Explained: 2026 pre-season Supercars testing and shakedowns
All three brands to be represented in week of testing
Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet all testing at Queensland Raceway and Bathurst
Testing comes as all-new Toyota GR Supra package approaches final sign-off
Preparations for the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship continue this week, as Supercars undertake engine testing on all three different cars across two circuits.
Cars from Matt Stone Racing (Chevrolet), Triple Eight Race Engineering (Ford), and Walkinshaw TWG Racing (Toyota), will run at Queensland Raceway today, before Triple Eight return tomorrow for a shakedown of Will Brown's new car.
All three homologation teams (Triple Eight, Walkinshaw, and new Chevrolet homologation partner Team 18) will also be running cars in four sessions across Friday and Saturday at the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour.
The track time gives Supercars' motorsport department a final look at the performance of the brand-new Toyota GR Supra package before it's final sign-off ahead of the DUNLOP Sydney 500.
Officially marked as 'demonstration sessions' the opportunity to evaluate where all three packages lie came as something of a by-product, given the rare opportunity to use Mount Panorama outside of Bathurst 1000 week.
"We're just doing some engine testing. We'll have all three makes there for a final part of the sign off of the Toyota primarily, and then we are doing the same again at Bathurst, doing some further analysis there," Chief Motorsport Officer Tim Edwards told Supercars.com.
"You always learn when you get the three of them on track together. But there's specific things that we're working on at both venues. The opportunity to get to Bathurst again, especially with the Toyota is great for all those three brands.
"Obviously at QR there's a specific engine parameter that we're working on there. We're fine tuning some engine parameters at Queensland Raceway and then further analysis at the 12 Hour.
"The testing is an added byproduct of putting the demonstration on there. It's valuable on track running."
"Obviously the incumbents are the same. There's no change for the them, it's just making sure that the Toyota on the various parameters that we measure is the same as the other two.
"There's not just a horsepower test, there's a lot of other things that we measure. The moment of inertia, the centre of gravity, the way the engine decelerates. They're all parity parameters that we need to make sure that all three are equal."
This week's running leads into the Destination NSW Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park on Wednesday February 18, where fans can expect to see Triple Eight, Walkinshaw, and Brad Jones Racing all getting up to speed with their new machinery.
"You can have a big difference up and down the pit lane, certainly for the five Toyota runners, they've got a completely new widget," explained Edwards.
"So despite the fact that mechanically the suspension of the car is the same, every engine has slightly different characteristics. With the drivability of it, you often hear drivers talking about the pedal map they're using.
"Those pedal maps that are in the other two cars have evolved over the last three years. So the five Toyota drivers will be working hard to optimise their pedal maps. because that can only be done with the drivers in their race cars running on a racetrack. It's hard to optimise the pedal maps until you actually get to experience it firsthand.
"So they'll have a very different test program to the other 19 cars. That'll be primarily just working on chassis set-up.
"And you've got a few teams that have jumped ship. The Triple Eight drivers for instance, who will be learning the intricacies of the Mustang and what that engine feels like to drive.
"It's not just about the wide open power, which is something that we paratise, it's the drivability of the engine, which can be different between them. Every engine feels slightly different when you're driving it.
"Their first experience on track will be on Monday doing the shakedown. So their program for those two cars will be very different to, again, the other 17 cars. So there's gonna be a lot of different things going on. The people who've got continuity with the same cars and the same drivers, well they get to play more.
"They get to just work more on set-ups. Understanding the dynamics of the car and trying to do a better job than they did 12 months ago."
Brad Jones Racing are also running two of their Supras for the first time at Winton on Wednesday before they run all three cars at the all-in pre-season test the following week.
The season-opening DUNLOP Sydney 500 from February 20-22 will comprise of a 100km Friday night sprint race, and two 200km refuelling races on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets for the event, including free entry for all fans on DUNLOP Free Friday, are on sale now.
