EXCLUSIVE: V8 TOURING CARS TO BECOME SUPER3

V8 Touring Cars set to be rebranded as Super3 – Photo: InSyde Media

An extra development tier of Supercars is set to be added with a plan to rebrand V8 Touring Cars as Super3 next year.

By MARK FOGARTY

Supercars is in the final stages of talks with the organisers of the Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car Series to adopt it as the new official third level below Super2 and the main game.

AUTO ACTION has learned that V8 Touring Cars will be renamed Super3, in line with the convention implemented in 2017 to rebrand the second-tier Supercars Development Series as Super2.

If the change goes ahead as planned, four of the five rounds of the proposed Super3 Series will be run at Supercars events

The Super3 moniker is owned by Supercars, which has registered a number of Super-prefixed category titles, including SuperUtes and Super5000.

Senior Supercars sources have confirmed that the plan is to sanction V8 Touring Cars, which is for previous-generation Commodores and Falcons, as a starting-level development series below Super2.

“That is the intention,” an informant told AA. “But the deal hasn’t been finalised.”

The Kumho Tyres V8 Touring Car Series is run by Tri-State Racing, which is the CAMS-licensed category manager.

Several main game teams are looking increasingly to V8 Touring Cars as a breeding ground for young drivers.

In its new Supercars-sanctioned guise, the Kumho series would serve as an extended pathway for aspiring young drivers and teams.

Brad Jones Racing and Matt Stone Racing already run or prepare V8 Touring Car entries.

This year’s Kumho series has included four appearances at Supercars events, plus non-championship races at the Gold Coast 600, replacing the banned Super Stadium Trucks.

AA understands the proposed 2019 Super3 schedule would be the Supercars events at Phillip Island in April, Winton in May, Queensland Raceway in July and The Bend in August.

The final round would be at the Shannons Nationals meeting at Sandown in September.

V8 Touring Cars/Super3 was also offered a slot at the Darwin Supercars event in June, but it was judged to be too soon after the Winton round.

According to an informed source, the third-level V8 series’ backing by Kumho would not conflict with Supercars’ partnership with Dunlop, which is the exclusive tyre supplier for the main championship and the Super2 title, which it also sponsors.

However, it is likely Super3 would switch to Dunlop rubber and 18-inch diameter rims when the current agreement with the South Korean tyre-maker runs out.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a supplier of tyres for the old 17-inch diameter wheels, abandoned by Supercars in 2013 with the change to the New Generation (formerly Car Of The Future) rules.

When V8 Touring Cars’ current three-year deal with Kumho was announced in late 2016, the intention was to switch to a tyre for 18-inch diameter rims in 2019.

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