28 November 2018 | General

V8 TOURING CARS TO BECOME SUPER 3 IN 2019

A formal agreement between the series and Supercars will see the category officially positioned as the third tier of Supercars racing in Australia below the Dunlop Super 2 Series and Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

The Kumho Super 3 Series will remain independently managed by existing category managers Rob and Liam Curkpatrick and will retain the series mixture of young and developing talent privateers and heritage cars that have featured in recent seasons.

The series has also announced a five-event calendar that includes four Virgin Australia Supercars Championship events at Phillip Island Winton Queensland Raceway and The Bend plus a grand finale at the Shannons Nationals event at Sandown.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said the addition of the Super3 Series is part of Supercars vision to develop a direct pathway for young drivers to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

“Weve seen many drivers make the step up from the current V8 Touring Car Series into the Dunlop Super2 Series and then into part-time or full-time drives in the Supercars Championship one of the toughest touring categories on the planet Seamer said.

 

“It has helped develop the careers of current drivers including the youngest driver in Supercars history Alex Rullo current Dunlop Super2 driver Shae Davies and former Championship driver Taz Douglas.

 

“The Super3 Series also pays tribute to the success of our sport where young drivers race a range of historically significant cars that had successes in the hands of some of the sports great drivers.

 

Super3 Category Manager Liam Curkpatrick said the new title was the next step in the evolution of the category.

 

“We have enjoyed a working relationship with Supercars for some time both as a support category at several of their events and also on a technical and sporting basis Curkpatrick said.

 

“Formalising the arrangement made sense at both ends and it means we can drop the unofficial from the unofficial third tier tag weve had for some time. Having closer ties with Supercars allows us to better promote the series and formalise the place the series has developed on the pathway to Super 2.

 

“Internally the series will remain unchanged with the same people running the show a continued relationship with our long-time supporters in Kumho and continuing to work with the great competitor base we have built over a decade of racing.

The Kumho Super3 Series was founded in 2008 as V8 Touring Cars as a place for vehicles no longer eligible for the Super2 Series to continue racing at a national level.

The series has evolved into a breeding ground for young drivers mechanics and engineers to learn Supercars racing prior to progressing into Dunlop Super 2 while at the same time remaining a place for privateers to race competitively and for the heritage of the sport to be celebrated via older cars running original or significant liveries.

Brad Jones Racing and Matt Stone Racing field cars in all three levels of Supercars competition in Australia while Image Racing MW Motorsport and several other outfits field cars in both Dunlop Super2 and Kumho Super3 competition.

A total of 57 rounds and 171 series races have been held since the categorys debut at Mallala in 2008.

2019 Kumho Tyre Super 3 Calendar

Round 1 WD40 Phillip Island 500 April 12-14 
Round 2 Winton SuperSprint May 24-26 
Round 3 Ipswich SuperSprint July 26-28 
Round 4 The Bend SuperSprint August 23-25 
Round 5 Shannons Nationals Sandown Raceway September 20-22