The 2018 Supercars Championship (known for commercial reasons as the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship) was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars. It was the twentieth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-second series in which Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. Teams and drivers competed in thirty-one races at sixteen venues across Australia and New Zealand for the championship titles. Scott McLaughlin won his maiden title at the final race in Newcastle, while Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams Championship at Pukekohe.
The 2018 season saw the introduction of the first Gen 2 Supercars, which opened up the category up to a wider variety of body shapes and engine configurations. The championship saw the introduction of the hatchback Holden ZB Commodore, marking the first time since 1994 that a car with a body shape other than a four-door sedan has competed.
Teams and drivers Holden and Nissan were represented by factory-backed teams Triple Eight Race Engineering and Nissan Motorsport respectively. Teams were free to develop new chassis and engine packages under the Gen 2 regulations, while the New Generation cars first introduced in 2013 remained eligible to compete.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2018 championship.
Championship entriesEnduro Cup entriesManufacturerModelTeamDriver nameRoundsCo-driver nameRoundsFordFalcon FG XTickford Racing Mark WinterbottomAll Dean Canto12–14 Cam WatersAll David Russell12–1455 Chaz MostertAll James Moffat12–1456 Richie StanawayAll Steve Owen12–14DJR Team Penske12 Fabian CoulthardAll Tony D'Alberto12–1417 Scott McLaughlinAll12–1423Red Racing Will DavisonAll Alex Davison12–14Matt Stone Racing 35 Todd Hazelwood1–10 colspan=2 Holden1 Jamie WhincupAll Paul Dumbrell12–1497All Earl Bamber12–14888 Craig LowndesAll Steven Richards12–14Walkinshaw Andretti United2 Scott PyeAll Warren Luff12–1425 James CourtneyAll Jack Perkins12–14Brad Jones Racing8 Nick PercatAll Macauley Jones12–1414 Tim SladeAll Ashley Walsh12–14Tim Blanchard Racing 21 Tim BlanchardAll Dale Wood12–14Erebus Motorsport9 David ReynoldsAll Luke Youlden12–1499 Anton de PasqualeAll Will Brown12–14Team 18 Lee HoldsworthAll Jason Bright12–14Tekno Autosports19 Jack Le BrocqAll Jonathon Webb12–14Garry Rogers Motorsport33 Garth TanderAll Chris Pither12–1434 James GoldingAll Richard Muscat12–14Commodore VFMatt Stone Racing 35 Todd Hazelwood11–16 Bryce Fullwood12–14NissanAltima L33Nissan Motorsport7 Andre HeimgartnerAll Aaren Russell12–14 Rick KellyAll Garry Jacobson12–1423 Michael CarusoAll Dean Fiore12–1478 Simona de SilvestroAll Alex Rullo12–14Wildcard entriesHoldenCommodore ZBBrad Jones Racing 4 Macauley Jones7, 11colspan="2" Commodore VFKostecki Brothers Racing 42 Kurt Kostecki9, 11colspan="2" Source:Source:
Team changes
The Holden ZB Commodore was homologated, making it eligible to compete in the championship. All existing Holden teams commenced the season with the new car, either new chassis or reskinned VF Commodores. Triple Eight Race Engineering, who oversaw the development and homologation of the ZB chassis were also developing a V6 twin-turbocharged engine for Holden cars ahead of a full introduction in 2019. However, the programme was put on indefinite hold in April 2018. Triple Eight team were proposing to debut the V6 powerplant with a number of wildcard entries, however the discontinuation of the project resulted in this being scrapped.
Britek Motorsport left the championship, with its Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) leased to Super2 Series team Matt Stone Racing who made their championship début entering an FG X Falcon built by DJR Team Penske. The team switched to competing with a VF Commodore mid-season.
Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport sold one of its RECs to Prodrive Racing Australia. The team was rebranded as 23Red Racing after sponsor Phil Munday purchased a 60% stake in the team in the off-season, before taking full ownership in April 2018. The team competed with a Prodrive-built FG X Falcon.
Prodrive Racing Australia became Tickford Racing after its lease on the Prodrive name expired, while Walkinshaw Racing was rebranded as Walkinshaw Andretti United when Andretti Autosport and United Autosports purchased stakes in the team.
Driver changes Super2 Series drivers Todd Hazelwood and Anton de Pasquale made their Supercars début. Hazelwood joined Matt Stone Racing—the team he won the 2017 Super2 title with—while De Pasquale replaced Dale Wood at Erebus Motorsport. Wood was one of three drivers to leave the championship, as both Todd Kelly and Jason Bright retired from competition.
Andre Heimgartner returned to the championship, replacing the retiring Kelly at Nissan Motorsport, while Richie Stanaway replaced Bright at Tickford Racing.
Will Davison moved from Tekno Autosports to the newly-formed 23Red Racing team. Davison's place at Tekno Autosports was filled by Super2 Series driver Jack Le Brocq.
James Moffat left Garry Rogers Motorsport at the end of the 2017 championship and joined Tickford Racing for the Enduro Cup. Moffat's place at Garry Rogers Motorsport was taken by James Golding, who drove for the team in the Enduro Cup in 2016 and 2017.
Wildcard entries
Two wildcard entries were confirmed for 2018, with Brad Jones Racing running Macauley Jones at Winton and The Bend, and Kostecki Brothers Racing running Kurt Kostecki at Ipswich and The Bend.
Calendar
The calendar was expanded to sixteen events in 2018, with the following events taking place:
Event Event name Circuit Location Dates 1 Adelaide 500 Adelaide Street Circuit Adelaide, South Australia 3–4 March 2 Melbourne 400 Albert Park Circuit Albert Park, Victoria 23–25 March 3 Tasmania SuperSprint Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 7–8 April 4 Phillip Island 500 Phillip Island, Victoria 21–22 April 5 Perth SuperSprint Barbagallo Raceway Neerabup, Western Australia 5–6 May 6 Winton SuperSprint Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 19–20 May 7 Darwin Triple Crown Hidden Valley Raceway Darwin, Northern Territory 16–17 June 8 Townsville 400 Reid Park Street Circuit Townsville, Queensland 7–8 July 9 Ipswich SuperSprint Queensland Raceway Ipswich, Queensland 21–22 July 10 Sydney Motorsport Park 4 August 11 The Bend SuperSprint The Bend Motorsport Park Tailem Bend, South Australia 25–26 August 12 Sandown 500 Sandown Raceway Springvale, Victoria 13 Bathurst 1000 Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales 7 October 14 Gold Coast 600 Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Queensland 20–21 October 15 Auckland SuperSprint Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe, Auckland Region 3–4 November 16 Newcastle 500 Newcastle Street Circuit Newcastle, New South Wales Source:
Calendar changes The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, which hosted the Supercars Challenge non-championship event between 1996 and 2017, joined the calendar as a championship event for the first time. The event, which was named the Melbourne 400, continued to be run as part of the support bill for the Australian Grand Prix.
The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, South Australia, the first permanent circuit to be built in Australia since Queensland Raceway in 1999, hosted an event of the championship. The Bend SuperSprint ran on the 4.9 km "International" configuration of the circuit.
Format changes
The Melbourne 400 event featured four races. All four were longer than the races that were run as part of the Australian Grand Prix support event in previous years, before it was granted championship status. Two of the races were run at twilight and included mandatory pit stops, while the other two were shorter sprint races run in daylight hours.
Sydney Motorsport Park hosted the Sydney SuperNight 300, which consisted of a single 300 km race held under lights. It was the first night race since the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi hosted the opening event of the 2011 season. The event consisted of two 30 minute practice sessions and a 20-minute qualifying session ahead of a 300 km race. The race included three compulsory pit stops.
The Auckland SuperSprint included a Top 10 Shootout for the Sunday race. A Top 10 Shootout was added to the first race of the Gold Coast 600 after the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport suspended the licence of the Stadium Super Trucks support category on safety grounds, removing the category from the Supercars' support bill.
Rule changes A new qualifying format was introduced for the Symmons Plains, Barbagallo and Sydney Motorsport Park events. The system uses three stages similar to the system used in Formula One and was introduced as a response to the shorter layouts of the Symmons Plains and Barbagallo circuits which drew criticism about congestion as drivers on flying laps would encounter slow-moving cars preparing to start their own laps. The system was later added to the Sydney SuperNight 300 after proving popular during its trials at the Symmons Plains and Barbagallo events.
The "wildcard" programme introduced in 2017, which allowed teams from the Dunlop Super2 Series to compete in the Supercars Championship, continued in 2018. Entries were open for the Winton, Hidden Valley, Ipswich and Tailem Bend events, while the Barbagallo event was discontinued after the 2017 edition failed to attract wildcard entries. The Bathurst 1000 was open to wildcard entries, but was separate to the wildcard programme for Super2 teams. No entries were received for the latter.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) adjusted the eligibility requirements of the licensing system used by the championship. The revised requirements were designed to make it easier for Super2 drivers to qualify for a racing licence.
Results and standings Season summary