The big Supercars generation change coming in 2025

A lot has changed in Supercars in the last decade, and that is no more evidenced by a continued influx of youth and veterans moving on.

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship grid will have made 85 fewer race starts, 35 fewer round appearances and won 11 fewer races, than entering 2017.

Of the 24 drivers on the 2025 grid, 15 enter the new year aged 29 or younger. In 2017, 17 of the 26 drivers were aged 30 or older.

The 2025 season marks another significant generation jump, headlined by the arrival of rookies Kai Allen and Cooper Murray, who are 19 and 23 respectively.

At the end of 2024, we farewelled Mark Winterbottom and Tim Slade, who will transition into co-driving after long and decorated full-time careers.

Age

Joining Winterbottom (43) and Slade (39) in departing since 2017 are the likes of Jason Bright (44), Craig Lowndes (44), Garth Tander (41), Todd Kelly (38), Fabian Coulthard (39), Jamie Whincup (38), Rick Kelly (37), Michael Caruso (35) and Chris Pither (35).

James Courtney (44), Will Davison (42) and David Reynolds (39) are the elder statesmen on the 2025 grid, with Nick Percat (36), Richie Stanaway (33), Chaz Mostert (32), Jack Le Brocq (32), Cam Waters (30) and Macauley Jones (30) all 30 or older.

The 2025 season will be the last for 2010 champion Courtney, while Davison and Reynolds could race on in 2026. If they don't, the average age will decrease dramatically. Courtney will turn 45 in June, while Davison and Reynolds will turn 43 and 40 in August and July respectively.

Appearances

At the start of the 2017 season, drivers in the field had contested an average of 120.54 events and 270.96 races.

The vastly-experienced Winterbottom (645) and Slade (451) will be replaced by Murray (4) and Allen (3), dropping the average in 2025 to 85.13 events and 186.13 races. That's a big change of 35.41 events, and 84.83 races.

There was a total of 7045 races between the 26 drivers heading into 2017. In 2025, that number plummets to 4467.

There should be no surprise on that front, given nine of the top 12 most capped drivers have moved on since 2017. On the rounds tally list, Lowndes (304) leads Tander (292), Winterbottom (287), Rick Kelly (265), Bright (260), Whincup (257), Todd Kelly (243), Holdsworth (231) and van Gisbergen (227).

In 2025, just Courtney, Davison, Reynolds, Mostert and Percat will have made 150 or more round starts. Those five drivers are also the only ones with 300 or more race starts.

The age of the last two champions has been 26, Brodie Kostecki in 2023 and Will Brown in 2024. Van Gisbergen was 32 and 33 in 2021 and 2022, and Whincup 34 in 2017. McLaughlin was, though a champion at 25, 26 and 27.

Wins

At the start of the 2017 season, the 26 drivers had a combined 439 race wins, averaged out at 16.88 apiece.

In 2025, that number drops to 137 wins at 5.71 apiece. Mostert's 24 is the best of the bunch, ahead of Davison (22) and Courtney (15), who hasn't won since 2016.

Lowndes started 2017 as the Supercars race win record holder, but lost that title during the year to Whincup. Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin since passed 50 wins each, van Gisbergen ending on 80, and McLaughlin on 56.

Remarkably, van Gisbergen and McLaughlin started 2017 with 19 and eight wins respectively.

The Supercars generation jump from 2017 to 2025