Sydney Motorsport Park is set to host 11 Repco Supercars Championship races over the next four weekends in a rapid-fire return to racing.
While all four events will take place on Sydney Motorsport Park’s 3.9km Grand Prix circuit, a mix of tyre formats and a sprinkling of night races is set to give each its own individual feel.
With so much action to unfold, let’s unpack what’s happening when, and take a look at who’s likely to be doing the winning.
Event 1: Bunnings Trade Sydney SuperNight, October 29-31
Racing returns on Saturday night with a 125km race under lights before a pair of 125km races during the day on Sunday.
Each driver will have five sets of Soft tyres that they must juggle across the three races. Each race has a compulsory pitstop, making for a total of six racing stints and a real balancing act for teams.
Event 2: ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight, November 6-7
The race format itself is unchanged for week two; one 125km race on Saturday night and two 125km races on Sunday each with a pit stop, albeit this time with the latter of those races also held under lights.
Tyres will be an even bigger talking point for this event though, as drivers will have three sets of Softs and three sets of Hards for use across the three races, with a single pit stop to make in each race.
Event 3: BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint, November 13-14
There are no night races at the third event; one 125km race on Saturday and two 125km races on Sunday each held in daylight.
Other than that, the format is the same as event #1. Each driver has five sets of new Soft tyres available for the three races, which will again each include a compulsory pit stop.
Event 4: Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, November 19-21
This event is the most distinct of the four. There will be a 250km race on Saturday night and another 250km on Sunday night.
Each driver will have five sets of Hard tyres and two sets of Super Softs for the races. They must use both of the compounds during each race, although using both Super Soft sets in the same race is not permitted.
The Dunlop Super2/Super3 Series will also be in action at this event, while the Repco Bathurst 1000 co-drivers are also set to drive in their own practice session on Friday afternoon.
Form guide
As well as the 11 individual race wins and crucial championship points, there is a $25,000 Beaurepaires
Sydney Cup on the line for the driver who can score the most points across the four weekends.
Based on form in 2021, Red Bull Ampol Racing and its spearhead Shane van Gisbergen appear favourites to take the prize.
Van Gisbergen heads to Sydney with a 276-point championship lead over teammate Jamie Whincup, having won 11 of the season’s 19 races to date.
However, as was the case for the two Sydney events in 2020, the tyre formats are going to make it hard for any one driver to dominate.
It’s also worth noting that Triple Eight hasn’t set the outright pace in Sydney over recent years, and the team is now in the unusual position of knowing its two race engineers are leaving at year’s end.
Ford Mustangs took five of the six Sydney poles last year and, although Dick Johnson Racing no longer has Scott McLaughlin at its disposal, there’s every chance the two Shell Fords will be on the money.
Anton De Pasquale was in red-hot form at the similarly flowing The Bend circuit earlier this year and has runs on the board in Sydney via a Super2 round win in 2017 and a main game podium finish in 2020.
Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters is also a big threat having won last time out in Townsville in July. After largely struggling in Sydney last year, these races mark a test of his team’s progress at this circuit.
Add the likes of Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and two-time 2020 Sydney race winner Nick Percat (Brad Jones Racing) into the mix and there are no shortage of contenders lining up to challenge SVG.