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 ) are two Australian motor racing competitions for touring cars . In 2019 it became the official third tier series for Supercars competitors, while the series itself remains 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. The two series is currently known by the commercial identities of the Dunlop Super3 Series & Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series .
19-466: 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 and, other than as overweight and uncompetitive Sports Sedans , 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
38-664: A drive in the Champ Car World Series came about at Surfers Paradise . His finishing position of seventh is still the highest finish for an Australian at that event (but bettered by Ryan Briscoe's 2008 IRL win after the CCWS collapsed). After being dropped by WPS in 2006 Besnard has been racing in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship , picking up an endurance race co-driver role with Stone Brothers Racing in 2007, paired with James Courtney , which resulted in
57-629: A major accident at Eastern Creek Raceway and broke his leg. In 1996 he made a comeback and won the Australian title. He made a venture to the United States, with a small budget, and limited success. In 1998, he returned to win the U.S F2000 National Championship . 1999, saw David enter the US Formula Atlantic Championship. After a heavy crash at Nazareth Speedway , the team had to buy a new chassis and ran out of budget halfway through
76-465: 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 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
95-680: A top car". While much lower than the Supercars Championship, it is much higher than many other Australian racing series such as the Trico Trans-Am Series , TCR Australia Touring Car Series , and the now-defunct S5000 Australian Drivers Championship . David Besnard David John Besnard (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia ) is a retired professional racing driver. Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had
114-541: The 2010 series, being the only driver to compete in all five rounds. Wyhoon won the series in 2011 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 for the first time as a class. In 2023, Car of
133-781: 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. In November 2024, Supercars announced
152-573: The Saturday and one on the Sunday of the race weekend. There is a separate qualifying session for each race. Championship points for each race result are awarded on a sliding scale, with each race result given equal weighting (unlike in the Supercars Championship, where longer races are awarded more points). One 2023 estimate puts the cost of competing in the Super2 series for a season at "up to A$ 600,000...for
171-525: The Super2 Series class. Car of The Future also known as New Generation V8 Supercar specification built cars were sold & sent down to teams in the Super3 Series class of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series. The Super2 series runs at a subset of Supercars Championship rounds (for instance in 2025, there will be six Super2 rounds). During each round, there are two races of 40 minutes duration, one on
190-405: The Supercars Championship series and are usually run by smaller teams with lower budgets. The vast majority of drivers in the Supercars Championship have raced at least one season in the Super2 championship. For parts of its history, competing in Super2 was required for most drivers to qualify for a Motorsport Australia Superlicence , which is required to compete in the Supercars Championship, or
209-601: The colloquial title of 'Development Series' which was the name given to the series by V8 Supercar Australia between the 2004 and 2005 seasons. The colloquial title is referred to in many conversations, even though there has never been a Development Series race because a naming rights sponsor was found before the start of the 2005 season. Started during the 2016 year season of the Dunlop Super2 Series (Named as Supercars Dunlop Series) Car of The Future later known as New Generation V8 Supercar specification cars were eligible in
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#1732880689189228-565: The main series, although in limited circumstances Fujitsu series teams have been able to lease entries from main series teams. The 2007 champion, Tony D'Alberto , drove for the Tony D'Alberto Racing team, and like many of his predecessors, graduated to the V8 Supercar series in 2008, again with the family team. From 2009 onward all Super2 Series have run on the Supercars calendar. This series carries
247-433: The other races require two drivers for each competing vehicle. Since then main series teams have used the series to help get their endurance co-drivers up-to-speed, or have employed drivers competing for other Fujitsu Series teams. While originally Fujitsu Series teams were allowed to enter main series events, this has since been discontinued as all main series events are limited to those teams carrying valid franchise slots for
266-460: The result to be valid and championship points awarded. 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, specifically the second tier series for Supercars competitors. Competing vehicles are older than those utilised in
285-603: The season. 2000 saw Besnard again in the United States, running various Sports Car races, until Stone Brothers Racing picked him up for the Konica V8 Supercar Series and the Bathurst 1000 . From there he drove with Stone Brothers for several seasons, with the highlight being winning the 2002 Queensland 500 with Simon Wills . He raced with Ford Performance Racing for one season in 2003, and WPS Racing for three seasons following that. In 2004, with his links with WPS,
304-453: The series would cease to exist as a stand alone series with cars eligible to compete in Super 2 in 2025. 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
323-551: The series. In the 2021 season of the series, The Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car Series (Later named as Kumho Tyre Super3 Series in 2019 before being named as Dunlop Super3 Series) joined alongside the Dunlop Super2 Series category for the first time as a class racing on track at the same time. Started in the year 2023 season of the Dunlop Super2 & Super3 Series only the Gen2 Specification built cars ( Holden Commodore ZB & Ford Mustang GT (S550) ) were to become eligible in
342-482: Was enforced as a separate requirement by the Supercars Championship organisers. The series was first held in 2000 as the 2000 Konica V8 Lites Series and this inaugural contest was won by Dean Canto . Towards the end of the season Stone Brothers Racing entered a car for David Besnard as preparation for the long distance races, in the main V8 Supercar series, the Queensland 500 and the Bathurst 1000 , which unlike
361-636: Was held in 2008 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 where just three cars were entered. The series has since swollen with the deregistration of the Ford AU Falcon and Holden VX Commodore from the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, with
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