Supercars Championship introduces Playoffs for 2025

donthaveanickname said:
No one called for it so let's do it. Smh


www.foxsports.com.au

‘Only the best will prevail’: Supercars unveils dramatic ‘finals’ system to shake up 2025 title

‘Only the best will prevail’: Supercars’ dramatic ‘finals’ system to shake up title race
www.foxsports.com.au www.foxsports.com.au
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I know next to nothing about supercars, but this quote made me laugh. In all of motorsports history, this has always been the driver who scores the most points over the season. Now it can be someone who is in 4th place going into the last race.

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Tim_Richmond_Fan said:
I know next to nothing about supercars, but this quote made me laugh. In all of motorsports history, this has always been the driver who scores the most points over the season. Now it can be someone who is in 4th place going into the last race.

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It makes even less sense than over here since Supercars is typically closer to F1 in terms of competitiveness, where there are one or two dominant teams at a time (typically the flagship/factory-supported team from each of GM/Ford), each with one superior driver. So every once in a while you get a great head-to-head championship battle that goes down to the wire like Scotty McLaughlin vs. SVG, Scotty vs. Jamie Whincup, etc. But there are never four guys who are good enough to win the title.
 
Desperation IMO, Supercars are hoping this will boost ratings. You take a casual fan that doesn't watch all of the races but catches them when they can. Like Nascar casuals, they will be lost with all of the layers this adds to auto racing.
Close competition is the key. Make that so and you don't need flim flam in an attempt to make it interesting.
People don't like dominate winners all year. They like variety.
 
FLRacingFan said:
It makes even less sense than over here since Supercars is typically closer to F1 in terms of competitiveness, where there are one or two dominant teams at a time (typically the flagship/factory-supported team from each of GM/Ford), each with one superior driver. So every once in a while you get a great head-to-head championship battle that goes down to the wire like Scotty McLaughlin vs. SVG, Scotty vs. Jamie Whincup, etc. But there are never four guys who are good enough to win the title.
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Thanks for the low down. Sounds like it would be like Piastri winning the WDC this year even though mathematically he would normally have no chance.

StandOnIt said:
Close competition is the key. Make that so and you don't need flim flam in an attempt to make it interesting.
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Supercars had been placed in a bit of a tough spot the past several years with guys like Whincup and Craig Lowndes retiring, then Scotty and SVG leaving for America, all leading to a pretty big vacuum of star power. The automotive industry in Australia has also been in steep decline for a bit as both Ford and GM quit production/manufacturing efforts there within the past ten years, and GM shuttered the Holden brand and withdrew factory support from the series entirely (GM now lease the Camaro IP to Supercars despite the car having only been sold there from 2018-2020). The Holden/Ford rivalry (red vs. blue) was at the heart of the championship going back many decades (the Falcon and Commodore models in particular), so that was another massive loss for the sport.

With all that in mind, this isn’t much more than a desperate attempt to inject some new life into the series. I’m not sure that’ll be the preferred method by the end of it. If you ask a lot of remaining fans they’d say there are a number of other items that would’ve liked to see addressed first. The rollout of the Gen3 car was botched in a big way last year, and while the parity has gotten quite a bit tighter this season, that was still the last straw for a lot of people. Add in a whole bunch of other miscellany like hard tires, fuel drops, gag orders on drivers (ask SVG about that one), not enough rounds on the calendar, and so on, and I don’t think this was anywhere near anyone’s radar to enhance the sport.

They did announce a few weeks ago they’ve gotten Toyota to join with the Supra in 2026, and with Toyota’s track record of success and investment in the series they compete in I think that’ll ultimately go further towards solidifying Supercars as a going concern than any type of championship format.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if the yotas come in and blow away everybody. That isn't good for biz either unless there is competition.
 
StandOnIt said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the yotas come in and blow away everybody. That isn't good for biz either unless there is competition.
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I think it’s more likely they struggle than come in and blow everyone out of the water. Not quite to the extent they did the first several years when they entered Cup, but Volvo/Nissan/AMG all came and took a crack at Supercars within the past dozen years, with varying degrees of investment and commitment, and were out shortly thereafter. The two primary manufacturers are so deeply entrenched in the series and the cars so unlike anything else in the world that it’s difficult to come and compete without having a lot of patience. But they probably do stand a better chance than anyone who tried before them.
 
I know I've lost interest in the Supercars but only because I can't find it on television anymore. There was a time I could watch every race and the BTCC and World Rally. Don't know if it's my cable company or what the reason is that it's not readily available.
I know people will say I can watch it on You Tube or I could subscribe to this or that but I don't go that route. Just let me flip on my tv and click a channel.
 
Tony_K said:
I know I've lost interest in the Supercars but only because I can't find it on television anymore. There was a time I could watch every race and the BTCC and World Rally. Don't know if it's my cable company or what the reason is that it's not readily available.
I know people will say I can watch it on You Tube or I could subscribe to this or that but I don't go that route. Just let me flip on my tv and click a channel.
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That's me.
 
Tony_K said:
I know I've lost interest in the Supercars but only because I can't find it on television anymore. There was a time I could watch every race and the BTCC and World Rally. Don't know if it's my cable company or what the reason is that it's not readily available.
I know people will say I can watch it on You Tube or I could subscribe to this or that but I don't go that route. Just let me flip on my tv and click a channel.
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I believe they have 1-hour cutdown/highlight shows on MAVTV. You can stream for free from Speed Sport 1, but I think MAVTV is it as far as linear TV coverage.

Repco Australian Supercars – SPEED SPORT 1

www.speedsport1.com www.speedsport1.com
 
FLRacingFan said:
I think it’s more likely they struggle than come in and blow everyone out of the water. Not quite to the extent they did the first several years when they entered Cup, but Volvo/Nissan/AMG all came and took a crack at Supercars within the past dozen years, with varying degrees of investment and commitment, and were out shortly thereafter. The two primary manufacturers are so deeply entrenched in the series and the cars so unlike anything else in the world that it’s difficult to come and compete without having a lot of patience. But they probably do stand a better chance than anyone who tried before them.
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Akio Toyoda is probably the biggest motorsports fan among CEOs in the automotive world.
Toyota has been committed to WEC for over a decade now, it's the only manufacturer truly committed to WRC and I highly doubt the partnership with Haas isn't gonna be expanded.

I would be surprised if they entered Supercars with some half-assed effort. I absolutely see them as championship contenders, surely not in the first year but from 2027-28 on.

I watch Supercars only occasionally but the races I've seen with their new car weren't bad imo. They had some issues to sort out in 2023 but it seems like they've been doing pretty well sorting them out.
 
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