Supergrid: The 2023 Supercars pecking order

For the first time in his career, Brodie Kostecki was the ARMOR ALL Pole Champion in 2023, scoring six poles in his championship campaign.

It should be no surprise that the Erebus Motorsport driver also recorded the best qualifying average, hitting a 4.4 score. He also qualified on the front two rows for 21 of the 28 races, and on the front row 16 times.

But what of the rest of the 25-driver field?

Supercars.com has created a ‘Supergrid’ to illustrate the 2023 qualifying pecking order.The Supergrid has been created rom the average qualifying figures from the 28 races in 2023.

The champion has the top spot, but behind him, there are a few surprises and movement in the order.

Shane van Gisbergen proved Kostecki's biggest title threat, but teammate Broc Feeney was best of the Red Bull Ampol Camaros.

Tickford Racing star Cam Waters was best of the rest, averaging 7.1 in a season that included three poles. However, DNFs in Darwin and Bathurst saw Waters end up sixth in the points.

One-lap struggles

The two drivers whose qualifying rankings differ the most from their final championship positions were Andre Heimgartner and Anton De Pasquale.

Heimgartner and 2021 ARMOR ALL Pole Champion De Pasquale finished seventh and eighth in the points, but were 12th and 13th on the average qualifying figures list.

Both drivers scored a pole in 2023 — De Pasquale at Albert Park, and Heimgartner in Sydney — but were otherwise inconsistent over one lap.

Mark Winterbottom and Bryce Fullwood were also four spots off their championship positions, Winterbottom 19th and Fullwood 16th on the Supergrid.

The flip-side

Waters, Jack Le Brocq and Thomas Randle significantly placed higher on the Supergrid than they finished in the championship.

All three drivers enjoyed solid seasons, but their points positions were undone by a number of issues in races.

Notably, Waters scored no points in the 300-point Repco Bathurst 1000, but qualified third for the Great Race. Tickford Racing teammate Randle, meanwhile, suffered a mechanical drama at Sandown.

Then, there’s Le Brocq, who scored Matt Stone Racing’s first pole and win on the same day in Darwin, before a run of outs late in the year consigned him to 12th overall.

2023 Supergrid (1st to 25th on average qualifying position)