ONE HUNDRED and thirty-one days since the 2020 Bathurst 1000 concluded, the Supercars championship will burst back into life this weekend – once again at Mount Panorama.
It’s been a uniquely long offseason for the series, one of the longest ever on account of the calendar re-shuffling that was a mainstay throughout the previous season.
And yet, somewhat remarkably, the series is set to resume looking arguably stronger than it did at any point throughout last year.
There’s a new TV deal, a new major sponsor in Repco, plenty of driver and team changes and of course the fact we’re starting the year at the best circuit in the world for the first time.
There will be lots to take in and digest, so here’s a few things I think are worth following closely as the field adapts to the unique challenge of two, 250km sprint races on the Mountain this weekend.
Lots of change?
Following the progress of those who have swapped teams versus those enjoying some continuity across seasons will be a massive plot point across the year, especially this weekend.
You’d think that, given their form at the end of last year, guys like Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert should be in a position to pick up where they left off – as legitimate contenders to the established top teams and drivers in the series.
That’s not to say anything for Shane van Gisbergen who returns to the place where he crowned his already remarkable career with a Bathurst win last October.
Meanwhile, the reigning series champions are facing all change – at least behind the wheel.
While it’s unlikely that the removal of ‘Team Penske’ from the ‘Dick Johnson Racing’ element of the Ford Mustang squad will cause many dramas, getting Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison comfortable will be their number one task.
Sure, both are enormously experienced and proven winners – but will their new surroundings cause them to miss that final half-a-percent in car speed that they’ll need to have to knock off Red Bull?
And then there’s Erebus; two rookie drivers paired with new engineers and plenty of other changes behind the scenes. Watching how quickly that team gels will be fascinating – and the same can be said for the Reynolds / Al McVean combo that departed the Barry Ryan-led squad and decamped down the road at Kelly Grove Racing.
TV Times
IF you’re reading this across the ditch you’re unlikely to experience much change in the Supercars TV package this year, save for a new look and feel with the graphics and a few new voices behind the mic – though I am sure you, as I will, will miss Greg Murphy’s enthusiasm and insight.
But in Australia the return of the Seven Network has been one of the talking points of the off season and it is shaping as something of a critical partnership for the series.
Seven are Australia’s No.1 free-to-air TV network so capitalizing on that is going to be critical for the series. Seven appear to have gone hard on promoting their Bathurst coverage – including bringing many of their own people on to host and provide analysis – so it’s a big step.
Free to air TV may be closer to its end than its beginning (Supercars’ new international deal with You Tube is a pointer to the future) but it remains important and charting the numbers this year will see if the broader public – rather than the diehard, committed fans who are willing to pay for their TV on Fox Sports – remain interested in watching the racing world go around.
Calendar changes
A lot of the locations are the same but the 2021 calendar is very different. There’s no Adelaide, the Grand Prix is a massive question mark assuming it even happens at all, and Newcastle won’t run again until next year. New Zealand is on the list, but later in the year when the chances of some quarantine-free Trans-Tasman travel is on the cards. Bathurst remains the only two-driver race while the tantalizing prospect of the championship battle coming down to the wire on the utterly brutal streets of Surfers Paradise is something to savor.
What’s more there’s the switch to shorter, sharper races like we saw last year and two-day events, too.
Of course, there still remains the thorny issue of the pandemic and the fact that, at least for the time being, Australian states still have a habit of slamming their borders shut to their neighbors at the first sign of a Covid case in the community. While the vaccine rollout and the continued improvement to hotel quarantine systems offers hope that this won’t be the case, there’s still the very real chance that some schedule flexibility will be the order of the day this year.
So, there you go – much to look out for this weekend. I’d love to know who you’re backing this weekend – jump on the Talk Motorsport socials and let us know!
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