SUPERCARS LAUNCH 2018 SEASON
2018 Supercars season launches in Sydney
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship kicked off at a special event at Fox Studios today in Sydney.
The launch event, hosted by Jess Yates and Matt White, was the first time the entire 2018 field had assembled together ahead of tomorrows pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Once again the Adelaide 500 will commence the season proper from 1-4 March. This year the event celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special concert line-up that includes Australian rock legends, Cold Chisel, American rockers Live and international superstar Robbie Williams.
The 2018 season also includes a championship round alongside the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, The Coates Hire Melbourne 400, for the first time which will feature twilight races. Tailem Bend’s brand new facility also makes its first appearance on the Supercars calendar.
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 2018 Calendar
| 1 | Mar 1-4 | Adelaide 500, Adelaide* |
| 2 | Mar 22-25 | Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix |
| 3 | Apr 6-8 | Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint* |
| 4 | Apr 20-22 | WD-40 Phillip Island 500 |
| 5 | May 4-6 | Perth SuperSprint* |
| 6 | May 18-20 | Winton SuperSprint |
| 7 | Jun 15-17 | CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown |
| 8 | Jul 6-8 | Watpac Townsville 400* |
| 9 | Jul 20-22 | Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint |
| 10 | Aug 4 | Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300 |
| 11 | Aug 24-26 | The Bend SuperSprint |
| 12 | Sep 14-16 | Sandown 500* |
| 13 | Oct 4-7 | Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000* |
| 14 | Oct 19-21 | Vodafone Gold Coast 600 |
| 15 | Nov 2-4 | ITM Auckland SuperSprint |
| 16 | Nov 23-25 | Coates Hire Newcastle 500* |
* Denotes Dunlop Super2 Series
Acting Supercars CEO, Shane Howard said the championship is in a great position to build on the strong growth it enjoyed across 2017 with increases in attendance, television viewership and online engagement.
“The finish to last year’s season where Jamie Whincup claimed his seventh career title on the final lap of the year in arguably some of the most dramatic circumstances we have ever seen, has set the stage for another huge year in 2018 for Supercars,” said Howard.
“We had over 192,000 fans attend our inaugural Coates Hire Newcastle 500 and we know everyone is itching to return for hopefully another huge season finale in November.”
Defending champion Whincup was joined on stage today by 2017 runner-up, Scott McLaughlin, with both drivers vowing to continue their enthralling Holden vs. Ford battle which went down to the wire in 2017.
Among the full field of 26 drivers at today’s launch were five rookies Jack Le Brocq, Richie Stanaway, James Golding, Anton De Pasquale and Todd Hazelwood who make the step up to the Supercars Championship fulltime.
Supercars 2018 Entry List
| Team | Manufacturer | Driver |
| Shell V-Power Racing | Ford | #12 Fabian Coulthard |
| Shell V-Power Racing | Ford | #17 Scott McLaughlin |
| Red Bull Holden Racing Team | Holden | #1 Jamie Whincup |
| Red Bull Holden Racing Team | Holden | #97 Shane van Gisbergen |
| Autobarn Lowndes Racing | Holden | #888 Craig Lowndes |
| Tekno Autosports | Holden | #19 Jack Le Brocq |
| Tickford Racing | Ford | #5 Mark Winterbottom |
| Supercheap Auto Racing (Tickford) | Ford | #55 Chaz Mostert |
| Tickford Racing | Ford | #56 Richie Stanaway |
| Tickford Racing | Ford | #6 Cam Waters |
| Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden | #33 Garth Tander |
| Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden | #34 James Golding |
| Erebus Motorsport | Holden | #9 David Reynolds |
| Erebus Motorsport | Holden | #99 Anton De Pasquale |
| Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | #15 Rick Kelly |
| Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | #23 Michael Caruso |
| Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | #78 Simona de Silvestro |
| Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | #7 Andre Heimgartner |
| Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden | #25 James Courtney |
| Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden | #2 Scott Pye |
| Brad Jones Racing | Holden | #14 Tim Slade |
| Brad Jones Racing | Holden | #8 Nick Percat |
| Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden | #21 Tim Blanchard |
| Matt Stone Racing | Ford | #35 Todd Hazelwood |
| Preston Hire Racing | Holden | #18 Lee Holdsworth |
| 23Red Racing | Ford | #230 Will Davison |
The entire Supercars field will take to the track for the first time tomorrow at Sydney Motorsport Park before the season opening in Adelaide in two weeks.
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