We’re finally here, the start of the 2023 season and it starts right where the 2022 season ended at and that is Winton.
Live Streaming and Live TV Coverage
AMRS is gone and in is the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series, gone is 7mate’s TA2 dominated highlights package but here is where it gets interesting, SBS is broadcasting three hours of live coverage on SBS Viceland from 1pm to 4pm ADST on Sunday plus the most of the first half of Sunday morning action will be live streamed from 9am.
Race 3 will be streamed online at 11:20am on Sunday and Race 4 will be on SBS Viceland at 2:05pm that day so watch Race 3 online and Race 4 on TV.
The streaming should be on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series YouTube channel and their Facebook page.
Stay tuned to Aussie Stock Car News and Stock Cars Australia on Facebook for practice, qualifying and race updates from Friday through to Sunday.
Schedule
The field will have plenty of time to get their vehicles in great shape as there are three practice sessions on Friday before Qualifying and Race 1 take place on Saturday and Races 2, 3 and 4 are on Sunday.
Below are all the times (in ADST)
Practice 1 – 9:50am Friday
Practice 2 – 11:30am Friday
Practice 3 – 1:35pm Friday
Qualifying – 9:10am Saturday
Race 1 – 2:30pm Saturday (10 laps)
Race 2 – 9am Sunday (10 laps)
Race 3 – 11:20am Sunday (10 laps)
Race 4 – 2:05pm Sunday (10 laps)
Weather
Rain almost sank the last round of the 2022 Australian Stock Car Championship season and now drivers will be on a dry track with temperatures around thirty-three degrees with no rain in sight.
The Drivers
We’ve got eight entrants in for Round 1, as you know mechanical gremlins struck the field in the latter half of 2022 and with all teams being put together by family and friends, things take a while when disaster strikes a vehicle, but everything is going to be all right by the time Round 2 rolls around.
Robert Marchese finished runner-up in 2022 and is back again in the #84 OzTruck, Robert shown that consistency is key and if his OzTruck stays in one piece and he can turn up all season long as he usually does then another good season beckons.
Richard White is back for his second appearance in the series, awful conditions prevented the driver of the #3 Chevrolet Lumina from taking part in more than one race in the last round of the 2022 season, except many Stock Car enthusiasts to check out the car that is a tribute to Dale Earnhardt.
Scott Nind was the equally in-form driver in the latter half of the 2022 season with the driver of the #16 Ford Mustang winning several races, Scott may just have the car that sits in the championship box seat for 2023.
Laurence Mckinnon has a Ford Thunderbird, but it isn’t ready yet, so Laurence is back in the trusty #82 XE Falcon that gave Rod Gurney a run for his money last season in the Muscle Division.
Mick Heppleston is back for another season in the #41 Ford Thunderbird, it had taken a bit of time to get the #41 going last year with Mick only getting to enjoy an entire round once in 2022 but hopefully all goes well in 2023 and he gets a lot more kilometres into the #41.
Danny Burgess is back, Danny had to miss out on the season finale last year but the usually dependable #7 OzTruck will be in action at Winton and should be mixing it with Robert Marchese as the two OzTruck’s are usually found close together.
Zac O’Hara is back in the #27 Chevrolet Monte Carlo; Zac missed out on the final round of the 2022 season as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo was in a museum in Bathurst, the car has retained its 2000 era Repco paint scheme so look out for the white Repco scheme instead of the black that until recently we’ve been accustomed to seeing.
Josh Hourigan is in the #11 for his debut round, this OzTruck was previously owned by James Burge and now the Hourigan’s have another great OzTruck in their possession and it could be a race winner in the future if the OzTruck has retained its great speed.
Conclusion
2023 is going to be a big year for the category, hopefully all vehicles get through Round 1 and the rest of the SCA family can join the action in Round 2 which will be another great round of action just like they always are.
Aussie Stock Car News 