Gen 2 The 2017 season saw the introduction of
Gen 2 Supercar regulations.
Two-door coupé body styles are permitted alongside four-door sedans, while the engine regulations were opened up to include
turbocharged four or six-cylinder engines. However, cars are still be required to be based on front-engined, rear wheel drive, four-seater production cars that are sold in Australia. The chassis and control components carried over from the
New Generation V8 Supercar regulations used since
2013. However all teams are continuing to use New Generation specification cars until the beginning of
2018 when the
Holden Commodore ZB built to the new specifications will debut. Two new control
Dunlop tyres were introduced, marking the first change in tyre construction since 2003. Whereas in previous seasons, the two compounds were designated hard and soft, in 2017 these are named soft and super soft respectively. All teams attended a test session on 21 February 2017 at
Sydney Motorsport Park to evaluate the new tyre.
Technical changes Starting in 2017, drivers must earn a racing licence sanctioned by the
Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) in order to be eligible to compete in the category. The licence system was restructured similarly to the
Superlicence used in
Formula One, with drivers earning points towards their licence by placing in feeder series accredited by CAMS. This system drew controversy almost immediately because it is based on CAMS series. Some international drivers needed special exemptions to participate, most notably
Matthew Brabham, for whom most of his career was sanctioned by ACCUS member sanctioning bodies, and not CAMS. Teams from Supercars' support category, the
Dunlop Super2 Series are allowed to compete as wildcards in the main series in five events of the 2017 season, at
Barbagallo,
Winton,
Hidden Valley,
Ipswich and
Bathurst. The 250-kilometre race held specifically for the Super2 Series at Bathurst will also become a non-championship round, to encourage more applicants. The redress rules—outlining the expectations of drivers following on-track contact—were changed for 2017. Drivers deemed responsible for contact are no longer required to return a position to the driver or drivers they hit, but redress instead is voluntary, with drivers who voluntarily return a position being given more favourable treatment than drivers who do not when the incident is reviewed by race officials. The change was introduced following a controversial incident at the 2016 Bathurst 1000 in which Jamie Whincup tried to redress a position to Scott McLaughlin as required by the rules without losing another position to Garth Tander; the subsequent collision saw McLaughlin and Tander collide with Tander retiring from the race. ==Results and standings==