1960 – 2020 TOP 60 DRIVERS

Who are the greatest drivers in the 60-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars? We rank the top 60 with an emphasis on best championship finishes, race-winning percentage and competitive longevity. Only drivers with top 10 championship finishes were considered, to emphasise championship performances over part-time or endurance campaigns. Also, results from the Bathurst 1000 and other endurance events were only factored in when they were part of the championship.

TOP END TALENT

Twenty-one-year-old Bryce Fullwood will become the first Northern Territorian to race in front of his home crowd as a full-time driver in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship when the main game visits Darwin in July. But, even more remarkably, Fullwood wasn’t even born the last time Walkinshaw Andretti United (formerly the Holden Racing Team) ran a rookie in one of its entries back in 1997.

HOLDEN IN MEMORIAM

From saddlery manufacturing in Adelaide in 1856, Holden grew into an Australian automotive giant. The news of its impending demise wasn’t unexpected, given its dwindling sales in recent years, but it was still felt acutely not only within Supercars but across Australia. This is the story of Holden’s journey in Australian touring cars, from the formative years to the present.

ENDURO MOVERS

The field for the 2020 PIRTEK Enduro Cup is taking shape with the offseason moves headlined by reigning Bathurst 1000-winning co-driver Alexandre Prémat finding a new home at Tickford Racing.

THE DARK HORSE

In a season of massive driver change, Kelly Racing is the only team to switch manufacturers. Now equipped with the Ford Mustang, the streamlined two-car team shapes as a real dark horse this season.

JACK BE QUICK

After championship wins in the Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car Series and New Zealand V8 Touring Cars, three seasons in the Dunlop Super2 Series, four main-game wildcard rounds and a PIRTEK Enduro Cup campaign, Jack Smith graduates into the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with Brad Jones Racing in 2020.

EXPANSION & CELEBRATION

The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship marks the 20th anniversary of Brad Jones Racing’s arrival in the category. And the team celebrates the milestone with an expansion to four entries, cementing its place in Supercars as the oldest team not to have had an ownership change since its arrival.

BETTING ON 18

Thirty-year-old Scott Pye joins his fourth Virgin Australia Supercars Championship team when he links with an expanded Team 18 in 2020, pairing with Mark Winterbottom in the Charlie Schwerkolt-owned team in his bid to find a long-term home.

AS THE DECADES ROLL ON...

With the Australian Touring Car Championship/Virgin Australia Supercars Championship celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020, we look back at the decade-on years in the history of the sport.

Right On Track

REFLECTING BACK

Garry The Guru

THE END OF OUR SUPERCARS ERA

End For The Altima

Kelly Racing’s switch from Nissan Altimas to Ford Mustangs in 2020 brings to an end the Altima’s seven-season stint in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

Decade Dave

David Reynolds is known as the larrikin of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, but there’s much more to the man with a 10-year deal locking him in with Erebus Motorsport until he’s 44 years of age.

The Record Breaker

DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin has rewritten the Australian Touring Car Championship/Virgin Australia Supercars Championship record books in 2019. This is the story of his remarkable season and what comes next.

The French Connection

While the focus was on the return of Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander entering the 2019 PIRTEK Enduro Cup, it was Alexandre Prémat who won the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and helped Scott McLaughlin take his second championship win, capping a remarkable eight-year journey for the Frenchman in Supercars.

Getting Down

Supercars will reduce downforce on the Ford Mustang and Holden ZB Commodore for 2020 in the latest bid to improve the racing and achieve better parity between the cars.

Chris Pither And His Long Battle For A Regular Drive In Supercars

It’s been a long road back for Kiwi Chris Pither after a serious practice crash at Bathurst in 2008 put his career on hold. More than 10 years on, the 32-year-old is the only driver to have his name on both Dunlop Super2 Series and Australian V8 Ute Racing Series trophies. After being sidelined at the start of 2019, he’s eager to prove once again that he belongs in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

2019 Pirtek Enduro - Dream Team

In 2019 Triple Eight Race Engineering fields what could be considered the strongest endurance driver line-up in the history Australian touring cars, with Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander joining Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen respectively with 14 Bathurst 1000s and 12 championships won in total. Lowndes and Tander share their thoughts on their return to Supercars in these exclusive interviews.

The Burning Questions

How will the 2019 PIRTEK Enduro Cup play out? These are the 19 questions which will be answered at the long-distance events…

Confidence Boost

There was a collective paddock gasp when it was revealed 2007 Supercars champion Garth Tander lost his seat at Garry Rogers Motorsport to Richie Stanaway, as part of a deal with new sponsor Boost Mobile. The team has struggled for results ever since but remains resolute that its youth policy and strong team culture can lift the squad back up the grid.

Enduro Time!

DJR Team Penske’s bid to end a 25-year winless run at Bathurst comes up against a formidable Triple Eight Race Engineering driver line-up. This is how the battle for the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and PIRTEK Enduro Cup is shaping up.

From Salvation To Domination

Dick Johnson Racing stood on the brink of extinction entering 2013, facing mounting debts, a lack of sponsors and poor on-track results. Six years on, it entered 2019 as the defending champions and has confirmed its place as the current powerhouse in Supercars. This is the latest remarkable comeback story from a team that built its legend on fighting back from adversity.

Holdin' On

Holden has recommitted to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with a new deal for Triple Eight Race Engineering to race the Commodore ZB as the sole factory-backed outfit, bringing the fight to Ford and its all-conquering DJR Team Penske.

Levelling The Playing Field

A new control gearbox/transaxle and ban on twin-spring dampers looks set to create more parity on and off the track in Supercars.

Beyond The Wheel

Settling In At Team 18

The Penske Way

Team Penske has been the dominant force in IndyCar for decades and has become the team to beat in NASCAR in recent years, bringing that winning culture to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with DJR Team Penske. We met with Roger Penske to discuss the rise of Team Penske.

Test Of Endurance

The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship goes into longdistance mode with the Pirtek Endurance Cup, which rewards the best-performing combination across the RABBLE.club Sandown 500, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Vodafone Gold Coast 600.

Falcon Farewell

The Ford Falcon enters its final endurance campaign looking to add to its storied history at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, and take a 17th drivers’ championship.

David Reynolds - Joker In The Pack

David Reynolds emerged as a genuine championship contender with Erebus Motorsport in 2018. One year on since his win in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Mark Fogarty sits down with Supercars’ class clown to discuss his progression with the team.

Third Time Lucky

After starting out at Triple Eight Race Engineering and being pushed out for Scott McLaughlin at DJR Team Penske, Scott Pye joined Walkinshaw Andretti United at a time of crisis. And just 18 months later his fortunes and that of his new team have turned right around.