It was the twenty-fifth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-seventh series in which Supercars have contested theAustralian Touring Car Championship, the premier title in Australian motorsport. It was the sixty-fourth season oftouring car racing inAustralia.
The 2023 season saw the introduction of Gen3, a revision to the sport's technical regulations. These regulations were designed to cut costs for competitors by introducing more standardised components to the cars and redesigning the chassis to favourcoupé body shapes.
Declan Fraser also graduated from the Super2 Series to replaceJake Kostecki afterTickford Racing terminated Kostecki's contract early. Kostecki was initially contracted to race with the team throughout 2023.[36][51]
Pukekohe Park Raceway closed, citing the focus on horse racing and club facilities:[55] a new venue in New Zealand was unable to be secured for 2023.[56]
Gen3 made its debut, replacing the Car of the Future regulations that débuted in2013, with regulations designed to lower costs of a standard Supercar.[57] It was due to debut midway through 2022, but due to ongoing challenges with international supply chains and domestic disruptions caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed to 2023.[58]
The regulations introduced morecontrolled components into the cars to address the rising costs of maintaining a car. The pedal kit, brake kit and wheels became control components, with tenders needing the rims to be 'finger friendly' for pit crew during a pit stop. The roll cage lowered by 100mm to be suited to coupes, after the controversy surrounding theFord Mustang GT, which required the roof to be stretched beyond the dimensions of its road-going counterpart to fit the Car of the Future chassis. Supercars manufactured the roll cage inkit form for teams that do not have the budget to build one themselves.[59][60][61][62]
The engines on Gen3 were overhauled, with pushrod engines replaced with fuel-injected, V8 engines, with the Camaro running a 5.7 LitreLTR V8, while the Mustang will run a 5.4 LitreCoyote V8. This is intended to modernise the engine and significantly reduce costs of building and maintaining them.[63][64][65]
Aerodynamic downforce was cut by 67% to encourage closer racing and easier overtaking after complaints from drivers about dirty air and aerowash from current Gen2 cars.[66]
Minimum weight was decreased from 1,400 kg to 1,335 kg, with a 95 kg minimum of driver and seat weight combination.[67] Later, it was increased to 1,340 kg from theSandown 500.[68]
A new E75 fuel blend was introduced, down from E85 that was used from 2009, while utilising more renewable bio fuels to lower carbon emissions.[71]
Ahead of thePerth SuperSprint an LED display was added to the windscreen to show information such as a driver's position in the race, practice, or qualifying session to spectators.[72]
Ahead of theGold Coast 500 a Full Course Yellow system was implemented, although the system saw no use during the event itself.[73]
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. No extra points were awarded if the fastest lap time is achieved by a driver who was classified outside the top fifteen.
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
27th
28th
FL
Endurance
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
48
42
Two-race
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
SuperSprint
100
92
86
80
74
68
64
60
56
52
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
5
Melbourne
75
69
64
60
55
51
48
45
42
39
36
34
33
31
30
28
27
25
24
22
21
19
18
16
15
Endurance: Used for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
Two-race: Used for the Newcastle 500, Townsville 500, Sydney SuperNight (with 5 points awarded for the fastest lap), Gold Coast 500 and Adelaide 500.
SuperSprint: Used for all SuperSprint races (exc. Melbourne) and the Darwin Triple Crown.
^Cam Waters crossed the line in 3rd, but he was credited with the win after the cars ofShane van Gisbergen andBroc Feeney were disqualified after a protest lodged by Tickford Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United related to the use of dry ice in a specific banned location.[74][75]