The dark horses for 2022 Supercars glory
The 2022 season is just days away, and a new-look grid could make for one of the most unpredictable seasons ever.
The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will kick off this weekend at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.
This year's grid features 15 winners, three champions and seven Bathurst winners.
Supercars.com has predicted there will be a new champion in 2022, although Shane van Gisbergen is heavy favourite for the title.
There has been major year-on-year change to the grid, and there will be some raging intra-team battles to watch.
The 2021 season saw seven different winners and 12 different podium-finishers.
There were also two first-time race winners in Will Brown and Andre Heimgartner, the former also claiming his first pole.
Drivers who were previously regarded as dark horses, like Anton De Pasquale, are now title hopefuls.
Several circuits will return for the first time since 2019, which will make for an all-new form guide.
As we head into what shapes to be a massive 2022 season, Supercars.com looks at the drivers which are flying under the radar.
Nick Percat is perhaps the key driver to watch in 2022, having secured a drive with Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Percat enjoyed his first WAU laps at Winton
WAU ended the season with a crushing Bathurst win, and has formed a super team of sorts with Percat and Chaz Mostert.
For so long, Percat has proven himself with memorable performances, but has yet to race a consistent race-winning package.
Crucially, he was beaming after his first hit-out in a WAU Commodore at last week’s pre-season test at Winton Motor Raceway.
Should WAU provide the goods, Percat will prove a handful, especially as the season starts at a happy hunting ground of his in Sydney.
Will Brown has been tipped for bigger and better things in 2022, having set Supercars alight in his rookie campaign last year.
Brown finished eighth overall and recorded his first pole and win of his career, both coming in Sydney.
The Queenslander ended 2021 with a booming provisional pole in Bathurst, and arrives in 2022 with the knowledge of how to beat the top drivers.
Brown’s 2022 goal is a championship top five, although Erebus Motorsport will be hoping for more after a giant-killing 2021 effort.
Lee Holdsworth returns in 2022 a renewed force following a year on the sidelines, which was wiped away thanks to a magical Bathurst win.
Grove Racing signed Holdsworth alongside David Reynolds to form an experienced, race-winning line-up.
Holdsworth’s career best finish of seventh overall came with Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2010.
With the #10 on the window, Holdsworth knows 2022 is a chance to make it count as he eyes redemption for his Tickford Racing axing last year.
Another veteran in Tim Slade will be looking for bigger and better things in 2022.
Slade finished 12th overall in 2021 in his first season with the new Blanchard Racing Team.
Slade and team owner Tim Blanchard ended 2021 with a Great Race top 10, with Slade often fighting through the pack.
The team has been sent to the rear of pit lane, and is the only one-car operation on the grid.
Slade testing at Winton last week
However, should Slade qualify better this season, the Blanchard squad could be on for silverware.
Perhaps the greatest unknown in 2022 will be Broc Feeney, who has replaced the retired Jamie Whincup.
Feeney steps into the shoes of statistically the greatest of all time, and won’t turn 20 until October.
There’s little doubt Feeney has the mettle to compete; he won the 2019 Super3 title, and cantered to the Super2 crown last year.
A testing test day helped Feeney iron out the kinks, and starting in Sydney will be a challenge.
However, Triple Eight has placed full faith in the teenager, who will become the fourth-youngest driver to make a full-time start this weekend.
Notably, Feeney has been handed Whincup’s iconic #88, proving the team’s confidence in their upstart.
How Feeney rises to the challenge of being Shane van Gisbergen’s teammate will be telling.
Practice 1 in Sydney will commence on Friday at 3:15pm AEDT. CLICK HERE to view the race schedule.
CLICK HERE to purchase your Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight tickets.
