The 2024 Supercars Championship is underway and while questions remain over engine parity between the Mustang and the Camaro, another item of high priority for new GM of Motorsport Tim Edwards is planning what the future Supercars control tyre will look like and how soon it can be rolled out.
You need only rewind twelve months back for when the current control tyre’s shortcomings were first exposed, when then-Newcastle 500 race winner Shane Van Gisbergen (later disqualified on a safety regulations breach when scrutineering found the driver cooling system to be on the wrong side of the car) expressed his view in the press conference that the race-ability of the new Gen3 car was a step down on the old Gen2 as the front tyres apparently became too overheated when closely following another car.
in line with Van Gisbergen’s views, ex-Triple Eight Race Engineering chief Roland Dane opined that the current control tyre is too sensitive to surface temperature. Assuming you agree with Dane, this compounded with the high degradation of the Soft tyre, run on exclusively at the Bathurst 1000 for the first time in 2023, led to an incredibly dull “Great Race” with competitors forced to not only drive economically to preserve the rubber, but also to keep on the racing line to avoid the marble-littered debris coating the track off-line. This saw minimal overtaking in the later stages of the race and completely removed fuel economy as a factor with teams making pit stops based on tyre condition rather than fuel position.
Supercars has hedged it’s bets by advertising October’s Bathurst 1000 for 2024 as a soft tyre event; it had used last wekend’s Bathurst 500 as a ‘trial’ to return October’s Great Race to the hard tyre, a move which was endorsed by the Top 3 drivers William Brown, Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney in Sunday’s Bathurst 500 race, though rejected by veteran driver, Will Davison.
Roland Dane has called on Supercars to immediately start a 2025 tyre-testing program. Whether or not 2025 is a realistic deadline for the category’s next control tyre to debut, what we have now is what we’re stuck with in 2024. To maximize every chance of getting the best racing possible at each circuit on the calendar, I’ve gone through track by track which compound in my view is the correct one for Supercars to use at each event, with the help of some of the 2024 Championship drivers who I caught up with in the pre-season.
Albert Park
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers’ Choice: Soft
I Say: Soft
The only circuit which featured the Hard compound in 2023 and even then, it was in a mix with the Soft. With no pit lane this year, a compound with degradation is needed as a variable for the Supercars races at the AGP in 2024. We’ve picked soft but wouldn’t turn away mixing up the compounds for the different races, say a Super Soft in the shorter races with grids set by matching qualifying sessions on the respective compounds.
Taupo
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers’ Choice: Hard
I Say: ?
It’s hard for me to make a judgement here with no Supercars data as of yet, not to mention only a handful of drivers having raced there before. I thankfully was able to speak to one of those drivers, who said a Hard tyre would be their preference due to the abrasive track surface. Supercars, has however allocated the Soft Tyre for the debut event at Taupo this April
CARCO.com.au Raceway (Wanneroo)
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers’ Choice: Soft
I Say: Mixed Hard/Soft
Wanneroo has a surface with a reputation for being a cheese grater, though drivers tell me some goodness from the 2019 re-surfacing still remains. The track is arguably the lowest grip circuit on the calendar and some of the drivers we’ve spoken to hold the belief that the races need degradation. Going back through history, some of the best races in my view at Wanneroo were in the era of spilt Hard/Soft tyre races of the early 2010’s. Who could forget the infamous “get them or have them off call” from Mark Dutton as Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom held of Jamie Whincup for a FPR 1-2 back in 2012? I’ve found the back end of the exclusive Soft-tyre races at Wanneroo since then to be a little pedestrian, with so much junk from the tyres coating the track off-line. Running mixed tyre races would lessen that track deterioration, and as far as degradation goes, I think there’s enough in the abrasive track surface to reduce a Soft tyre delta back to a Hard after enough laps. Again, see the finish to 2012
Hidden Valley
2024 Allocation: Super Soft
Drivers’ Choice: Super Soft
I Say: Super Soft
Super Soft was the consensus from the drivers I consulted, though one driver did flag a desire for mixed compound racing at Darwin. Unfortunately, I think that the degradation at Hidden Valley is too little for the wear of the Super Soft to be enough to bring it to a Soft or Hard tyre delta, even at the end of a long stint (or as long a stint as you can have in a sprint race). So I’m picking the Super Soft as the sole compound for 2024, which is what the category has allocated.
Townsville
2024 Allocation: Soft
Choice: Soft
I Say: Soft
Mixed compound racing was tried on the Reid Park circuit in 2022 and that demonstrated how low grip the track is on a Hard tyre; drivers were really battling to keep their machines stuck to the road and responding to feedback based on their inputs. Like in 2023, the Soft tyre returns in 2024, and from memory this led to quite a mix across the field over a race distance last year. Keep to the Softs at Townsville.
Sydney Motorsport Park
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers’ Choice: Soft
I Say: Mixed Soft/Super Soft
This is a difficult one to assess as SMP Does work the tyres hard. We’ll see running solely on the Soft tyre under lights in 2024, though mixed-tyre races with the Soft and Super Soft have been done here as recently as 2022, with a higher downforce car even. While those duel 300km races were probably too long too sit through, I don’t think the compounds made the racing any worse off, so I’d bring the mixed-compound races back to SMP. if the Super Soft/Soft mix worked with Gen2, then it should with Gen3’s lower downforce and less aerodynamic grip, provided they don’t slide around too much.
Symmons Plains
2024 Allocation: Super Soft
Drivers Choice: Super Soft
I Say: Wet Super Soft
Stupid time of the year to be racing there aside, this really is the perfect location for the Super Soft, provided it’s dry of course! it’s such a short lap, and with minimal degradation plus cool temperatures, this should make for some mouth-watering qualifying sessions! Even being just a little bit off could spell the difference between starting 4th and 24th. If it stays dry, this should make for an intriguing race for any of those senior players who miss the boat in qualifying, but that’s not to say a bit of rain won’t make the race intriguing, it will!
Sandown
2024 Allocation: Super Soft
Drivers Choice: Soft
I Say: Hard
Here’s where I’m choosing a different path to the majority of drivers I spoke to (and a very different one from the category… Super Soft?? what the hell!) Yes, the Soft/Super Soft tyre equals more grip, quicker times and a higher wear variation between cars, but as Bathurst proved last year, a tyre wearing quicker than the fuel runs out leads to drivers under-driving to preserve the rubber, racing less to overtake all the while the rubber build-up off line makes the track a one-line groove. If you want to have every chance of a hot finish to a historic enduro, reduce the grip to open the doors for more mistakes and make the drivers have to earn their money and overtake for rewards. Easy to drive, gripped up cars don’t always lead to great racing.
Bathurst
2024 Allocation: Soft*
Drivers’ Choice: Hard
I Say: Hard
Hopefully the 1000 returns to the Hard compound. Like I outlined for Sandown, a lower grip, less wearing compound in the endurance races keeps the competitors on their toes, opens the door for more mistakes and late-race safety cars. The Hard holds up longer into stints when the fuel load is low and the cars are light. Speaking of the fuel, anyone else intrigued with how the more economical E70 blend could shape the 1000? Come on Supercars, let’s see it! switch it back to a Hard. Though I know not all drivers are in favor, hopefully Supercars sees it from an entertainment perspective, in that keeping in-race variables such as fuel economy makes for intriguing endurances races. We’ll lose this by staying on the Soft at Bathurst
Gold Coast
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers Choice: Soft
I Say: Hard
The soft tyre was run on the Gold Coast Streets in 2024 and while a few of the drivers we spoke to are happy for that to remain, one expressed the track being “too grippy and too fast” for the Softs and a return to the Hard would increase the length of braking zones and potentially lead to more mistakes. It’s hard to argue with that even though the track is not noted for high degradation, because it’s still notoriously hard to pass and a build-up of marbles off the racing line towards the end of a 250/300km race would only exacerbate that. I say switch this event back to a Hard tyre.
Adelaide
2024 Allocation: Soft
Drivers Choice: Soft
I Say: Soft
The Soft tyre was run on the Parklands circuit for the first time in 2023 and from a degradation point of view, it hung in there well enough. While I did raise my eyebrows on the build-up of marbles clearly visible on the exit of turn 8 in the 2023 races, all the drivers I’ve spoken to seem happy for the Adelaide 500 to remain on softs. As is not the case for Sandown, this isn’t an enduro so we’ll heed to the wisdom of our Drivers.
And as a bonus, here’s a few of the circuits missing from the 2024 calendar…
Shell V-Power Motorsport Park (The Bend)
Drivers Choice: Soft
I Say: Soft
I’ve outlined on my pieces for Sandown and Bathurst why those enduros should be on the hard tyre. With The Bend being a 500km enduro in 2025, here’s why it is an exception: if you rewind back to the first years of Supercars at The Bend, you’ll see a virtual absence of wear on the Hard tyre. If the category were committed to using a Hard for the 2025 enduro, there’d be too much a chance of locking all the cars onto an ‘overcut’ strategy, and in endurance races, you want to see a variety of strategies. A bit of tyre wear is key to making the Bend a fun enduro to watch with the smooth surface, long lap and ample passing opportunities.
Winton
Drivers Choice: Soft/Super Soft**
I Say: Mixed Soft/Super Soft
No consensus view was formed by the drivers we were able to chat to, but maybe the best of both worlds is the answer here. Tyre wear is not typically high at Winton and you really could just stick Super Softs on and be done with it. What Winton is though, is a hard track to pass on and running exclusively on the Super Soft would only leave a heavy marble build-up off-line in the few areas where you can go for a pass. If Supercars bought a mixed compound element to Winton, the variances on grip and degradation should shake up the strategy and entice the drivers to fight for position throughout the race.
Queensland Raceway
I Say: Super Soft
There is enough passing opportunities on the Willowbank circuit to keep the action hot enough even on the compound with the highest degradation. A real x-factor for QR, is the promise of potential night racing, for which I think the Super Soft would do really well for. Queensland Raceway surely returns to the calendar at some point; Tony Quinn is too influential for it not to happen!
Phillip Island
I Say: Hard
Surely, there’s no need to explain this one!!
*= Subject to change
**= consensus not clear