Huge crowd welcomes Supercars back to Perth

Supercars drivers have received a warm welcome back to Western Australia ahead of the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight.

A huge crowd, including a number of interstate travellers, filled Murray Street Mall on Friday for an all-in autograph session.

Hundreds of fans met with their favourite drivers in Perth's CBD, getting posters and cherished memorabilia signed by their racing heroes. 

It comes as the Repco Supercars Championship returns to Wanneroo Raceway for the first time since 2019.

The fourth round of the 2022 season will be headlined by 46-lap races, with Saturday's opening race to run under lights.

After a near three-year absence, reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen welcomed the return of the "awesome" Western Australia event. 

"It's good, it's a nice place and the event is always awesome," van Gisbergen told Supercars.com.

"Night racing is cool, especially here at the last corner with the brakes glowing.

"I haven't been out to the track yet, so I'm not sure about the track conditions.

"There's been plenty of talk about the surface and tyre degradation in articles and things, but really no one knows, so we just have to see when we get out there."

All 25 drivers were in attendance at the popular shopping precinct, with fans filling up the area.

It marked a significant first for Perth-born driver Brodie Kostecki ahead of his main game debut at Wanneroo Raceway.

Returning to his home state for only the second time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kostecki is eager to put on a show for local supporters. 

"I'm very excited to be back home," Kostecki told Supercars.com. 

"I remember my first race at Wanneroo in person when [Mark] Skaifey and [Marcos] Ambrose had an incident going into Turn 1. 

"It's going to be pretty surreal going into my first Supercars race here in Perth, in front of my home crowd.

"The fact that we are night racing as well is going to be pretty cool.

"Everything just feels faster when it's a night and hopefully plenty of fans come out, it will be great to see the hill in between Turn 1 and Turn 2 packed again."

Supercars will hit the track at Wanneroo Raceway on Saturday for Practice 1 at 10:20am AWST.

The opening ARMOR ALL Qualifying session will commence at 2:40pm AWST, ahead of Race 10 at 6:40pm AWST.

The event is broadcast live and ad-free on Foxtel and Kayo.

Tickets are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.