Super2 Series

Last updated
Super2 Series
Super2 Series logo (2024-present).png
Category Touring car racing
Country Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
Inaugural season2000
Drivers26
Teams11
Constructors Flag of the United States.svg Ford
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Holden
Tyre suppliers Dunlop
Drivers' champion Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rylan Gray
Makes' champion Flag of the United States.svg Ford
Teams' champion Tickford Racing
Official website www.supercars.com
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifically the second tier series for Supercars competitors. Competing vehicles are older than those utilised in the Supercars Championship series and are usually run by smaller teams with lower budgets.

Contents

The vast majority of drivers in the Supercars Championship have raced at least one season in the Super2 Series Championship. For parts of its history, competing in the Super2 Series was required for most drivers to qualify for a Motorsport Australia Superlicence, which is required to compete in the Supercars Championship, or was enforced as a separate requirement by the Supercars Championship organisers. [1] [2]

History

The series was first held in 2000 as the 2000 Konica V8 Lites Series and this inaugural contest was won by Dean Canto. Towards the end of the season Stone Brothers Racing entered a car for David Besnard as preparation for the long distance races, in the main V8 Supercar series, the Queensland 500 and the Bathurst 1000, which unlike the other races require two drivers for each competing vehicle. Since then main series teams have used the series to help get their endurance co-drivers up-to-speed, or have employed drivers competing for other Fujitsu Series teams. While originally Fujitsu Series teams were allowed to enter main series events, this has since been discontinued as all main series events are limited to those teams carrying valid franchise slots for the main series, although in limited circumstances Fujitsu series teams have been able to lease entries from main series teams.

The 2007 champion, Tony D'Alberto, drove for the Tony D'Alberto Racing team, and like many of his predecessors, graduated to the V8 Supercar series in 2008, again with the family team.

From the 2009 Season and onward all Super2 Series rounds have run on the Main Supercars Championship calendar as a support category.

This series carries the colloquial title of 'Development Series' which was the name given to the series by V8 Supercar Australia between the 2004 and 2005 seasons. The colloquial title is referred to in many conversations, even though there has never been a Development Series race because a naming rights sponsor was found before the start of the 2005 season.

Started during the 2016 year season of the Dunlop Super2 Series (Named as Supercars Dunlop Series) Car of The Future later known as New Generation V8 Supercar specification cars were eligible in the series.

In the 2021 season of the series, The Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car Series (Later named as Kumho Tyre Super3 Series in 2019 before being named as Dunlop Super3 Series) joined alongside the Dunlop Super2 Series category for the first time as a class racing on track at the same time.

Started in the year 2023 season of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series only the Gen2 Specification built cars (Holden Commodore ZB & Ford Mustang GT (S550)) were to become eligible in the Super2 Series class. Car of The Future also known as New Generation V8 Supercar specification built cars were sold & sent down to teams in the Super3 Series class of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series.

Starting in the 2025 year season the Dunlop Series will revert down to a single class of the Super2 Series removing the Super3 Series due to low grid numbers with as much as two or three cars in the Super3 Series class during round weekends of the 2024 Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series season. Cars that were built under Car of The Future (Also Known as New Generation V8 Supercar) Regulations such as the Holden Commodore VF, Ford Falcon FG-X and Nissan Altima are set to be re-eligible back in the Super2 Series in the 2025 Year season.

Championship format

The Super2 series runs at a subset of Supercars Championship rounds (for instance in 2025, there will be six Super2 rounds). [3]

During each round, there are two races of 40 minutes duration, one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday of the race weekend. [4] There is a separate qualifying session for each race.

Championship points for each race result are awarded on a sliding scale, with each race result given equal weighting (unlike in the Supercars Championship, where longer races are awarded more points). [5]

Costs

One 2023 estimate puts the cost of competing in the Super2 series for a season at "up to A$ 600,000...for a top team car". [6] While much lower than the Supercars Championship, it is much higher than many other Australian racing series such as the Trico Trans-Am Series, TCR Australia Touring Car Series, and the now-defunct S5000 Australian Drivers Championship. [7]

Series winners

The Holden VZ Commodore of Marcus Zukanovic at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit for the opening round of the 2010 Dunlop Super2 Series (Back then as the 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series). Holden VZ Commodore of Marcus Zukanovic.jpg
The Holden VZ Commodore of Marcus Zukanovic at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit for the opening round of the 2010 Dunlop Super2 Series (Back then as the 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series).
The Ford BF Falcon of John McIntyre at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit for the opening round of the 2010 Dunlop Super2 Series (Back then as the 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series). Ford BF Falcon of John McIntyre.jpg
The Ford BF Falcon of John McIntyre at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit for the opening round of the 2010 Dunlop Super2 Series (Back then as the 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series).
The Holden VE Commodore of Paul Dumbrell at the 2014 Sydney NRMA 500 Paul Dumbrell 2014 Dunlop Series Homebush.JPG
The Holden VE Commodore of Paul Dumbrell at the 2014 Sydney NRMA 500
The Nissan Altima (L33) of Jack Le Brocq at the Newcastle Street Circuit for the 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500 Jack LeBrocq at Newcastle, 2017.jpg
The Nissan Altima (L33) of Jack Le Brocq at the Newcastle Street Circuit for the 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500
SeasonSeries NameSeries WinnerCarTeam
2000 Konica V8 Lites Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Canto Ford EL Falcon Dean Canto Racing
2001 Konica V8 Supercar Series Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon Wills Holden VT Commodore Team Dynamik
2002 Konica V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell Holden VX Commodore Independent Race Cars Australia
2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Winterbottom Ford AU Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Jones Ford AU Falcon Brad Jones Racing
2005 HPDC V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Canto Ford BA Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Macrow Ford BA Falcon Howard Racing
2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony D'Alberto Holden VZ Commodore Tony D'Alberto Racing
2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen Holden VZ Commodore Scott Loadsman Racing
2009 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jonathon Webb Ford BF Falcon MW Motorsport
2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen Holden VE Commodore Greg Murphy Racing
2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Thompson Holden VE Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering
2012 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin Ford FG Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
Matt Stone Racing
2013 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dale Wood Ford FG Falcon MW Motorsport
2014 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell Holden VE Commodore Eggleston Motorsport
2015 V8 Supercars Dunlop Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cam Waters Ford FG Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia
2016 Supercars Dunlop Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Jacobson Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia
2017 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Todd Hazelwood Holden VF Commodore Matt Stone Racing
2018 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Pither Holden VF Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport
2019 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryce Fullwood Nissan Altima L33 MW Motorsport
2020 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Randle Nissan Altima L33 MW Motorsport
2021 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Broc Feeney Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering
2022 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Declan Fraser Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering
2023 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Allen Holden ZB Commodore Eggleston Motorsport
2024 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Zach Bates Holden ZB Commodore Walkinshaw Andretti United
2025 Dunlop Super2 Series Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rylan Gray Ford Mustang GT Tickford Racing

Rookie of the Year Winners

SeasonWinnerCarTeam
2021 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt McLean Holden Commodore VF Eggleston Motorsport
2022 Flag of New Zealand.svg Matthew Payne Nissan Altima L33 Grove Racing
2023 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Allen Holden Commodore ZB Eggleston Motorsport
2024 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jarrod Hughes Holden Commodore ZB Image Racing
2025 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ben Gomersall Holden Commodore ZB Triple Eight Race Engineering

Driver Records

[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Series Wins
DriverTitles
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Canto (2000, 2005)2
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell (2002, 2014)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen (2008, 2010)
4 Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon Wills (2001)1
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Winterbottom (2003)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Jones (2004)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Macrow (2006)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony D'Alberto (2007)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jonathon Webb (2009)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Thompson (2011)
Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin (2012)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dale Wood (2013)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cam Waters (2015)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Jacobson (2016)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Todd Hazelwood (2017)
Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Pither (2018)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryce Fullwood (2019)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Randle (2020)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Broc Feeney (2021)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Declan Fraser (2022)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Allen (2023)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Zach Bates (2024)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rylan Gray (2025)
Driver Race Starts (Top-20)
DriverStarts
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aaron McGill170
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Emery 140
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Marcus Zukanovic
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Jones
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Perkins 123
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Chahda 121
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Drew Russell 112
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell 111
9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Taz Douglas 104
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aaren Russell 100
11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Jacobson 99
12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Youlden 98
13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew White90
14 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Pither 89
15 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jay Verdnik88
16 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rodney Jane84
17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Wallis83
18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony D'Alberto 82
19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen 81
20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Wyhoon80
Driver Race Wins (Top-20)
DriverWins
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell 41
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Canto 21
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen 20
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Thompson 16
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Owen Kelly 13
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cam Waters 12
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Macrow
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Le Brocq 11
9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon Wills 10
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Russell 9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Perkins
12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Winterbottom 8
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jonathon Webb
14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Jacobson 7
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ashley Walsh
16 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryce Fullwood 6
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Caruso
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Todd Hazelwood
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brodie Kostecki
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nick Percat
Driver Round Wins
DriverRound Wins
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell 16
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Owen 10
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Canto 9
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Thompson 8
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Macrow 7
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cam Waters 5
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Zak Best
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Winterbottom 4
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jonathon Webb
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryce Fullwood
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Owen Kelly
12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Allen 3
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Broc Feeney
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Jacobson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Jones
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Randle
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Zach Bates
18 Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon Wills 2
Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Todd Hazelwood
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Declan Fraser
Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Pither
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony D'Alberto
24 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dale Wood 1
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew White
Note: bold text indicates active drivers.


Team Records

Teams Championships
TeamTitles
1 MW Motorsport 4
2 Triple Eight Race Engineering 3
Tickford Racing
4 Stone Brothers Racing 2
Eggleston Motorsport
6Dean Canto Racing1
Team Dynamik
Independent Race Cars Australia
Brad Jones Racing
Dick Johnson Racing
Howard Racing
Tony D'Alberto Racing
Scott Loadsman Racing
Greg Murphy Racing
Matt Stone Racing
Garry Rogers Motorsport
Walkinshaw Andretti United
Team Round Wins (Top-5)
TeamRound Wins
1 MW Motorsport 21
Tickford Racing
3 Eggleston Motorsport 18
4 Triple Eight Race Engineering 13
5Howard Racing11
Team Race Wins (Top-5)
TeamRace Wins
1 MW Motorsport 51
2 Tickford Racing 43
3 Eggleston Motorsport 42
4Howard Racing24
5 Triple Eight Race Engineering 23
Note: bold text indicates active teams.


References

  1. Clarke, Andrew (1 June 2023). "Rogers frustrated with Supercars' licence hurdle". Auto Action . Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  2. O'Brien, Connor (2023-07-20). "Supercars announces driver eligibility rule change". V8 Sleuth. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  3. "2025 Supercars Calendar" (PDF). Supercars Championship . Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. "2024 Repco Supercars Championship | Result 2024 Super2 | Supercars". www.supercars.com. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  5. "SUPERCARS OPERATIONS MANUAL 2023 DIVISION "D" – SPORTING RULES" (PDF). Supercars Championship . Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  6. Williams, Bruce (12 December 2023). "It's Crunch Time For S5000". Auto Action . Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  7. van Leewen, Andrew (30 June 2020). "ARG reveals post-lockdown season budgets". Motorsport.com . Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  8. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/v8-supercar-development-series/2025
  9. https://www.supercars.com/news/supercars-news-2025-25-best-super2-drivers-in-25-years-3-to-1
  10. https://www.supercars.com/news/supercars-news-2025-25-best-super2-drivers-in-25-years-10-to-4
  11. https://www.supercars.com/news/supercars-news-2025-25-best-super2-drivers-in-25-years-17-to-11
  12. https://www.supercars.com/news/supercars-news-2025-25-best-super2-drivers-in-25-years-25-to-18