Scott McLaughlin contested the series as the defending driver's champion. McLaughlin successfully defended his championship title,[3] and in doing so, he brokeCraig Lowndes' 1996 record for the most wins in a championship year when he recorded his seventeenth win atPukekohe Park.[4][a] His team,DJR Team Penske, won their second teams' championship.Ford secured the manufacturers' title at the Ipswich SuperSprint.[6]
Thesixth generation Ford Mustang, the Mustang GT, washomologated for the 2019 championship. The Mustang was a replacement for theFG X Falcon, which was used between2015 and2018.[36][37]Tickford Racing andDJR Team Penske oversaw the development of the car, withFord Performance providing additional technical support.[38][39][40]Ford Australia provided financial support in developing the car, but no team was officially recognised as a factory team.[41] The homologation process required modifications to the bodywork to fit the series'control chassis, but the car continued to use the V8 engine used by the FG X Falcon.[42][43] The decision to return the Mustang to the series was made as Australia's domestic production of theFord Falcon ceased in 2016.[44] The Mustang's return marked the first time since1990 that a Mustang has contested the premier class of Australian motorsport.[45] The car completed the homologation process in December 2018 and was subsequently approved for competition by the Supercars Commission.[46]
Nissan withdrew its factory support from the championship at the end of 2018 as the company elected to change its global motorsport strategy and focus on itsFormula E entry.Kelly Racing—who raced under the Nissan Motorsport name between 2013 and 2018—continued to compete with theAltima L33 chassis under licence from the company.[47][48] Nissan's decision to withdraw from the championship followed the Altima being withdrawn from sale in Australia in 2017.[49]
Richie Stanaway was withdrawn halfway through theWinton SuperSprint and missed the next three rounds, due to a neck injury. He was replaced for the remainder of the round, and the followingDarwin Triple Crown byChris Pither, who had already been nominated as Stanaway's partner for the endurance races.[64]Michael Caruso stepped in for theTownsville 400 andIpswich SuperSprint, returning to the team for the first time since 2012.[32] Stanaway was stood down halfway through theGold Coast 600, due to disciplinary reasons. Chris Pither became the main driver for the Sunday race whileSuper2 andTCR Australia driverDylan O'Keeffe made his debut with the team.
The 2019 calendar underwent a radical revision compared to the 2018 calendar. TheSydney SuperNight 300 was removed from the calendar entirely and was replaced by a new night race atBarbagallo Raceway. The change was made with the long-term view to running the Sydney round in January 2020 as part of a proposed move to a "summer series" format that would see the championship run primarily in the summer months.[65]
TheSandown 500 moved to a late-season slot in November, becoming the final round of the Pirtek Enduro Cup, to avoid clashing with theAFL andNRL finals series. TheAuckland SuperSprint was brought forward to September, making the Sandown 500 the penultimate round of the championship.[65] Changes to theFormula One calendar meant that theAustralian Grand Prix was run earlier in the year than it was in 2018, and thus the Supercarssupport races was also moved forward. TheAdelaide 500 was subsequently brought forward to remain the opening round of the season.
As a cost reduction measure, the use of twin-spring dampers were banned with teams required to use linear spring dampers.[67] A newspecification oftransaxle developed byXtrac was introduced.[68]
If a car was released from the pit bay before the fuel rig was decoupled from the car, the car had to be re-raised on its pneumatic jacks and the fuel rig removed before the driver can rejoin the race.[69]
Points were awarded for each race at an event, to the driver or drivers of a car that completed at least 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the race. At least 50% of the planned race distance must be completed for the result to be valid and championship points awarded.
Points format
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
Standard
150
138
129
120
111
102
96
90
84
78
72
69
66
63
60
57
54
51
48
45
42
39
36
33
30
27
Bathurst
300
276
258
240
222
204
192
180
168
156
144
138
132
126
120
114
108
102
96
90
84
78
72
66
60
54
Sandown
250
230
215
200
185
170
160
150
140
130
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
Melbourne (long)
100
92
86
80
74
68
64
60
56
52
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
Melbourne (short)
50
46
43
40
37
34
32
30
28
26
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
Standard: Used for all SuperSprint, SuperNight and street races, including the Gold Coast 600.
Bathurst: Used for the Bathurst 1000.
Sandown: Used for the Sandown 500.
Melbourne (long): Used for Race 1 and 3 of the Melbourne 400.
Melbourne (short): Used for Race 2 and 4 of the Melbourne 400, and the qualifying races for the Sandown 500.
^McLaughlin also brokeMark Donohue's record for the most wins in a championship year by aTeam Penske driver.[5]
^Scott McLaughlin qualified on pole, but was later stripped of the result when his engine was found to have breached the technical regulations.Chaz Mostert was recognised as the pole-sitter in his place.[70]
^abPole position for the Sandown qualifying races is not recognised as an official pole position and does not count towards the driver's career statistics.
^"PIRTEK Enduro Cup".Supercars. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved21 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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