The Super3 Series & V8 Touring Car Series (formerly the Kumho Tyres Super3 Series, Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series and V8 Touring Car National Series) were two Australian motor racing competitions for
touring cars
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move a ...
. In 2019 it became the official third tier series for
Supercars
A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...
competitors, while the series itself remained independently owned and managed from Supercars. The cars must be deregistered cars from official Supercar teams and series, this is mainly as a preventive measure against a team building a brand new car to suit the regulations. In 2023 the V8 Touring Car Series would be revived to create a standalone unofficial fourth tier level V8 Supercars category however it would only last for that year's season. The two defunct series were known by the commercial identities of the Dunlop Super3 Series & Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series.
History
The series came into existence as an acknowledgement that there are many old V8 Supercars no longer eligible or competitive in the second-tier
Dunlop V8 Supercar Series
The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...
and, other than as overweight and uncompetitive
Sports Sedans
A sports sedan (also known as a super saloon or sports saloon in British English) is a subjective term for a sedan car that is designed to have sporting performance or handling characteristics.
History
The term was initially introduce ...
, had nowhere else to race. The series has also attracted competitors from the now defunct
Australian Touring Car Challenge which had run on the now collapsed
Australian Motor Racing Championships program.
The inaugural series was held in
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
as a completely new category, running on the
Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships schedule. The series struggled to find a grid in its opening year, with the low point coming in the second round at
Eastern Creek Eastern Creek may refer to:
* Eastern Creek (New South Wales), a tributary watercourse in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment
* Eastern Creek, New South Wales, a suburb in Western Sydney bisected by Eastern Creek
* Sydney Motorsport Park, formerly ...
where just three cars were entered. The series has since swollen with the deregistration of the
Ford AU Falcon
The Ford Falcon (AU) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon (Australia), Ford Falcon and also included the luxury-oriented Ford Fairmont (AU) model range. The AU series r ...
and
Holden VX Commodore
The Holden Commodore (VX) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden from 2000 to 2002, and 2000 to 2003 for Statesman/Caprice (WHII) and Holden Ute (VU) models. It was the second iteration of the third generation of the Commodore. Its range ...
from the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, with a number of fresh cars and teams stepping straight out of the second-tier series.
Chris Smerdon, a former V8 Supercar driver, was the inaugural series champion, dominating the 2008 series in an ex-Stone Brothers Racing Ford AU Falcon. The
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
series saw former Fujitsu Series drivers Adam Wallis and Terry Wyhoon battle with Smerdon for the crown, with Wallis coming out on top over Wyhoon and Smerdon. Another former Fujitsu Series driver, Tony Evangelou, won the
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
series, being the only driver to compete in all five rounds. Wyhoon won the series in
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
after a close battle with Smerdon and Scott Loadsman.
In 2019, the series was rebranded to Super3.
In 2020, only two rounds of the series were completed - therefore no champion was awarded.
In 2021 the Super3 Series sat to join alongside the
Dunlop Super2 Series
The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...
for the first time as a class.
In 2023, Car of the Future also known later as New Generation V8 Supercar built cars were set to become eligible in the Super3 Series class of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series alongside Project Blueprint built specification cars purchased from teams in the Super2 Series Class of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series. In the same year of 2023 the V8 Touring Car Series would be revived to create a standalone unofficial fourth tier V8 Supercars category for Pre-Car of The Future Specification built cars to be eligible. However it would only last for that years season in 2023.
In November 2024, Supercars announced the Super3 Series would cease to exist as a stand alone series due to low grid numbers with only as many as two or three cars appearing in the Super3 Series class at rounds in the 2024 Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series season. Cars built under Car of the Future (Also known as New Generation V8 Supercar) regulations are set to be re-eligible to compete in the Super2 Series in the 2025 year season.
No more Super3
''Auto Action'' 6 November 2024
Format
Each weekend consist of two races, the first usually held on Saturday and the second on Sunday. To score points, the driver must complete at least 75% of the race distance and must cross the finish line at the completion of the race. At least 50% of the planned race distance must be completed for the result to be valid and championship points awarded.
Series winners
References
External links
Supercars.com
*
{{Super3 Series
Recurring sporting events established in 2008
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2024
Supercars Championship
V8 Touring Car Series
2008 establishments in Australia
2024 disestablishments in Australia