The 20th anniversary season of Supercars starts in Adelaide on Friday amid several major changes that prompt many intriguing questions. New driver/team combinations, upgraded tyres, revised race formats, a simplified judicial system and a new season-ending event are the main talking points.
Some of the changes – different rubber, key driver moves and team shake-ups – promise profound effects, while the impact of the other initiatives will take time to measure.
![Scott McLaughin has terrorised the V8 establishment for the past three years.](/web/20170310042633im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/l/e/5/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gulfb2.png/1488079377888.jpg)
Initial indications of who's hot and who's not under the new regime will come in Friday's first qualifying session for the Adelaide 500, which has reverted to its traditional – and popular – twin 250-kilometre mini-enduros format.
It will reveal who has mastered the move, at least on pure pace, to the new-construction "soft" and "supersoft" Dunlop tyres – the biggest change since the switch to slightly lower-profile rubber in 2013.
The next test will be the season-opening races themselves, normally posing the toughest conditions of the year with the gruelling combination of racing around the treacherous 3.22km Adelaide Parklands street circuit in heatwave weather.
The change of tyres is a slim chance for the best of the rest to gain an early advantage over the dominant Triple Eight squad, which has taken over the Holden Racing Team.
To challenge the hegemony of Red Bull HRT's dynamic duo, defending V8 champion Shane van Gisbergen and runner-up Jamie Whincup (holder of a record six titles), most are looking to star DJR Team Penske signing Scott McLaughlin.
The charismatic Kiwi is regarded as Supercars' next superstar with his combination of speed and personality, and along with a bolstered engineering and race management line-up at the DJRTP, McLaughlin is also seen as the best hope to restore Ford's fortunes and take the title fight to Triple Eight.
This season is a milestone as it is 20 years since sports and entertainment entrepreneur Tony Cochrane – now chairman of the AFL's Gold Coast Suns – took over the running of the Australian touring car championship and renamed the category V8 Supercars.
Ahead of the start of the 14-event Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which will finish at the new Newcastle 500 street race event in late November, here are some things to watch this year.
NISSAN HIT OR MISS?
After four years and just two race wins, it's time for Kelly Racing-run Nissan Motorsport to become a championship contender. No ifs, buts or maybes. Many millions have been spent on developing the Altima V8 into a potential front-runner and, with Nissan's drawn-out recommitment for another two years, this is the year for the Kellys to repay the Japanese manufacturer's faith and support. The four-car Nissan Altima team has the added burden of running Supercars' first full-time female driver Simona de Silvestro, who will be constantly in the spotlight.
HE'S SCOTT THE LOT
For the past three years, Scott McLaughin has terrorised the V8 establishment in his Volvo, run by underdog squad Garry Rogers Motorsport. McLaughlin was the most refreshing and talented newcomer in V8s for almost a decade, winning races in his debut championship season in 2013. Add his engaging personality and fan appeal, and no wonder he's been dubbed "The New Craig Lowndes". The colourful Gold Coast-raised, Melbourne-based New Zealander was targeted by American-owned DJR Team Penske in 2015, and following the mid-year announcement of Volvo's impending withdrawal, they secured him from this season on a big-money, multi-year deal. McLaughlin was signed to lead the team – historically the most successful in its former guise as Dick Johnson Racing – back to the front. Anything less will be a failure.
BLACK AND ROUND MAGIC
Tyres will be the big discussion – and, most likely, the major factor – in Adelaide and at least the following few events as teams work out how to best utilise the performance improvement of the new control rubber. OK, tyres are black and round, and normally uninteresting. But the latest Dunlop boots feature an improved construction that could be a game-changer. Despite using the same compounds, they generate more cornering grip because their stiffer sidewalls and squarer shape – when viewed head-on – put more rubber on the track. So, expect significantly quicker lap times once the teams get their heads around increased grip and suspension tunings.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Having lost both Volvo and star driver Scott McLaughlin, eternal battler Garry Rogers Motorsport has gone back to the future. GRM recalled Walkinshaw Racing reject Garth Tander and, in a secret settlement with Volvo involving the repatriation of two S60 V8 racers to Sweden, has returned to running a pair of Holden Commodores. Tander, a V8 veteran, returns to GRM, where he started his Supercars career in 1998, after 11 years with Walkinshaw/Holden Racing Team. He is a ruthless racer who, until getting a new HRT Commodore in the second half of last season, struggled to qualify well, compromising his race results in the past few years. But Tander was rejuvenated by his new wheels, winning the Sandown 500, contending for victory in the Bathurst 1000, and winning the Sydney 500. If GRM's reversion to the Commodore crowd works, Tander could be formidable. But without the Volvos' speed edge, the reunion is more likely to struggle than succeed.
HERE COMES THE JUDGE
Following a year of discontent among drivers, the code of conduct rules, penalties for careless driving and the judiciary have been overhauled. The changes are meant to simplify the rules and the application of penalties while promoting a "race on" approach after all but major incidents. There was much criticism and controversy last year over the "redress" rule and the graded penalties system, which erupted into furore after Jamie Whincup's victory costing sanction after a late-race collision in the Bathurst 1000. The redress option has been axed, penalties will be imposed in-race where possible and decisions during a race will not be contestable afterwards. Incidents will be judged by senior race officials and stewards with input from new Driving Standards Advisor Craig Baird, the former V8 driver.
HOLDEN ON
Within days of unveiling the new-look, Triple Eight-run Holden Racing Team, the car-maker's long-time motor sport manager had left the Fishermans Bend building. Despite fighting for and ultimately gaining Holden's three-year recommitment to Supercars, Simon McNamara officially parted ways with Holden early this month. Whether McNamara quit or shown the door is unclear. Holden maintains it is committed to Supercars until at least the end of 2019 and development of the new-generation twin-turbo V6 Commodore continues for next year. Holden has renewed the contract of racing technical consultant Peter Harker and are actively recruiting a new sponsorship manager, who will also oversee the company's Supercars program.