Next Generation all set for Camaro vs Mustang era

The next generation of Supercars has arrived.

This morning in Newcastle, less than 24 hours out from the start of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship and debut of the new Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, a group of up-and-coming stars of the sport came together in pit lane for a unique photo opportunity.

Cameron Hill (Camaro/Truck Assist Racing), Broc Feeney (Camaro/Red Bull Ampol Racing), Will Brown (Camaro/Coca Cola Racing), Brodie Kostecki (Camaro/Coca Cola Racing), Matt Payne (Mustang/Penrite Racing), Declan Fraser (Mustang/Tradie Racing) and Thomas Randle (Mustang/Castrol Racing) all featured in the photo along with one of the new Camaros and one of the new Mustangs which will begin racing this weekend.

All seven represent the next generation of racing in Supercars.

They have all made (or will be making) their Supercars full-time debut since Gen3 vehicles were officially revealed.

All seven are former Dunlop Super2 Series competitors. Fraser, Feeney and Randle won the last three DS2 titles: Fraser 2022, Feeney 2021, Randle 2020.

Brown and Feeney have one career race victory each to their names, while teammates Brown and Kostecki have claimed one career pole position each, both at Sydney in 2022.

The seven will make up almost a third of the grid for this year’s Championship which begins on the streets of Newcastle this weekend.

They’ll all be out trying to catch two-time defending Champion, Shane van Gisbergen, who broke the record for most wins in a season last year.

Van Gisbergen will be hoping to guide his #97 Red Bull Camaro to victory in Saturday’s opening race of the year and first of the Gen3 era.

The 33-year-old Kiwi has an incredible record to starting a season from the front, winning four of the last six opening races of the year (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022).

He’s won 62 times from 212 race starts since joining Red Bull in 2016, including 36 of the last 65 races, dating back to his 2020 Bathurst 1000 victory.

All that counts for nothing now with the Championship completely reset and re-energised with the introduction of the new look Camaro and Mustang.

Practice begins on Friday morning at 11:15am AEDT, with the first qualifying and race of the Gen3 era on Saturday afternoon.

Both races of the Thrifty Newcastle 500 will be 250km around the scenic Newcastle CBD street circuit.

Every session will be live on Fox Sports and Kayo, with the Seven Network live on Saturday and Sunday.

Cars will hit the track at the Thrifty Newcastle 500 for three practice sessions on Friday.

Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.