The top Supercars breakout prospects for 2024
After Brodie Kostecki’s breakout performance last year, the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship is shaping up to have even more contenders.
After two seasons fighting in the top 10, Kostecki flew out of the blocks in the first Gen3 season and took home the championship.
Ahead of the new season, here are seven potential drivers who could take things to a new level in 2024.
Will Brown
2023 championship position: 5th
2023 key stats: 4 wins, 9 podiums, 4 poles, 12 top fives, 17 top 10s
A multi-time race winner who fought for last year’s title, a breakout candidate? Yes — Will Brown showed what he can do last year, but a slump in the second half of the season — after his Triple Eight deal was announced — suggests the Queenslander is arguably a better chance to make a bigger splash in 2024. Brown won four of the first 16 races last season and led the championship, only to fall away dramatically and end up over 600 points behind teammate Kostecki. Now refreshed at Triple Eight, Brown has all the potential to reemerge as a title contender and, at the very least, a race winner again.
Andre Heimgartner
2023 championship position: 8th
2023 key stats: 6 podiums, 1 pole, 9 top fives, 17 top 10s
The 2024 season, remarkably, marks 10 years after Andre Heimgartner first raced a Supercar in Australia. It has been a chequered path to get here, but Heimgartner has stamped his authority as Brad Jones Racing’s spearhead, and was a regular of the podium in 2023. The only thing he hasn’t — yet — achieved is the ability to become a regular race winner. The Kiwi is still hunting his first win with BJR, and second since his breakthrough at The Bend with Kelly Grove Racing in 2021. At 28, Heimgartner has plenty of time to become a big player.
Bryce Fullwood
2023 championship position: 11th
2023 key stats: 2 top fives, 10 top 10s
Heimgartner’s teammate Bryce Fullwood was one of the beneficiaries of Gen3, holding a top 10 championship position for much of the 2023 season. What makes Fullwood a breakout candidate, like Heimgartner, is his stats sheet. In four full-time seasons, Fullwood has just one podium, at The Bend with Walkinshaw Andretti United in 2020. However, he was a regular of the top 10 and, at times, banged down the door on podiums last year.
Thomas Randle
2023 championship position: 13th
2023 key stats: 4 podiums, 1 pole, 13 top 10s
Thomas Randle was the biggest year-on-year mover in 2023, finishing 13th — a far cry from ending up 23rd overall in his rookie season in 2022. The 2020 Super2 champion scored his first solo podium at The Bend, and scored two more in quick succession, before adding another in Adelaide. Add to that, a maiden pole, also at The Bend. Randle has already signalled a teams’ championship is a “realistic goal” in 2024, suggesting the Victorian feels ready to chase wins in ’24.
Matt Payne
2023 championship position: 14th
2023 key stats: 1 win, 2 top fives, 8 top 10s
Matt Payne was knocking on the door of a big result all season in 2023, and at the final chance of asking, the Penrite Racing rookie smashed them at the VAILO Adelaide 500. It was a performance worthy of a champion, and Payne demonstrated what he is capable when the planets align. If he does it consistently in ’24, the 21-year-old could follow in Kostecki’s footsteps and produce another boilover.
James Golding
2023 championship position: 16th
2023 key stats: 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 1 fastest lap
For a driver who made his full-time debut in 2018, James Golding has been on a rocky road in Supercars, yet has often shown glimpses of his raw talent. Come 2023, and Golding wrung the neck of his Nulon Camaro, finishing fourth in Newcastle and sixth on the Gold Coast — after a dramatic spin — and beat veteran teammate Tim Slade in the qualifying head-to-head 20-8. The final hurdle for Peter Xiberras’ team is scoring silverware, and if Golding has the car underneath him, he may well be first to break PremiAir Racing’s trophy duck.
Richie Stanaway
2023 championship position: N/A (3rd and 1st in 2023 enduros)
2023 key stats: 2023 Bathurst 1000 winner
Richie Stanaway’s first two full-time seasons had more misses than hits, leading to the Kiwi’s abrupt exit from racing. He returned refreshed after a 2022 wildcard and took out last year’s Great Race with Shane van Gisbergen. Winning Bathurst is no small feat, but Stanaway had the car underneath him and put together a sensational performance. There’s no knowing how high Stanaway can fly, and if Penrite Racing gets it right, the New Zealander could be a real handful for his rivals.
