Six drivers, 111 points: How manic start to 2025 stacks up

Three of 13 rounds of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship are complete, and it’s building up to be the best season yet of the Gen3 Mustang vs Camaro era.

In three rounds, six different drivers from five teams have won races at three vastly different circuits.

In one sign of the changing competitive order, Ford has won six races to Chevrolet’s nine. Through three rounds last year, Camaros were undefeated.

However, the same driver leads — reigning champion Will Brown.

Brown, Cam Waters, Matt Payne, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki are covered by 111 points, which is the closest top six in the 300-point era since 2018, and the third closest ever.

It gets even closer behind Brown, with second-placed Waters just 77 points ahead of sixth-placed Kostecki. Drivers can score a maximum of 85 points in the Saturday Super 440 races, meaning up to four different drivers could lead the championship after the first race in Tasmania.

Critically, all drivers in the lead six have hit trouble at times this season, with Brown the only driver in the 24-driver field to have finished every race in the top 10.

In 2018, through three rounds, the top six were covered by just 61 points after a rollercoaster first three rounds in Adelaide, Melbourne and Phillip Island.

And before some inevitably comment that ‘it doesn’t matter because of the Finals’, it does. The top point scorer at the end of the Repco Sprint Cup segment of the season gets bonus points to play with, enhancing their chances of progressing all the way to the bp Adelaide Grand Final.

In 2018, though, the title was only contested by Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen at the season finale. This year, four drivers are guaranteed to fight for the title at the final round.

Closest margins from 1st to 6th after Round 3 (since 2008)

Brown's streak of 14 rounds with a podium came to an end in Taupō, yet somehow, he walked away with a bigger margin to his closest rival.

The reigning champion entered the weekend with a seven-point lead over Waters, who took the lead back after the first Taupō race. However, Waters finished 14th and 12th in the next two races, gifting the advantage back to Brown.

The 34-point margin between the top two is only the seventh closest since 2008, but if history is anything to go by, Brown is up against it. In the table below, the drivers leading after Round 3 didn't close out the championship.

Closest margins from 1st to 2nd after Round 3 (since 2008)