Supercars has revealed a new season format from next year with Finals rounding out the campaign to decide the 2025 champion.
The Australian series will switch to a three-stage split season, with the opening eight rounds counting for a Sprint Cup and the two endurance races determining an Enduro Cup champion, before the Finals format kicks in.
There will also be a point resets, with all 10 drivers going to the first Finals race on the Gold Coast level on 3000 points, and then 4000 for the next race, at Sandown.
Any driver who wins on the Gold Coast and Sandown will be automatically seeded into the final four to remain in title contention for Adelaide, along with the next two highest point-scorers.
Will it prove a success for the series? Our writers offer their views.
A brave change, but with damaging potential - Phil Branagan
The notion of shaking up the method to determine a champion is a positive one and I tip my hat to Supercars for being brave about that. But as Jim Hacker taught us in 'Yes, Prime Minister', bravery can have its consequences.
Some scenarios could expand from a micro concern to a macro nightmare under the new system. As an example, I am going to pick (on) current points leader and 2024 title favourite Will Brown. If the Triple Eight Chevrolet driver has a solid Bathurst 1000 result this weekend he could be leading the championship points going into the next round on the Gold Coast – and if some of his challengers do not dazzle at Bathurst Brown's lead well may be one entire round's points (300) or more.
Imagine that Brown dominates qualifying on the Gold Coast but in the top 10 shootout, a locked wheel sends him wide, he misses a chicane and will therefore start the first race from 10th on the grid. The Gold Coast street circuit has a reputation for punishing errors; if from there Brown gets caught up in a lap 1 melee, he could be out for the day. Zero points.
Provided he can bounce back on Sunday, that may not be a huge setback. With a podium or a win he could/should even maintain his points lead going to the final race of this season in Adelaide.
Fast forward that same scenario to 2025. Brown could even win the Sunday race on the Gold Coast but imagine for a moment that a 'finalist' Ford driver further back in the field may face finishing eighth, ninth or 10th of the title contenders for the weekend, thereby saving Brown. Might other Ford drivers, loyal to the blue oval and themselves not in title contention, drive with a level of co-operation they may not do otherwise to ensure their mate is in the top seven and Brown is one of the three drivers eliminated, post-Gold Coast Far fetched? Could it happen? Maybe.
The Finals concept is bound to generate lots of storylines. That's good for Supercars (and great for someone like me). But not all of those stories are going to be positive…
A cynical change at a convenient time - Sam Hall
My initial reaction to Supercars’ shift to a Finals format was simply: why? Granted, having a championship battle that goes to the wire is something that every series strives for and would add intrigue and viewing figures, but sometimes you have to accept that one team or driver will dominate and applaud that achievement.
While there are undoubted positives and it could catch the public’s imagination, it is impossible to shift the purist within me that believes motorsport should be a meritocracy, and should not artificially come down to a botched pitstop or a reliability problem – even driver error – at a single event.
Yes, there are other sports that have this format, NASCAR as the most high-profile example, but it just doesn’t sit right for me on a personal level.
It is the timing of this change that must be looked at closely, however. The broadcast deal expires at the end of 2025 and the introduction of the Gen3 cars has hardly provided the most entertaining racing.
It is then crucial that Supercars provides a better product, and rather than answer why these apparently equal machines appear not so equal on the track and what fundamental issues the series has, the quick fix of a Finals system has been implemented – something which brings with it extra sponsorship and marketing opportunities.
For all my negativity towards this, it should be added that I really do hope this works and I am made to eat my words 12 months from now. Supercars needs something to inject excitement back into the category and, even if this is not to my taste and seems more of a marketing exercise rather than a sporting decision, if it works, I’ll be as happy as anyone.
Surprised the change hasn’t happened sooner - Tom Howard
Having previously lived in Australia and worked in Supercars I’m actually surprised this change hasn’t happened sooner. Australian sport has a peculiar obsession with this ‘Finals Series’ format. It happens in AFL, NRL and the A-League. It was a hard concept for a Brit to get ones head around for sure. Imagine the English Premier League champions being decided by a one-off final instead of 38 games, it’s unheard of, but that is the case for the majority of sporting codes in Australia.
I agree this is not a change that will be loved by the purist and certainly Supercars fans have proven to be opposed to change in the past. I recall when Triple Eight dared to develop a V6 engine to replace the V8 creating complete uproar, and ultimately the V8 engine won out and is still in place today.
But the motorsport landscape is changing and certainly the way fans are interacting with championships. Sometimes taking a big swing at a format change can work. Supercars has tried tweaking formats before, some have worked, some have failed. But equally sitting still is not really option anymore given how fast the sporting landscape is changing and how people watch sport now.
Last weekend I attended the British Touring Car Championship final round at Brands Hatch which once again provided edge of the seat entertainment to determine its champion.
Granted its format does not represent the levels of sweeping change that Supercars will adopt in 2025, but its reverse grid race three and its hybrid usage scale determined on driver success that has replaced success ballast, does usually mean nine times out of 10 the championship will be decided at the final round. I have to say it is a great watch. Last weekend the eventual champion Jake Hill and rival Tom Ingram headed into the final race with a point separating them. Format changes can work for the better, but also the opposite can occur.
The World Rally Championship offers a great example. This year it has operated a new points system that is complicated for the fans to understand, but it has created vastly more entertaining Sundays. There will always be trade-offs with format changes.
I think it is brave of Supercars to make such a change. It will be a bit like Marmite or Vegemite (the former is better) some will love it, some will hate it. What is for certain is the Adelaide Grand Final will be must watch motorsport.
