Super2 silly season still in full swing

Several key factors are still to play out as the opening round of the 2020 Dunlop Super2 Series nears.

Almost every team has seats available and the majority of potential drivers, either returning racers or new talent, are currently unconfirmed.

Supercars.com takes an in-depth look at five key things to monitor over the coming weeks, as we gear up for the first event in Adelaide on February 20-23.

What does Kurt Kostecki and Triple Eight’s future hold?

After a five-year hiatus, Triple Eight returned to the second-tier series last season with Kurt Kostecki and Brenton Grove at the wheel.

Kostecki worked as a Triple Eight mechanic until mid-2018 and then left his family operation last year to drive for the renowned squad.

Their first season together got off to a rough start, with Kostecki crashing out of the opening race and then being disqualified from the second leg in Adelaide.

He found his feet at the next event in Perth and finished every race from there sixth or better, with that consistency helping him end the year as the championship runner-up.

With series winner Bryce Fullwood expected to graduate to the main game, the opportunity is there for Kostecki to go one better and pursue the $400,000 prize… but his plans have been kept under wraps to this point.

Triple Eight’s own Super2 plans are yet to be confirmed, however it is known Grove won’t be back in the feeder class as he instead steps up his involvement in his family’s business.

Who will Kelly Racing target for their line-up?

Kelly Racing is currently searching for drivers to steer its fleet of Nissan Altimas in their return to the Dunlop Super2 Series this year.

The squad scaled back its main game operation to two cars as part of its 2020 switch to Ford Mustangs, with their ageing Altimas to continue their life in the development series.

Nissans have been present in Super2 since 2017, with MW Motorsport running three last year, but Kelly Racing itself has not appeared in the series since 2012.

The operation fielded a pair of Commodores for Cameron Waters and David Russell in 2012 under the Dreamtime Racing banner, and now have committed to running at least two entries for this coming season.

Currently no drivers have been announced, although Hamish Ribarits is among the names to have been linked to a seat.

Team boss Todd Kelly said in November: “I’m having some chats with a few people. I’d love to be able to get an enduro driver in one of our Nissans.”

Where does top rookie O'Keeffe continue his progression?

Dylan O'Keeffe made the move last year from Porsche Carrera Cup to join the second-tier series with Garry Rogers Motorsport.

He finished a respectable fifth, just ahead of fellow rookie Tyler Everingham, but his future in the sport is currently unknown following GRM's exit from Supercars.

The 21-year-old has already had a taste of the big stage, as a last-minute call-up into GRM's #33 Supercar at October’s Vodafone Gold Coast 600 in place of Richie Stanaway.

He has flagged his intentions to do a second season, ideally in a squad aligned with a main game program, to "showcase my proper driving ability and try to put everything together". 

So, with GRM out of the picture, where will O'Keeffe land?

Who will complete the line-up at MW Motorsport?

MW Motorsport and title winner Bryce Fullwood proved most dominant last year, but with Fullwood likely to move on as well as Zane Goddard, who will be teammates with recruit Thomas Randle?

Fullwood has long been linked to a move to Walkinshaw Andretti United, while Goddard has snagged a seat in Matt Stone Racing’s SuperLite program.

Former Tickford driver Randle has been confirmed as one of MWM’s drivers, with potentially two seats still available.

Everingham is a fair chance to return after an impressive rookie season that earnt him the Mike Kable Young Gun Award, but is yet to be confirmed.

How many cars will Eggleston Motorsport run?

Two seasons ago, Eggleston Motorsport ran four cars, before scaling back to three last year, one of which did not run a full-time driver.

Justin Ruggier was their top finisher in the 2019 championship in 11th, one spot ahead of Will Brown, who took their sole win for the year in Perth.

Veterans Dean Fiore and Jack Perkins split time in the third car, the latter clinching a round win at Sandown.

The Melbourne-based team has proven they can successfully run four cars in a single season and are considering re-expanding to four this year.

Brodie Kostecki has been recruited to spearhead the team, effectively replacing Image Racing-bound Brown.

That leaves two, possibly even three available seats, with Ruggier, Perkins and Fiore all currently without confirmed drives (besides Fiore’s Team 18 co-drive with Scott Pye).