The series today unveiled the official shakedown and test days for the Gen3 cars ahead of their competitive debut at the Newcastle 500 next March.
Having long maintained that teams would be testing by December this year, it is now clear that running won't take place until late January.
Following a meeting between Supercars and the teams it was agreed that the Victoria-based teams, as well as Albury-based Brad Jones Racing, will hold a shakedown at Winton Motor Raceway on January 24.
The Queensland-based teams will then follow six days later with Monday running at Queensland Raceway.
Teams will then have two full test days each, firstly as split running with the Victorians at Winton on February 7 and the Queenslanders at QR on February 9.
They will then come together for an all-in test at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 22 – just over two weeks before the season kicks off in Newcastle.
All shakedown and test days will be open to the public.
The delay is the latest in a series of hold-ups for the new regulations, which were originally meant to debut at the start of this season.
The Gen3 switch was then pushed back to mid-2022 before that somewhat odd decision was binned in favour of a 2023 debut.
Consistent delays in development, homologation and manufacturing across this year has left teams long bracing for a hectic off-season building new cars.
Even now the aero packages are yet to be formally signed off with the VCAT test only wrapping up at the end of last week.
Having just six weeks between shakedown and the first competitive outing for the cars is markedly different to the roll-out of the Car of the Future cars a decade ago.
Back then teams such as Triple Eight and Tickford Racing were testing their own COTF cars by September 2012, five months out from the debut of the rules in Adelaide in March 2013.
Teams have at least commenced now commenced their Gen3 builds, with most having taken delivery of either a completed control chassis, or a control chassis kit, from manufacturer Pace Innovations.
