Explained: How Supercars testing works in 2023

Supercars teams will knuckle down with some in-season Supercars testing this week — but what does it all mean?

Queensland Raceway and Winton will be busy this week, with 19 cars from eight cars in action.

Testing rules were tweaked ahead of the 2023 season to help teams come to grips with their new Gen3 cars.

Not all teams are undertaking standard test days, with rookie tests and an evaluation day also being conducted.

With cars back on track this week, Supercars.com helps you sift through all the jargon of testing.

How often can you test, who can test, and where?

Per the 2023 Operations Manual, teams will have four test days (outside of shakedowns) between January 30 and December 8.

Previously, each team was permitted just three test days per year.

Two were mandated to take place prior to the Thrifty Newcastle 500, with one of them the Sydney pre-season test in February.

It leaves just two left for the remainder of the season, and they must be run at a designated test track.

That is, Queensland Raceway for Queensland-based teams, and Winton for the Victorian squads (including Brad Jones Racing).

Rookie drivers (full-time drivers in their first or second season) are granted three additional tests.

The rookie test rules were tweaked — teams are permitted to nominate one alternate circuit (excluding Perth and Darwin). It comes after Broc Feeney completed rookie tests at Winton and Tailem Bend last year.

Feeney is also ineligible for rookie tests as he finished in the top 10 in the points last season. Thomas Randle and Declan Fraser (Tickford Racing), Matt Payne (Penrite Racing) and Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing) are all eligible.

A non-rookie primary driver can drive a car at a rookie test, but for no more than 10 laps.

Any additional new car shakedowns are only permitted to complete a maximum of 60km. Shakedowns don’t necessarily have to be held at a team’s nominated home track. However, they must be held at circuits in the same state they are located — for example, Melbourne-based Tickford Racing can shakedown at Phillip Island.

Drivers are permitted to swap cars during testing, but only one chassis per Teams Racing Charter is allowed on track.

A primary driver is also permitted to drive a car outside of their nominated team or group for a maximum of 10 laps.

Track running is limited to between 8:30am to 5:00pm, regardless of venue.

Additionally, if a team opts to cease testing due to rain within two hours of their first lap or before 11:00am — whichever comes first — they will be deemed not to have used one of their test days.

The likes of corporate ride days, evaluation days, rookie days, homologation days, demonstration days, promotional activities and new car shakedowns fall outside test days. However, set-up changes are prohibited.

Why all this week? In order to cut costs, teams must make every reasonable effort to share their test days.

What is an evaluation day?

Erebus Motorsport will this week run an evaluation day for Super2 young guns Jay Hanson and Cooper Murray.

Evaluation drivers are: drivers who aren’t currently a Supercars drivers, haven’t been nominated as a primary driver in the previous three seasons, or haven’t competed in five or more events in the previous season.

One primary driver from the nominated team may complete a maximum of 10 laps — in this case, Erebus will run Will Brown.

Hanson and Murray won’t be allowed to compete as a co-driver in the same season, ensuring teams won’t take advantage of the evaluation day provision.

What isn’t a Supercars test day?

The following aren’t classified as test days: corporate rides, evaluation days, demonstration days, new car shakedowns and promotional activities (such as filming TV advertisements.

Wind tunnel testing of a car or scale model version of a car is not permitted.

Up to six homologation team test days can be used by a team homologating a new car for the championship. Only one car can be run at each of those tests.

Single shock dynos and rolling road chassis dynos are not deemed to be test tracks.

What about tyres?

Teams have a limited tyre bank, and have three compounds — Dunlop’s Hard, Soft and Super Soft.

Prior to the first event of the season, each team is required to order and receive eight new Hard Tyres, 12 new Soft tyres, and 12 new Super Soft tyres for each car.

These are only for the purpose of testing at a test day and/or as pre-marked control tyres at an event.

Per rookie tests, teams will also be permitted to purchase eight new Hard or Soft tyres for each rookie test day. The maximum number of new Hard or Soft tyres that a team may purchase in a year is 24.

Pre-marked tyres are not permitted to be used in qualifying or race sessions. Event-marked tyres will be marked ‘RACE' when fitted by Dunlop for use in all sessions.

Dunlop Series teams are allocated six test days per year, and can purchase 44 tyres to be used across testing and as pre-marked rubber at race meetings.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the betr Darwin Triple Crown on June 16-18.