw Andretti United in 2020 after winning the Dunlop Super2 Series title in 2019 in an MW Motorsport Nissan. Very much in the shadow of WAU’s star signing Chaz Mostert, Fullwood quietly went about settling into the top-flight before a series of mid-season qualifying performances captured attention.

His standout race result was a maiden podium finish at The Bend in September, ending the year as the best of two rookies on the championship grid that year.

He struggled to recapture that form in his sophomore season, however; fifth placings at Bathurst bookended a year that delivered only a handful of top-10 qualifying performances and race finishes.

Although technically a Supercars rookie in 2020, Fullwood already had five years of experience in the Dunlop Super2 Series, which he’d entered at the tender age of 16.

That first foray from karts into Super2 came in 2015, contesting the bulk of the season with Paul Morris Motorsports before switching to MWM for the final round, ending the year 17th.

He was 14th with MWM in 2016 and then 11th in 2017 after switching from one of the team’s previous-generation Falcons to a Nissan Altima mid-season, which brought an immediate upturn in results.

Fullwood’s career momentum took a hit in 2018 when he struggled to 17th in the Super2 standings with Matt Stone Racing, starting the year in a Falcon FG X before moving to a Commodore VF.

A move back to MWM for 2019 was touted as a make-or-break season and Fullwood made it count, winning the title in convincing fashion to earn his ‘main game’ promotion.

WILL DAVISON

Shell V-Power Racing Team

Ford Mustang GT AGE 41

FROM Melbourne, VIC LIVES Gold Coast, QLD

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

2004

558

22

80

Will Davison continues to prove a competitive force two decades on from his debut in the Repco Supercars Championship.

The veteran’s storied Supercars career came after climbing the open wheel racing ranks, winning the 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship before taking on Europe. He raced Formula Renault, Formula 3 and A1 Grand Prix, and tested with the Minardi Formula 1 team in late 2004.

By that point, he had already made his Supercars debut courtesy of a handful of starts with Team Dynamik in 2004; he was supposed to drive full-time for it in 2005 before a deal broke down on the eve of the season-opening Adelaide 500.

Davison first linked with Dick Johnson Racing for the 2005 endurance races before joining the team full-time for 2006, his threeyear stint with the squad including finishing on the podium at Bathurst with Steven Johnson in 2007 and taking a maiden race and round win at Eastern Creek in 2008, plus another round triumph at Winton.

He joined the Holden Racing Team in 2009, a move that yielded a Bathurst win and second in the championship in its first year before a tough 2010. Three years as a regular front-runner at Ford Performance Racing followed, ahead of a two-year stint with Erebus Motorsport during its Mercedes era, which produced a solitary win at Wanneroo in 2015.

Davison then spent two years at TEKNO Autosports, winning Bathurst with Jonathon Webb and finishing fifth in the championship standings in 2016 prior to a second-year slump, but he remained on the grid for 2018 courtesy of a lifeline from 23Red Racing.

He led the team through a difficult maiden season and reaped the rewards in 2019 when Tickford Racing took over operating the 23Red entry, coming agonisingly close to wins at Queensland Raceway and The Bend. However, the team closed its doors during the early stages of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic; Davison was fourth in the championship standings at the time yet out of a drive. A co-drive lifeline came from Tickford, and a second-placing with Cam Waters at Bathurst earnt a golden latecareer opportunity with DJR.

Front-running performances during the 2021 season were finally converted to wins in 2022, while Davison came one top-qualifying performance shy of netting the Pole Champion Award. Ford’s parity deficit in the first year of Gen3 meant 2023 was challenging for Davison, for whom the highlight was a podium finish at Hidden Valley that was one of just two top-five finishes across the season.

Davison sits inside the top 10 in points heading to Townsville, highlighted by a secondplace finish in the Saturday race at Taupō.

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18

MARK WINTERBOTTOM

DEWALT Racing Team 18

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 43

FROM Sydney, NSW

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

FACEBOOK @markjwinterbottom

INSTAGRAM @markjwinterbottom

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2003

ROUNDS 280

RACES 633

WINS 39

PODIUMS 120 POLES 36

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2009

ROUNDS 17

RACES 38

WINS 3

PODIUMS 10 POLES 4

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 2nd

PODIUMS 2

BEST QUAL 3rd

CHAMP POS 15th

Mark Winterbottom returned to the winners list in last year’s Repco Supercars Championship with a longawaited maiden triumph for Team 18. The commanding win in Darwin broke a sevenyear drought and delivered his first race victory in a General Motors product.

Prior to joining Team 18 for 2019, Winterbottom – who has carried the nickname ‘Frosty’ for most of his career – had been synonymous with Ford.

Winning the Ford KartStars Series springboarded him into Formula Ford, where he finished runner-up to future Supercars rival Jamie Whincup in the 2002 Australian championship.

He was picked up by Stone Brothers Racing in 2003 and drove an AU Falcon to victory in the Super2 Series. That year he also made his Supercars Championship debut as an endurance driver in SBR’s second car.

He moved into the championship full-time in 2004 with Mark Larkham’s Falcon squad and joined Ford Performance Racing in 2006, beginning a relationship that spanned 13 seasons, earnt a Supercars Championship title and a Bathurst 1000 victory.

Victory in the 2013 Bathurst 1000 alongside Steve Richards remains Winterbottom’s Mount Panorama highlight, the win coming in his 11th start in the ‘Great Race’. He also secured a long sought-after championship win in 2015.

Winterbottom initially joined Team 18 on a two-year deal, but has since signed two more contract extensions to remain with the squad until the end of 2024.

His time with the team started with a bang, taking pole position in just his third event aboard its Triple Eight-built Commodore at Symmons Plains, but continued to fall agonisingly short of a podium finish.

That drought continued into the final season of Gen2, although Winterbottom’s consistent top-10 results netted a ninth-place championship finish, his best since departing Tickford and equalling the best scored by any Team 18 driver.

The breakthrough podium finally came with a bang in 2023, with Winterbottom’s victory at Hidden Valley putting him on the top step for the first time since Pukekohe in late-2016.

Winterbottom’s success and longevity means he tops the lists of most race wins, podiums and poles among active drivers on the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship grid.

It took him just two rounds to add to the podium metric in 2024; Winterbottom raced his way to second place in the Friday race at Albert Park and backed it up with another at Hidden Valley last month, representing his 119th and 120th trips to the dais across his Supercars career.

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MATT PAYNE

Penrite Racing

Ford Mustang GT

AGE 21

FROM Auckland, NZ

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

@matthewpayne.racing INSTAGRAM @matthewpayne_7 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

2022

18

41

1

3

2

2023

1

2

15th

Apair of pole positions at Albert Park and Taupō already in 2024 shows that Matt Payne’s incredible finish to his rookie Repco Supercars Championship season was no flash in the pan.

The 21-year-old New Zealander turned in several impressive performances as last year went on, culminating in a pair of front-row starts at the final two rounds and a dominant drive at the VAILO Adelaide 500 that made him the 85th driver to win an ATCC/Supercars Championship race.

Payne’s performances are all the more remarkable given it was only his third full season racing cars since stepping up from karting, where the Auckland teen scored multiple championships.

Those successes initially led to a chance to race karts in Europe in 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic scuppered the deal.

Instead, he graduated to circuit racing in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series, winning the three-race 2021 title and finishing third in the New Zealand Grand Prix.

Payne was also the first recipient of the Team Porsche NZ scholarship under the tutelage of multiple Le Mans 24 Hours winner Earl Bamber, leading to a drive in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in 2021. He impressed with back-to-back poles at The Bend and Townsville and put in an assured drive to victory at the latter round, finishing sixth in the standings overall.

2

Payne’s form saw him recruited as the foundation driver of the Grove Junior Team in mid-2021, with the goal of graduating to the Repco Supercars Championship with the squad last year.

There were indications he’d move to the ‘main game’ sooner than that, but Grove Racing elected to field him in a Nissan Altima in the second-tier class instead of rushing a promotion for 2022.

The extra season behind the wheel of a second-tier machine paid dividends with Payne sharpening his skills against a field of fellow Supercars aspirants, and he led the points early in the season off the back of his maiden race and round wins at Wanneroo.

But his title hopes took significant blows in Townsville, when he was the innocent victim of a crash off the start of the Sunday race, and the following round at Sandown, where he tangled with Matt Chadha while battling for second in the Saturday race. Payne rebounded with a win on the Sunday at Sandown and he remained in title contention all the way to the final race at Adelaide.

To cap his graduation, Payne finally made his ‘main game’ debut at the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000, impressing alongside veteran Lee Holdsworth in finishing sixth.

20

DAVID REYNOLDS

TRADIE Beer Racing Team 18

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 39

FROM Albury, NSW

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

FACEBOOK @davidreynoldsv8supercar INSTAGRAM @daffidreynolds

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2007

ROUNDS 202

RACES 444

WINS 8

PODIUMS 44

POLES 16

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2009

ROUNDS 16

RACES 36

BEST FINISH 2nd PODIUMS 2

BEST QUAL 2nd

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 5th

CHAMP POS 11th

David Reynolds shifted to Team 18 for 2024 off the back of his best Repco Supercars Championship campaign in recent years.

The rise of Grove Racing over the past two seasons, and particularly the final rounds of 2023, allowed Reynolds to refresh the memories of those who’d forgotten his reputation as one of the category’s most formidable racers.

He held off the stern advances of eventual series champion Brodie Kostecki to claim a breakthrough victory for the team on the Gold Coast last year, ending a personal drought that stretched back to the final race of 2018 and falling on the 10th anniversary of his first win in the category.

Reynolds’ career to date is packed with success, winning the Australian Formula Ford and Carrera Cup titles en route to Supercars, where his debut came in 2007 as Cameron McConville’s co-driver at PWR Racing, and he drove a Tony D’Alberto Racing-run Holden in the 2008 Fujitsu (Super2) Series before graduating to the ‘main game’ in 2009 with Walkinshaw Racing.

Reduced to an endurance driver role for 2010, he returned to full-time duties with Kelly Racing in 2011 then jumped across to Rod Nash Racing to drive its FPR-prepared Falcon in 2012.

The move delivered instant results as Reynolds finished a close second in the 2012 Bathurst 1000 and built himself into a championship contender by 2015, finishing third that season before departing for Erebus.

He signed for Erebus when it was based on the Gold Coast and racing Mercedes-Benz AMG E63s, but the team elected to start afresh for 2016 with a move to Melbourne and ex-Walkinshaw Commodores. The year ended with a maiden podium finish at Sydney Olympic Park followed by their upset Bathurst 1000 triumph with Luke Youlden in 2017, and only a bout of ill-timed cramp stopped the pair from making it back-to-back ‘Great Race’ wins in 2018. The relationship soured during a rough 2020 campaign and they agreed to part ways at the end of the season, just one year into a 10-year deal.

His 2021 move to what was then known as Kelly Grove Racing put him in familiar surroundings, having driven for then-Holden team Kelly Racing in 2011.

After failing to grace the podium during his final season with Erebus, Reynolds returned to the dais in 2021 in just his fifth race with Kelly Grove Racing and led the resurgent Grove squad into the Gen3 era, which he opened with pole on Sunday in Newcastle.

Reynolds also became a factory GT driver in 2024, selected by Mercedes-AMG to join its pool of global stars in its ‘Expert’ tier.

TIM SLADE

PremiAir Nulon Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 38

FROM Hornsby, NSW

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD FACEBOOK @TimSladeRacing INSTAGRAM @_timslade_

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS DEBUT 2009 ROUNDS 201 RACES 439

2

17

2

TOWNSVILLE STATS

2009

15

32

FINISH 4th

0

QUAL 7th 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

12

FINISH 8th

0 BEST QUAL 4th CHAMP POS 19th

Tim Slade continues to show signs that point towards a breakthrough result with PremiAir Nulot Racing after a slow start to 2024.

The Sydney-born South Australian has spent the past two rounds with the renowned Ludo Lacroix as his race engineer, but impressive pace at Taupō, Wanneroo and Hidden Valley has yet to be rewarded with good finishes.

Slade began his career in open-wheelers, finishing second in the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Championship after also dabbling in Formula 3. Slade progressed to the Super2 Series in 2007 and the following year ran his own team to claim the Privateers Cup and a race and round win at Wakefield Park.

His persistence captured the attention of Supercars team owner Paul Morris and, with the help of long-time backer James Rosenberg, Slade was rewarded with a full-time championship drive in 2009. That season netted top 10 results alongside Morris in the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races.

A shift to Stone Brothers Racing in 2010 yielded further improvements, taking his first podium finish in 2011. A career best of fifth in points followed in 2012, before the Ford squad transformed into Erebus Motorsport for 2013.

He crossed the floor to Holden for the 2014 season, spending two years piloting Walkinshaw Racing Commodores then joining Brad Jones Racing in the Freightliner Commodore in 2016. That season included the standout weekend of Slade’s career to date; at the Winton round he took his first Supercars race win at his 227th attempt and repeated the following day. He finished 2016 eighth in the championship, but the following years proved tougher and left Slade with little more than a few podium finishes.

Unable to land a full-time drive for 2020, Slade secured a co-drive with DJR Team Penske, helping Scott McLaughlin secure his third Supercars title at Bathurst, before returning to the grid with upstart squad Blanchard Racing Team in 2021.

He posted impressive results with the one-car outfit and came very close to scoring top-10 championship finishes in both 2021 and 2022, before shifting to PremiAir for 2023. Bad luck scuppered Slade’s two best shots at podiums last year; a wheel nut problem turned fourth on the grid in Newcastle to 22nd, while engine problems took him out of fifth place at Symmons Plains.

Slade has proven his speed in various classes outside of Supercars in recent years, winning the World Time Attack Challenge in 2016 and 2017, sharing victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge round at Laguna Seca in 2019 with HubAuto Racing, and setting a new outright lap record at Phillip Island aboard a Brabham BT62 supercar in 2022.

CHAZ MOSTERT

Mobil 1TM Optus Racing Ford Mustang GT

AGE 32

FROM Melbourne, VIC

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD FACEBOOK @chazmozzie INSTAGRAM @chazmozzie

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS DEBUT 2013 ROUNDS 147 RACES 336

22 PODIUMS 92

25

TOWNSVILLE STATS

2013

13

30

2nd

7

1

1

5

2

POS 3rd

Chaz Mostert began a new era of his career when the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship got underway. Veteran race engineer Adam DeBorre, who worked with Mostert for all but one of his full-time Supercars seasons, elected to step away from the sport at the end of 2023 with his place taken at Walkinshaw Andretti United by Sam Scaffidi.

It marked a significant change for one of the championship’s biggest stars, a two-time Repco Bathurst 1000-winner who is now over a decade into his Supercars career.

Mostert began his career in karts and won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2010, making his Dunlop Super2 Series debut the same year with Miles Racing. He competed in the series with them full-time in 2011 but was then snapped up by Ford Performance Racing, finishing third overall in 2012 with two round wins.

He began 2013 driving an ex-FPR Falcon for MW Motorsport in the Dunlop Series before receiving a ‘main game’ call-up to join Dick Johnson Racing and broke through for his maiden race win at Queensland Raceway, DJR’s first victory in three years.

Will Davison’s exit from FPR opened the door for the FPR-contracted Mostert to drive its #6 Ford in 2014, when he took a famous last-lap Bathurst win with Paul Morris. A year later Mostert was mounting a serious title challenge when a horror qualifying crash at Bathurst left him with a broken leg and wrist, sidelining him for the rest of the year. He returned for the start of 2016 and proved a regular front-runner for the Ford team over the next four seasons.

Mostert joined WAU for 2020 to take up the challenge of resurrecting the former champion squad’s fortunes. DeBorre made the move with him, and the 2021 season saw them deliver a breakthrough victory at Symmons Plains – WAU’s first in three years – plus further wins at Hidden Valley and at Bathurst where Mostert and co-driver Lee Holdsworth took a dominant victory, claiming pole position and fastest lap of the race on the way to his second ‘Great Race’ triumph.

The team’s switch to Ford for 2023 didn’t deliver the hoped-for silverware, but Mostert was the best-placed ‘Blue Oval’ driver in the final championship standings.

In addition to Supercars, Mostert has proven his pedigree in GT racing, undertaking a stint as a factory BMW driver that included pole position for the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hour and a class victory in the 2020 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. More recently, he became the co-owner of GT team Method Motorsport and will also spend the 2024 season driving a Ferrari 296 GT3 alongside Liam Talbot in the GT World Challenge Australia series.

RICHIE STANAWAY

Penrite Racing

Ford Mustang GT

AGE 32

FROM Tauranga, NZ

LIVES Melbourne, VIC INSTAGRAM @richiestanaway

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS DEBUT 2016 ROUNDS 42

77 WINS 2

4 POLES 1

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2018

1 RACES 2

BEST FINISH 20th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 16th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 5th

CHAMP POS 10th

It was a very different Richie Stanaway that returned to the Repco Supercars Championship grid, just over four years since he quit the category and motorsport entirely.

For starters, he is now a Repco Bathurst 1000 winner. Triple Eight Race Engineering recruited the Kiwi to partner Shane van Gisbergen at last year’s endurance races, and he delivered two flawless drives to claim third at the Penrite Oils Sandown 500 and the victory at Mount Panorama – performances that completed an incredible redemption arc that culminated in a full-time seat for 2024 with Grove Racing.

Originally from a motocross background, Stanaway switched to speedway racing at age 12 and progressed through karts and open wheelers in Formula First and Formula Ford, clinching the New Zealand title in the latter in 2008/09. He competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2009 before taking up an opportunity in Germany to test and race in the German-based ADAC Formula Masters Championship, a title he returned to win in 2010 with 12 race wins.

He rose quickly through Formula Renault UK and won the 2011 German F3 Series before spending time in GP3, Porsche Supercup, Formula Renault 3.5 and GP2, but lost career momentum when he missed most of 2012 after breaking his back in a FR3.5 crash at Spa-Francorchamps. Although he recovered and went on to win races in GP3 and GP2, F1 opportunities weren’t forthcoming so Stanaway shifted focus to GT racing, landing a coveted seat in Aston Martin’s FIA World Endurance Championship GT squad that included opportunities to race in the famous Le Mans 24 Hour.

Stanaway made his Supercars in 2016 with an impressive pair of co-drives in the Prodrive-run Super Black Racing Falcon, and partnered with Cam Waters to win the Sandown 500 the following year. The good results – including a race win in a cameo Dunlop Super2 Series appearance – led to his full-time main game debut in 2018 with the team. It was a bruising rookie season however, and both parties decided to go their separate ways at the end of the year. After another difficult season at Garry Rogers Motorsport, Stanaway quit motorsport entirely and got a day job at home in New Zealand.

However, an opportunity from long-time support Peter Adderton put him back into a Boost Mobile-backed wildcard alongside Greg Murphy for the Bathurst 1000. Initially slated for 2021 but delayed a year to 2022 due to the logistics of travel during COVID lockdowns, a revitalised Stanaway qualified for the Top 10 Shootout in a performance that helped land the Triple Eight co-drive for 2023.

JAMES GOLDING

PremiAir Nulon Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 28

FROM Warragul, VIC

LIVES Gold Coast, QLD FACEBOOK @JamesGoldingMotorsport INSTAGRAM @jimmygolding

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2016

ROUNDS 65

RACES 132

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0 POLES 1

TOWNSVILLE STATS

DEBUT 2018

ROUNDS 4 RACES 8

BEST FINISH 7th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 8th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS RACES 12

BEST FINISH 4th

PODIUMS 0 POLES 1

CHAMP POS 5th

James Golding came agonisingly close to breaking through for a maiden Repco Supercars Championship race win at Hidden Valley, where he took the first pole of his career for PremiAir Nulon Racing.

An accomplished karter, the Warragul-raised racer has an Australia National title and two Victorian state titles to his name, while the Victorian represented Australia at the World Rotax Grand Finals in 2012, where he was ranked seventh in the world.

Golding graduated to open wheelers the following year, contesting the Victorian Formula Ford Championship and winning on debut.

Racking up the most race wins despite missing one round, Golding ended his maiden assault in fourth before stepping up to the national championship in 2014, when he was narrowly beaten to the title and finished third overall with five race wins.

Golding’s talent soon caught the eye of team owner Garry Rogers, who gave him the chance to contest the final round of the 2014 Dunlop Series at Sydney Olympic Park.

He impressed on debut, so much so that GRM granted him a drive in the Dunlop Series in 2015, setting his path to a full-time Supercars drive in motion.

Golding enjoyed a solid season in 2016 in a GRM-run Commodore, finishing fourth in the series with four podium finishes and two race wins at Phillip Island and Sandown.

He also made his ‘main game’ debut as James Moffat’s co-driver in the #34 GRM Volvo S60 in that year’s Enduro Cup, but his first race at Sandown ended abruptly when a punctured tyre pitched him into the wall at the Esses on the opening lap.

More enduro outings and solo wildcard starts followed in 2017 before Golding stepped up to a full-time seat with GRM in 2018, impressing with a strong drive at Bathurst where an airbox fire denied him a berth in the Top 10 Shootout ahead of an eighth-place finish on race day.

He remained with the team into a challenging 2019 season, but GRM’s exit from Supercars at the end of the year left him without a seat and at a career crossroads.

Golding kept his skills sharp in the emerging S5000 category, winning races in cars developed and run by GRM, and kept his hand in Supercars with impressive endurance drives with Team 18 in 2020 and 2021.

He was scheduled to rejoin Team 18 for the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 until a mid-season opportunity came up with PremiAir.

A series of eye-catching performances across the tail of the season secured a full-time drive with the team for 2023 when he again impressed, this time matched against veteran teammate Tim Slade.

THOMAS RANDLE

Tickford Racing

Ford Mustang GT

AGE 28

FROM Melbourne, VIC

LIVES Melbourne, VIC

FACEBOOK @thomasrandle49

INSTAGRAM @thomasrandle

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2019

ROUNDS 39 RACES 91

BEST FINISH 2nd PODIUMS 5 POLES 1

TOWNSVILLE STATS DEBUT 2022

ROUNDS 2 RACES 4 BEST FINISH 8th PODIUMS 0

QUAL 3rd

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

12

FINISH 4th

0 BEST QUAL 5th

CHAMP POS 14th

Thomas Randle began his third full season in the Repco Supercars Championship season off the back of a breakthrough campaign with Tickford Racing.

The Melburnian came on strong in the second half of 2023, taking his first pole position at The Bend and finishing all three races on the podium before claiming another in Adelaide, and he remained with the team amid its reduction to two entries for 2024.

Randle was a star in karts and made the move into car racing in 2013 in the Australian Formula Ford Series, winning the 2014 series with five race victories.

He finished runner-up in the 2015 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship and third in that year’s national Sports Sedan series in father Dean’s V8-powered Saab.

Randle gathered further open-wheel experience overseas in British Formula 3 (winner of two races at Rockingham and Spa), Formula V8 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC as well as LMP3 sportscar competition, and victory in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series in 2017.

Randle made a one-off appearance in a Rusty French-owned Falcon BF in the 2017 V8 Touring Car Series round at Queensland Raceway and stepped into Super2 with Tickford in 2018.

It proved a breakout year; Randle won the prestigious Mike Kable Young Gun Award after an impressive rookie season that included a pole position and a podium finish in Perth. The following year saw Randle claim his first race and round wins and two more poles on his way to third in points.

Randle also made his ‘main game’ debut with the Ford squad in 2019, driving at Tailem Bend as a wildcard before an Enduro Cup campaign with Lee Holdsworth that included a third place finish in the Sandown 500.

A switch to MW Motorsport for the 2020 Super2 Series paid dividends as Randle romped to the title, finishing either first or second in all seven races of the COVID-shortened season.

The win capped a rollercoaster 12 months for Randle. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in late 2019 and had treatment throughout 2020, completing his last round of chemotherapy on New Year’s Day in 2021.

After signing to co-drive at Brad Jones Racing for 2020, Randle returned to Tickford in 2021 with a pair of top-10 finishes in wildcard ‘main game’ appearances before graduating full-time drive for 2022.

Armed with impressive race pace and improving his qualifying performances throughout the year, Randle’s best chances for breakthrough results in 2022 were hobbled by pit stop and mechanical issues, while he was lucky to escape a nasty startline crash at The Bend without injury.

BROWN Red Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 AGE 26

FROM Toowoomba, QLD LIVES Toowoomba, QLD

@willbrown38

@willbrown38

Will Brown stepped into some very big shoes in taking over Shane van Gisbergen’s seat at Triple Eight Race Engineering for 2024, but rose to the occasion and leads the championship after posting race wins at Bathurst, Albert Park and Taupō and podiums in 11 of 12 races so far.

The Toowoomba product moved to the Brisbane-based squad off the back of three seasons with Erebus Motorsport, where he grew from race-winning rookie to a genuine title contender.

Brown made his full-time ‘main game’ debut in 2021 aboard Erebus Motorsport’s flagship #9 entry previously raced by David Reynolds, although his graduation was originally announced by the team way back in November 2019.

He delivered a top-five finish in the third round at Symmons Plains, while the quadruple-header at Sydney Motorsport Park was particularly fruitful.

He took his maiden podium finish, then his first pole position, then, at the third SMP round, held off a charging but sparring Triple Eight duo Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup to take a popular and emotional maiden race victory.

Brown capped the year with provisional pole for the Repco Bathurst 1000. His sophomore season contained more downs than ups, highlighted by a strong mid-year run that netted a podium finish at Sandown.

Erebus emerged as frontrunners in the first season of the Gen3 era, with Brown taking several race wins in the first half of the season to take the championship lead in Townsville, before a series of incidents in the second half scuppered his title bid.

Prior to Supercars, Brown first established his pedigree with a pair of junior category title wins in 2016, claiming both the Australian Formula 4 Championship and Toyota 86 Racing Series in the same season.

He moved to the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2017 aboard an Eggleston Motorsport Holden Commodore and made an immediate impact, ending the season with the Mike Kable Young Gun Award.

A mechanical failure cost him a maiden race win at Newcastle in 2017; he had to wait until 2019 to finally break through for a race victory, winning under lights at the Perth SuperNight event.

He finished sixth in the 2018 Dunlop Super2 Series but was 12th in an inconsistent 2019 campaign, before scoring second in 2020 after switching to Image Racing with backing from Erebus.

From 2018 to 2020 he dovetailed his Super2 campaigns with endurance co-drives at Erebus, joining Anton De Pasquale for two years before linking with David Reynolds.

BROC FEENEY

Red Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 21

FROM Gold Coast, QLD LIVES Gold Coast, QLD FACEBOOK @brocfeeney93

@brocfeeney93

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

2020

32

76

11

22

6

2

4

Broc Feeney’s brace of wins at Hidden Valley couldn’t have come at a better time in his battle with teammate Will Brown for this year’s Repco Supercars Championship title.

Following a couple of tough rounds for Feeney at Taupō and Wanneroo, the top-end sweep allowed him to trim 108 points and gives him four wins to Brown’s three.

Last year, the 21-year-old built on his impressive 2022 rookie campaign with a string of victories that earnt him the tag ‘Mr Sunday’, headed by victory with team boss Jamie Whincup at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

While his title challenge faltered with a mechanical failure at the Repco Bathurst 1000, third place overall in his second full-time Supercars season illustrated why Triple Eight recruited him as its star of the future.

A protege of 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris, Feeney built an impressive CV on the road to Supercars. Following in the footsteps of father Paul Feeney, who raced on two wheels in the 1970s and ‘80s, Broc began racing motorbikes at the age of three.

He moved across to karts at age nine and then cars at 15, becoming the youngest race winner in Toyota 86 Racing Series history before making the leap to the Super3 Series. Feeney became the category’s youngest champion, taking a first-up pole position and race win in the opening round ahead of a consistent run to the title.

4

8

3

2nd

He graduated to the Dunlop Super2 Series with Tickford Racing in 2020 and finished seventh overall in the COVID-impacted season, qualifying on the front row of the grid for both races at Sydney Motorsport Park in July but crashing out of the Bathurst finale.

A switch to Triple Eight for 2021 paid dividends with Feeney claiming the Super2 title off the back of four wins and four second placings across the 10-race season, along with three pole positions that earnt him the Super2 Pole Champion Award.

It also earnt him a full-time promotion to the ‘main game’ for 2022, taking over the seat of seven-time champion Whincup. Feeney impressed quickly, posting maiden podium finishes in the second round at Symmons Plains and taking a total of 25 top 10 finishes across the season, which ended with his first race victory at the VALO Adelaide 500.

Feeney already had a pair of Bathurst 1000 starts under his belt prior to his full-time graduation. The first came in 2020, pairing with Tickford Racing’s James Courtney to a top 10 finish on his 18th birthday.

He took on lead driver duties one year later in a Triple Eight wildcard entry with Russell Ingall, and dovetailed the high-profile role with his ultimately successful pursuit of the Super2 Series title on the same weekend.

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MACAULEY JONES

Pizza Hut Racing

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

AGE 29

FROM Albury, NSW

LIVES Albury, NSW

FACEBOOK @officialmacauleyjones

INSTAGRAM @macauleyjones96

SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

DEBUT 2015

ROUNDS 84

RACES 186

BEST FINISH 6th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 8th

TOWNSVILLE STATS DEBUT 2019

ROUNDS 7

RACES 17

BEST FINISH 14th

PODIUMS 0 BEST QUAL 8th

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

RACES 12

BEST FINISH 17th

PODIUMS 0

BEST QUAL 14th

CHAMP POS 22nd

Macauley Jones is in his sixth full-time Repco Supercars Championship season in 2024, all with Brad Jones Racing.

The son of team owner and former driver Brad, Jones is another youngster who rose through karting into Formula Ford, winning the Australian championship’s Rookie of the Year award in 2012.

In 2013 he took a string of five straight race wins on his way to fourth in points, a year that he also raced in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series. Jones moved into the Dunlop Super2 Series with BJR midway through 2013 and started the first of four full-time seasons in the class the following year.

He finished 12th, ninth and seventh in his first three campaigns and then suffered a series of misfortunes that cost a breakthrough win and a shot at the title in 2018, including two suspension failures in Townsville and contact from Garry Jacobson at The Chase on the last lap at the Bathurst round.

Although remaining without a race win in the Dunlop Super2 Series itself, Jones did take out the Bathurst 250-kilometre race when it was a non-points event in 2017.

Jones already had 23 races in the Supercars Championship under his belt prior to his rookie season in 2019, spending four years as an Enduro Cup co-driver at BJR. Two of those campaigns came alongside Nick Percat, scoring a best Bathurst result of seventh in 2018 and a best race result of sixth at the Gold Coast 600 just weeks later.

Jones moved into the ‘main game’ with a full-time drive in 2019 when he took over the reins of the Team CoolDrive entry from Tim Blanchard. However, his full-time Supercars career endured a false start at the Adelaide 500 a brake failure-induced crash in practice meant Jones missed the season-opening race. He ended his rookie season 21st in the championship and improved to 19th in his last season in CoolDrive colours in 2020.

Blanchard’s move to start his own squad in 2021 saw Jones move completely under the BJR umbrella, piloting its #96 Coca-Cola sponsored entry and posting a pair of top-10 qualifying efforts at Hidden Valley and Townsville. In 2022, Jones posted the best race finish of his solo-driver Supercars career with sixth place at Albert Park, equalling his enduro best from 2018. Retaining Pizza Hut backing for the first year of the Gen3 era, Jones netted a pair of seventh-placings as his best from a challenging year.

Outside of the cockpit, Jones also hosts the team’s podcast, The Brad Jones Racing Run Down, with BJR team manager Chris Westwood. He also set the Guinness World Record for the doing 870 burpees in one hour in 2019, a mantle he held for almost two years.

A reigning champ is in its ranks for the first time in seven years but, as CONNOR O’BRIEN reports, there are many other storylines to watch in Townsville...

An intriguing Dunlop Series round awaits this weekend in Townsville with an array of storylines to follow – and they go far beyond Kai Allen’s mission for back-to-back titles.

Veteran co-drivers Dean Fiore and Jack Perkins will get valuable miles ahead of the 2024 enduros, adding experience to the grid. Both are Super2 race winners and Supercars Championship podium-getters, indeed Perkins has a main game victory, but their call-ups here come in very different circumstances.

For Perkins, it’s another stunning retro livery (below). It’s a little more subdued on the Fiore side, the West Australian filling in for Jett Johnson after the teenager announced he’ll take a break from racing on mental health grounds. That will make for a two-pronged change at AIM Motorsport, with Super2 regular Zane Morse reclaiming his seat from Ryan Gilroy after missing Perth through injury.

There were two particular heartin-mouth moments from Perth: the fire which ruined a career-best run for Mason Kelly, and the huge rollover crash involving Cameron McLeod and for which Cooper Murray was disqualified. Those preceded a pair of extensive rebuild journeys, which have now been completed by Kelly Racing and PremiAir Racing respectively.

Talking of Murray, can the Eggleston Motorsport speedster use his stunning showing on main game debut at Darwin to turn his Super2 season around? Murray initially outqualified eventual race winner Broc Feeney in making the Sunday Top 10 Shootout. It was a reminder of the extreme raw pace which proves his lowly position in the Super2 standings is far from representative.

Meantime, three Dunlop Series drivers

have announced in the past month that they will soon be making their Repco Supercars Championship debuts: McLeod, Cameron Crick and Lochie Dalton.

McLeod and Crick will co-drive with Tim Slade (PremiAir) and Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing) respectively, while Dalton will compete as a solo Tickford Racing

wildcard at Sydney Motorsport Park later this month. It will be worth keeping an eye on all three this weekend with a view to what’s to come.

All, however, are still chasing Allen (left). Fresh from turning 19-years-old last week, the ‘Cobra’ heads the standings after winning three of the four races held so far in 2024.

In contrast, Allen’s closest challenger has yet to break through for his maiden Dunlop Series win. But Aaron Cameron’s time feels close; he finished second to Allen in the first race of the season at Bathurst and has not been out of the top-five all year. That consistency leaves him second in points, just 60 adrift of the top spot.

The last round at Wanneroo provided a breakthrough for the driver that is third in points. Zach Bates – son of rally star Rick, nephew of multiple Australian champion Neal and cousin of current rally heroes Harry and Lewis – claimed his first Super2 Series race win in the Sunday race to move 24 points behind Cameron. ■

2024 DUNLOP SERIES, ROUND 3

Porsches will once again race on the Townsville streets but, reports RICHARD CRAILL, there’s a twist for 2024…

One-make Porsche racing returns to the streets of Townsville this weekend – but not quite in the way North Queensland Supercars fans have seen before.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship has been a staple on the Reid Park Street Circuit, but this year it’s the turn of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series to put on a show.

Townsville marks the third round of 2024 for a category that is to Carrera Cup what the Dunlop Series is to the Supercars’ main game.

Sprint Challenge was founded in 2008 and has evolved to become a key stepping stone in the fabled ‘Porsche Pyramid’, the developmental pathway that propels drivers through the ranks to top-level competition either here or abroad.

Drivers like Matt Campbell, Jaxon Evans and more recently, Ryan Wood,

have come via Sprint Challenge and into not only international competitions but also – in the case of Evans and Wood –into the Repco Supercars Championship.

Much like the Dunlop Series, the Porsche Sprint Challenge field uses previous-generation Cup Car machinery and serves as a perfect entry point for drivers and teams before stepping up to the ‘main game’, in this case, Carrera Cup.

Townsville won’t be the first time the championship has competed on the Supercars undercard – it featured on the Sydney SuperNight and Townsville SuperSprint events last year – but it will be the first ever street circuit event for the category in its 16-year history.

And don’t think for a second that a second-tier series will provide second-tier racing because, if this year’s title race has been any indication, that is far from

the case. At the pointy-end of the field, a host of young stars are battling for the championship, with the top-10 drivers in the standings following the first two rounds having an average age of under 20.

Young West Aussie star Caleb Sumich, who drives for McElrea Racing, won the opening round at Phillip Island, albeit in a three-way tie with Team Porsche New Zealand young-gun Brock Gilchrist and Grove Racing’s junior star, Oscar Targett. Targett, an Australian karting prodigy taken who was under the wing of the Grove Racing group last year, struck at Round two in South Australia last month to claim the round and a narrow championship lead heading to Townsville. ■

PORSCHE MICHELIN SPRINT CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA, ROUND

Toyota’s junior racing series enters a new era in 2024. WILL DALE previews the action…

Toyota’s entry level class for young racers has been around for nearly a decade now, and it enters a new era with its 2024 season.

The first obvious change is to the name. Formally, the series is now called the Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia GR Cup, a change that further highlights the manufacturer’s sports and performance brand.

The other obvious change is to the cars themselves. A brand-new model GR86 makes its racing debut this weekend in the

opening round of the 2024 GR Cup on the Townsville streets, with the new machine the only car eligible for the series.

A bumper field of 25 cars is entered for the first leg of the five-round series, which appears on the Repco Supercars Championship undercard throughout the second half of this year. It’s an appropriate link, given the class has been a step on the ladder for many current Supercars stars, headlined by Triple Eight duo Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

It has also been a popular choice for the next generation of Australian and New Zealand racing dynasties. Clay Richards, son of Steve and grandson of Jim and a multiple race-winner in GR Cup, returns for the 2024 season. Another legacy is Max Geoghegan (pictured below with the

new and old generations of GR86), the grandson of multiple Australian Touring Car Champion Ian returning for his second season in the GR Cup.

One element of the category that has remained this year is the presence of two star guest drivers in the field at each round, serving as both benchmarks and mentors for the category’s young chargers. This weekend, multiple Supercars race winner Fabian Coulthard and Supercars enduro co-driver and rising GT racer Jayden Ojeda take on the guest drivers roles.

In addition to opening its season in Townsville, the TGRA GR Cup appears on the Supercars support card at the Panasonic Sydney SuperNight, Penrite Oil Sandown 500, Repco Bathurst 1000 and Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500. ■

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING AUSTRALIA GR CUP, ROUND 1

Small in stature, the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series always turns on a large spectacle! WILL DALE previews the action…

Apack of angry ants or pint-sized racers, call them what you will, but the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series is a must-see part of the support category action at the NTI Townsville 500.

The motorcycle-engined race cars deliver close racing wherever they run and have been regulars at the Reid Park Street Circuit over the event’s history.

Last year’s quartet of races in Townsville were absolute blinders, with the four wins split between three different drivers.

Interestingly, the winner’s list didn’t include reigning champion Joel Heinrich, whose #1 Osborn’s Transport Mustang heads the massive 42-car entry that will do battle this weekend.

Heinrich is on top again so far in 2024 after completing a hattrick of round wins, claiming the opening round at the Thrifty Bathurst 500, the second round

supporting the Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway, and the third round of the series at Wanneroo Raceway in May.

Kody Garland remains his closest challenger despite a tough weekend in the west where he finished eighth for the round.

Garland is nine points off the championship lead, but heads a list of four drivers that are separated by just two points. One marker behind Garland is Kent Quinn, who finished second to overall to Heinrich in Perth, with Cody Brewczynski and Brandon Madden tied one further point away.

A few familiar names will rejoin the grid this weekend in North Queensland, headlined by 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris. Tony Quinn and Scott Taylor also join the grid for the Townsville round, while local racer Zac Schonberger makes his first series appearance since his home round last year.

This year’s Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series is being held over seven rounds, five of which are being held in conjunction with Repco Supercars Championship events. They’ll also be seen at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint in August, and the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 in October. ■

“A FEW FAMILIAR NAMES WILL REJOIN THE GRID THIS WEEKEND IN NORTH QUEENSLAND, HEADLINED BY 2014 BATHURST 1000 WINNER PAUL MORRIS.”

BATTERY WORLD AUSSIE RACING CARS SUPER SERIES, ROUND 4

TOWERSRD

FLINDERSST

PADDOCK

HAIRPIN CLUB

OFFICIALS OF THE EVENT

NATIONAL SPORTING AUTHORITY

Motorsport Australia

PROMOTER / ORGANISER

Supercars Australia Pty Ltd

ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Matthew Ramsden, Phil Shaw, Kimberly Hughes, Nigel Faull

SUPERCARS OFFICIALS

VCS AND DS STEWARDS

Christopher McMahon, Bradley Tubb, Peter Davis

VCS RACE DIRECTOR

James Taylor

VCS DEPUTY RACE DIRECTORS

David Mori, David Stuart

DS RACE DIRECTOR

David Mori

DS DEPUTY RACE DIRECTOR

David Stuart

CLERK OF THE COURSE

Nigel Faull

SECRETARY OF THE EVENT

Kimberly Hughes

MEDICAL DELEGATE

Dr Carl Le

HEAD OF MOTORSPORT

Tim Edwards

DS2 CATEGORY TECHNICAL MANAGER

Scott Campbell STARTER

James Delzoppo

DRIVING STANDARDS ADVISOR

Craig Baird

TIMING CO-ORDINATOR

Ian Leech

VOLUNTEERS

Trevor Allan

Linda Anderson

Blake Arscott

Mike Arthur

Paige Baker

Peter Baker

Lewis Baldwin

Gary Ballinger

Marcia Banks

Tracey Bannerman

Michael Baudino

Robert Bayly

Cheree Beattie

Steve Beltramelli

Aaron Bennett

Damien Berger

Annette Bertram

Peter Besic

Edwina Best

Peter Best

Julie Betts

Nichole Betts

Pat Betts

Joe Beveridge

Kaaren Binns

Raelene Blacklock

Geoffrey Blaine

Matt Blomfield

Linda Blows

Luke Bohlsen

Adrian Bond

Joanne Boon

Natalie Borg

Clinton Bradford

Liam Brand

Ethan Bressan

Madelina Brown

Connor Browning

Shane (Mully) Bunker

RECOVERY CO-ORDINATOR

Alistair Walker

SAFETY CAR DRIVER

Jason Routley

SAFETY CAR COMMUNICATOR

Berenice Stratton

MEDIA MANAGER

Paul Glover

SUPPORT EVENT OFFICIALS

SUPPORT CATEGORY STEWARDS

Geoffrey Nicol, Trevor Neumann, Glenn Pincott

DEPUTY CLERK OF THE COURSE

Kaye Callander

EMERGENCY COORDINATOR

Scott Long

CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS

Catherine McHugh

CHIEF OBSERVER

Cheree Beattie

COMMUNICATORS

Peter Durkin, Steven Magnussen

CHIEF TIMEKEEPER

Alex Harkness

COURSE CAR MARSHAL

Paul Howlett

SUPPORT SAFETY CAR DRIVER

Brad Stratton

SUPPORT SAFETY CAR OBSERVER

Berenice Stratton

CHIEF STARTER

Zac Dawes

CHIEF STARTER

Erik James

CHIEF FLAG MARSHAL

Peter Westbrook

Karen Debney

Reece Debney

Zakary Debney

Anita DeGiovanni

Debra Burns

Gary Burns

Jayden Calder

Kaye Callander

Elizabeth Camilleri

Donna Campbell

Wayne Campbell

Steve Caplice

Graham Carnes

Brett Carruthers

Jan Cartwright

Peter Castledine

Rhonda Castledine

Melissa Christiansen

Konah Cini

Donna Clark

Marissa Coccetti

James Cochrane

John Cochrane

Michael Cochrane

Terry Coleman

Michael Collins

John Commins

Brock Connellan

Ross Contarino

Annie Cooper

Melanie Cossor

Tony Cousins

David Cowie

Daniel Crowe

Connor Cunneen

pat curtis

Brad Daniels

Stewart Davey

Jason Davidson

Samuel Davidson

Brett Davis

Zac Dawes

Ashlynn Dawson

Mackenzie DeGiovanni

Alisha Demaine

Jacqueline Devereaux

Simon Devlin

Porcha Dickenson-Drake

Allie Dock

Tina Donald

Christie Donatacci

Stephen Dorrenboom

Michael Downs

Jeff Dowson

Michelé Du Buisson

Vanessa Dunbar

Steven Durham

Maureen Durkin

Peter Durkin

Dennis Eagle

Ken Eardman

Georgia Ebbers

Graham Eden

Bihindu Edirisinghe

Leslie Elliott

Ray Elliott

Zoeanne Elliott

Leigh Evans

Nicole Everson

Brian Fackrell

Nigel Faull

Peter Fisher

Aaron Flaherty

James Fludder Kiera Fludder

Willium Fludder Errol Flynn Bailey Foord Les Francis Sheridan Frisby Chanelle Fryer

Mark Furey

Gaffel

Jody Garard

Cameron Gaskell

Maggie Georgopoulos

Breannah Ghebosu Cosmin Ghebosu

Gibson

Tegan-lee Gilbert

Ross Girvan

Sandy Golding Wayne Goleby

Simon Gore Nathan Gottaas Doris Graham

Graham

Greasley

Kevin Green Leah Groves

William Hackett

Kylie Haines

Alex Harkness

Geoff Harris

Charlotte Hartman des hartwig

Shaz Hembrow

Bradley Hennekam

Jack Herrod

Ken Hey

Peter Hodgkison

Rosie Hogan

Paul Howlett

Daniel Huggett Connor Hughes

Hughes Joel Humphreys Kate Hutchinson Martha Ireland Melissa Irwin Krystian Jackson

Erik James

Tatiana James

DEPUTY CHIEF FLAG MARSHAL

Rachael Fenn

CHIEF SCRUTINEER

Athol Wilcox

DEPUTY CHIEF SCRUTINEER

Scott Swarbrick, Kevin Green

CHIEF MARSHAL

Wayne Oliver

CHIEF FLAG MARSHAL

Cosmin Ghebosu

DEPUTY CHIEF FLAG MARSHAL

Leigh Evans

CHIEF OF RECOVERY

Brad Moras

CHIEF FIRE MARSHAL

Chanelle Fryer

DEPUTY CHIEF FIRE MARSHAL

Bruce Nissen

CHIEF PIT LANE & GRID MARSHAL

Adrian Bond

DEPUTY CHIEF PIT LANE & GRID MARSHAL

Trevor Allen

CHIEF PADOCK MARSHAL – INFIELD

Greg Waller

DEPUTY CHIEF PADOCK MARSHAL – OUTFIELD

John Commins

CHIEF SUPPLY

Ian Lamb

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr Karyn Lun

MEDICAL COORDINATOR

Peter Castledine

MEDICAL CENTRE MANAGER

Natalie Borg

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Rhonda Castledine

Matt Jarrett

Paige Jensen

Stephen Johnson

Sarah Jones

Kelly Joubert

Keith Keating

Felix Keir

Michelle Kelly

Teresa Kent

Buddy King

Colleen Kneipp

Bruce Knight

Rodney Knight

Teejay Krause

Ian Lamb

Greg Lang

Pam Lang

Brayden Lewis

Christos Licina

Chris Linfoot

Steve Lisk Scott

McLeod

Moras

Moreira

Moule

Muller

Musumeci

Mutete

Nahrung

Robert Petersen

Glenn Pincott

Debbie Rapp Errol Reeves

John Reid

Mark Reimers

Peter Richardson

Wayne Rieck

Patricia Robertson

Shaun Robertson

Paul Robinson

Phil Robson

Tony Rodda

Sarah Roderick Cameron Rogers

Benjamin Rowe

Brendan Ryan

Peter Ryland

Charles Sandham

Dale Savage Julie Savage Calem Saxby Sharon Saxby

Alies Schellingerhout

Michael Schroeder

Rachel Schwebel

Jess Scott

Shelby Sellen

Sharon Sharp

David Shilu

Renee Simms

Abby Smith

Alison Smith

Matthew Smith

Peter Southwell

McHardy Catherine McHugh Peter McKinnon Ian McKirdy

Mclennan

Pawlenko Michael Payne

Bryce Steer

Ronald Stewart

Stacey Stewart

Dave Stillwell

Kashaan Stoker

Stephen Stone

Berenice Stratton

Brad Stratton

Rachel Sugden

Sharon Swanton

Scott Swarbrick

Joshua Symons Sienna tardiani

James Taylor

Mark Taylor

Richard Teeling Soon Teoh

Robert Thiry

Barb Thompson

Katherine Thomson Robyn Thomson

Bradley Tubb

Sean Turk

Kyle Upton

George Uren

Simon Van Trier

Ashley van Waardenberg

Roz Vecchio

Donn Vidler

Tylah Wager

Phoenix Waight-Abell

Greg Waller

Adrian Warren

Corey Watts

Whitby

Athol Wilcox

Carmel Wilcox

Douglas Williams

Stuart Williams

Tyler Williamson Jasmine Wiseman

Felicity Wood

Wright

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WHAT’S HAPPENING IN TOWNSVILLE

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