Burgess departure confirmed by Supercars

Supercars head of motorsport Adrian Burgess - Photo: LAT

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 16 November 2023

Supercars has confirmed Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess has made the “very difficult” decision to depart from his position in early 2024.

As revealed in AUTO ACTION’s digital magazine and discussed on the AUTO ACTION RevLimiter podcast on Tuesday, Burgess’ time in the key position was expected to come to an end.

It is now official with Supercars CEO Shane Howard thanking the former McLaren, Jordan and Midland Formula 1 team member.

Burgess has been in the role since October 2018 and has overseen the development and implementation of Gen3 this season, which has endured reliability and parity concerns, while prior to the Bathurst 1000 he received a drink driving charge.

Jamie Whincup, Supercars head of motorsport Adrian Burgess and James Courtney share a smile at the Gen3 test at Queensland Raceway.

Whilst a final date is not confirmed, it is expected the Brit will remain in the role until after the wind tunnel and transient dyno testing of the new cars in the States.

Supercars has stated “details on the replacement for the Head of Motorsport role will be announced in due course.”

Howard paid tribute to Burgess for his four years of service, which arrived after stints at Triple Eight, Dick Johnson Racing, HRT/WAU and Tekno.

“Adrian has made an invaluable contribution to our sport,” he said.

“To manage the motorsport and technical operations of one of the world’s leading categories is a challenging task, which Adrian has worked tirelessly on over recent years.

Supercars CEO Shane Howard and head of motorsport Adrian Burgess clap the Gen3 cars as they roll out of pit lane for the first time at Newcastle. Image: Fox Sports

“He has been an integral part of the Motorsport Team and the business, contributing significantly over the past five years.

“We want to express our deep appreciation to Adrian for the dedication and hard work he has applied in advancing our racing product.“

Burgess described his decision to leave the position as “very difficult”.

“Making the decision to leave Supercars has been a very difficult one for me to make, but one I am comfortable with at this time,” he said.

“I’m very proud to have led the hard-working technical and motorsport departments at Supercars over recent years and I will always be grateful for the time I have spent at Supercars.”

Supercars must now find a new Head of Motorsport in addition to newly introduced roles Category Technical Director and Performance Engineer in 2024.

The news comes ahead of the 2023 season finale in Adelaide on November 23-26.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

On this week’s Auto Action RevLimiter, we ramble on about Supercars. Why the finances don’t need a boost! What’s wrong with the calendar! Plus more!

Listen to our latest episode on your podcast app of choice or here

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Burgess departure confirmed by Supercars

Burgess has been in the role since October 2018 and has overseen the development and implementation of Gen3 this season, which has endured reliability and parity concerns, while prior to the Bathurst 1000 he received a drink driving charge.

“Adrian has made an invaluable contribution to our sport,” he said.

“Making the decision to leave Supercars has been a very difficult one for me to make, but one I am comfortable with at this time,” he said.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

On this week’s Auto Action RevLimiter, we ramble on about Supercars. Why the finances don’t need a boost! What’s wrong with the calendar! Plus more!

Listen to our latest episode on your podcast app of choice or here

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