Six unresolved matters ahead of 2022 season

Just four weeks remain until the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship roars into life at Sydney Motorsport Park.

It was a silly season to remember, which so much change up and down pit lane.

The 2022 grid is set; of the 25 cars, 15 feature the same driver versus 2021.

Only the Shell V-Power Racing Team, Team 18, Erebus Motorsport and Blanchard Racing Team will head into 2022 unchanged.

Still, there is much yet to confirm for not only this season, but 2023 and the introduction of the Gen3 ruleset.

The balance of the grid has yet to lock in its full suite of drivers for October's Repco Bathurst 1000.

Some teams haven't even made public their engineering line-ups.

Here are six of the headline topics regarding unresolved matters heading to the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.

Where to next for Coulthard?

For the first time in over a decade, Fabian Coulthard won't be on the grid in a full-time capacity.

Coulthard made way for Chris Pither at the newly-renamed PremiAir Racing, which will be skippered by drag racing veteran Peter Xiberras.

It has already been confirmed that Coulthard will make a one-off TCR appearance, but whether he makes a Supercars return as a co-driver remains to be seen.

"Obviously I’d love to be in the championship in 2023," Coulthard told Supercars.com.

"This year will now be quieter than expected, but I’d like to be racing when and where I can.

"Any next move, I want to do the best thing for my career and my family.

"The focus, first and foremost, is giving myself the best chance I can to win Bathurst."

Regardless, Coulthard will play a major role in the co-driver market, with drivers making no secret they'd love him in their corner for October's Great Race.

Will Whincup be on the Great Race grid?

Jamie Whincup will head up Triple Eight in 2022 as team principal and managing director, having retired from full-time racing in 2021.

The latest Supercars Hall of Famer has previously said he'll be a co-driver this year, but in what capacity - or at all - still hasn't been confirmed.

The four-time Great Race winner made his Bathurst debut in 2002, and is eyeing off a 17th straight Bathurst start for Triple Eight.

Will he partner Shane van Gisbergen or recruit Broc Feeney? Will he share a Triple Eight wildcard with Craig Lowndes?

Whatever the decision, it will be on Whincup's terms as he first aims to grasp his new workload.

The co-driver market

Coulthard and Whincup make up just two names of what will be a busy co-driver market.

Dale Wood and Michael Caruso are in two-year enduro deals with Brad Jones Racing and Team 18 respectively.

Outside of that, only Grove Racing has flagged its co-driver line-up, with Matt Payne and Matt Campbell to drive the team's two Fords.

Judging Lee Holdsworth's performance at Mount Panorama, it's crucial teams sign the best co-driver they can.

From there, it becomes a discussion of who's up for grabs and who's available.

That could include Scott McLaughlin, whose IndyCar season ends four weeks before Bathurst.

Manufacturer allegiance for Gen3

Most teams have committed to which manufacturer they will race with in 2023 when the Gen3 ruleset makes its debut.

One such outlier is Walkinshaw Andretti United, which has yet to confirm what it will run next season.

The team has campaigned General Motors machinery since 1990, and team boss Ryan Walkinshaw recently said the squad has "spoken to six manufacturers".

Walkinshaw has made no secret of his ambition to attract new manufacturers.

It makes this year's teams' championship even more vital as teams aim to secure the best pit garages for the first year of Gen3.

Race engineers

The balance of pit lane has locked in its engineering line-ups for the new season.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team enters 2022 with an unchanged line-up, but there has been great change elsewhere.

Red Bull Ampol Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Team 18, Erebus Motorsport and Matt Stone Racing all feature at least one change.

Tickford Racing, Brad Jones Racing and PremiAir Racing haven't confirmed their engineering squads yet.

Blanchard Racing Team and Grove Racing are expected to remain the same, with the latter welcoming David Cauchi from Triple Eight as team principal.

Wildcards

Wildcards will have scope to return in 2022, but there has been a cut in allocations.

There will only be a single wildcard eligible for the Tasmania, Perth, Sandown and Newcastle rounds. They previously had two allocations.

Sydney has dropped from four to two, and the Gold Coast two to zero. Winton (four) and Hidden Valley (two) remain the same.

As has been the case, wildcards aren't eligible for Albert Park, Townsville or New Zealand. Bathurst, however, has risen from four to six wildcard allocations.

Which teams will be looking to run wildcards in 2022?

Tickford ran wildcard programmes for Thomas Randle in 2019 and 2021, with WAU also fielding a car for Kurt Kostecki last year.

Triple Eight ran the only Great Race wildcard last year after COVID-19 restrictions prevented Erebus from uniting Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway.

The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Sydney in March. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.