Positive Format Changes for Dunlop Series in 2014

Next year, all Dunlop Series rounds will consist of two 40-minute races.

According to V8 Supercars General Manager – Motorsport Damien White, the change will help bring the series, which has expanded in size significantly over the past few years, more in line with the V8 Supercars Championship.

“In line with the consistency of race formats announced for the Championship next year, these changes to the Dunlop Series also deliver consistency across all rounds, ensuring the fans know what they’re going to see,” White said.

In 2009 the feeder category – entered by many up-and-coming drivers, and being a source for co-drivers for the Championship endurance races – had an 18 car average over the season. This year, over 31 cars have registered for more than five rounds in the seven round Series.

Adapting to the increasing field, all qualifying sessions next season will be split, like at the 2013 Winton event. Practice results will determine two groups in which the cars will qualify.

In another move to more closely align it to the Championship formats, and a first for the Dunlop Series, at the Clipsal 500, Townsville 500, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Sydney 500 – there will be a separate qualifying session for each Dunlop Series race.

“The longer races, and the race specific qualifying, not only aligns more closely with the Championship, we believe it will also discourage impatient driving which often leads to avoidable incidents,” White said.

For the remaining rounds – Winton, Perth and Queensland Raceway – the Dunlop Series will retain the familiar reverse top 10 race.

“The truth is our competitor base has mixed feelings on the reverse top 10 concept, yet the fan feedback is mostly positive,” White explained.

“We obviously picked the lower risk circuits to retain it and for those meetings, given we only have one qualifying session, we have provided for longer practice sessions. From a competitor standpoint the track time has increased across the board.”

Click here for the full Dunlop Series calendar for 2014.

White, who competed in the category in 2007, is passionate about the Dunlop Series and proud of what it has become.

And while the Dunlop Series is still running the old incarnation of a V8 Supercar – teams have not yet made the transition to the Car of the Future model – White believes seat time in the category is still extraordinarily beneficial.

“Any race miles are good race miles,” he said.

“Going from the live to independent rear end means the cars are different to handle, but at the end of the day they’re the similar weight, similar power, a slightly different tyre.

“There are benefits for a co-driver. Certainly, if I was a team manager, I would be looking to the Dunlop Series before any other support category for my co-driver.”