Qualifying duels introduced for Eseries

THE CONTENDERS

Can anyone catch SVG?

Shane van Gisbergen been almost unstoppable of late, racking up seven wins from the last 10 races.

WATCH: RENAULT F1 PROTEGE PREPARES FOR ESERIES DEBUT

The bad news for the other drivers is the 2016 Supercars champion is now home in Australia where his simulator setup is reportedly even better than the one he was using in New Zealand.

Scott McLaughlin is now 146 points behind the Red Bull Holden ace with two rounds to go.

The only other drivers somewhat within striking distance of the title are Cam Waters, Anton De Pasquale and Chaz Mostert.

If one of those three has a perfect night tonight and van Gisbergen slips up, we are in for one hell of a finish to the BP Eseries next week.

THE WILDCARDS

Five wildcards this week including:

Aaron Seton will man the Repco Mustang; the third-generation Seton is a talent in his own right following in the footsteps of father Glenn who won the ATCC/Supercars titles in 1993 and 1997 and grandfather Barry who won at Mount Panorama in 1965.

Danish teen sensation Christian Lundgaard is a name to look out for in the future of Formula 1. The 18-year-old won a pair of Formula 4 championships in 2017, was runner-up in the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup, before progressing to Formula 3 last year and Formula 2 this year.

Michael Caruso is very much still a favourite amongst Supercars fans and will be hard to miss in the Monster Energy #10 Mustang with lime green wheels. Caruso won Supercars races in 2009 and 2016 and finished third at Bathurst alongside fellow Tickford driver Lee Holdsworth in ’09 while driving for Garry Rogers Motorsport.

Jordan Boys’ back end of 2019 in Dunlop Super2 has many tipping for a big future for the Albury-based 22-year-old. The Eseries has been a happy hunting ground for several of Boys’ Super2 colleagues, with Brodie Kostecki taking two podiums at Bathurst, Broc Feeney scoring a reverse grid win at Spa and Tyler Everingham performing well in Round 8 last week.

The fifth wildcard for this evening is drift champion, “Mad Mike” Whiddett who will don a Red Bull livery this evening. Whiddett has been busy on his home simulator in recent times, including competing in the charity-orientated Racing Local competition that involved van Gisbergen.

THE FORMATS

All Round 9 sessions are to be held at Michigan International Speedway. Damage will be turned off for all three races.

QUALIFYING

Drivers who finish qualifying in an odd number (e.g. first, third, fifth, etc) will slot into Duel 1, from which their finishing position will determine the inside row for the night’s opening points race.

Drivers who finish qualifying in an even number (e.g. second, fourth, sixth, etc) will slot into Duel 2, from which their finishing position will determine the outside row for the night’s opening points race.

RACE FORMATS & POINTS

19:15 – Race 27, 28 laps or 22 mins, one compulsory pitstop, grid set from qualifying, maximum 75 points

19:48 – Race 28, 28 laps or 22 mins, one compulsory pitstop, reverse grid, maximum 75 points

20:20 – Race 29, 45 laps or 35 mins, one compulsory pitstop, grid set from accrued Race 27 and Race 28 points, maximum 150 points

WHERE TO WATCH

Qualifying for the Round 9 will begin at 6pm AEST and will be broadcast exclusively on Fox Sports 506 before racing begins at 7pm.

From 7pm, racing will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, Sky Sports (NZ) and 10 Play.

Online fans from around the globe can watch races via the Supercars’ Facebook Page, Supercars’ Teams Facebook Pages, Twitch and YouTube.

10 Bold will show a full replay of Round 9 on Saturday afternoon from 1-3pm.