Chasing the Larry Perkins Trophy at Albert Park

After Triple Eight started strong at Bathurst, the rest of the field hopes to close the gap at Albert Park where rapid-fire sprint racing is on the agenda and can the streak of new Larry Perkins Trophy winners can continue?

The second round of the 2024 season will be a significant change of pace for the Supercars grid.

At Mount Panorama, tyre changes, strategy and refuelling were keys to victory, but these elements will not be a factor.

Four short sprint races, soft tyres and no pit stops means it will be pedal to the metal.

For the first time in a long time, the Supercars field will not have its own pit paddock at Albert Park after being kicked out by F2 and F3, so no compulsory pit stops will be needed unlike in the past.

Triple Eight is the undoubted favourite after cleaning up every single on-track session at Mount Panorama.

The new era of Will Brown and Broc Feeney could not have enjoyed a better start and they will be determined to keep up the momentum.

However, it will not be easy and teams only have to rewind one year ago for hope.

Although the first Melbourne SuperSprint of the Gen3 era was bookended by wins to Triple Eight, it was Erebus Motorsport that made the biggest impact.

Erebus ignited its charge to the championship with two wins to Brodie Kostecki after taking the fight to the Red Bulls and overwhelming them.

Once again reigning champion Kostecki will not be racing with Todd Hazelwood subbing for a second straight round in the #99.

Erebus hopes it can unlock similar pace to last year after scoring a best result of eighth at Bathurst.

The only other driver that shared the podium with the Triple Eight drivers at Bathurst was Chaz Mostert, who was easily the best of the rest.

Mostert finished a solid third on Saturday but led the majority of Sunday’s race, only to relinquish control at the start of the final stunt when Triple Eight overcame WAU on strategy.

The #25 Mustang was a rocket ship across the top of the mountain and could be quick through the fast-flowing nature of the F1 street circuit.

Richie Stanaway showed plenty of promise on his return to full time racing, emerging fourth in the championship for Grove Racing.

Other surprise packets at Bathurst were Matt Stone Racing at Team 18, which punched above their weight to be regularly challenging the top five in round 1.

Ford heavyweights Tickford and Dick Johnson Racing will be looking to come out swinging after both suffered challenging starts to the season as the Mustang runners hope no fires will stop their charge this time.

Aside from the removal of pit stops, the race formats have received a tweak with much more racing on offer.

Last year only 320km of racing was held across the four races, whilst this year there will be 370km of action in the condensed weekend.

Rolling out of the truck will be key given five of the eight on track sessions including practice, qualifying and the opening race are all squeezed into the opening day.

Bonus points for the fastest lap are also on offer with action a certainty.

A special prize will be on the line for the Supercars drivers at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Ever since the trip to Albert Park became a championship round in 2018, the Larry Perkins Trophy has been awarded the highest points scorer across the four rounds.

Amazingly the trophy named after the driver with 11 Grands Prix starts and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner has gone to a new home every single year on offer with four winners from four attempts.

Jamie Whincup was the first winner in 2018 whilst Chaz Mostert took it home the following year when Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters ran into each other on the lap to the grid.

After a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 Triple Eight was back on top thanks to Shane van Gisbergen, but his pursuit of back-to-back triumphs was denied by Brodie Kostecki and Erebus Motorsport, who ignited their 2023 championship chase with two wins.

With Mostert the only previous winner on the grid, there is a big chance the streak will remain.

Photo by Mark Horsburgh

Supercars Australian Grand Prix schedule

Thursday, March 21

Practice 1: 11.25-11.55

Practice 2: 13.25-13.55

Qualifying R3: 15.10-15.25

Qualifying R4: 15.35-15.50

Race 3 (20 laps): 17.50-18.35

Friday, March 22

Race 4 (20 laps): 14.50-15.35

Saturday, March 23

Qualifying R5: 09.00-09.15

Qualifying R6: 09.25-09.40

Race 5 (14 laps): 17.35-18.10

Sunday, March 24

Race 6 (14 laps): 10.20-10.55

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