2020 Supercars Championship

The 2020 Supercars Championship (known for commercial reasons as the 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship) is a motor racing series for Supercars. It is the twenty-fourth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-fourth series in which Supercars have contested the Australian Touring Car Championship, the premier title in Australian motorsport. The championship was originally scheduled to run during the 2020 calendar year, but disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic saw series organisers issue a new calendar that will run into 2021.

The series reverted to having only two manufacturers, Ford and Holden, for the first time since 2012 with Nissan no longer being represented on the grid.

Scott McLaughlin entered the series as the defending drivers' champion. DJR Team Penske entered the season as the reigning teams' champions. Ford entered the season as reigning manufacturers' champion.

Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers are competing in the 2020 championship:

Team changes
Tekno Autosports relocated to Western Sydney and expanded to a two-car operation under the Team Sydney brand. A second Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) was acquired from Supercars management. It entered two Triple Eight-built Holden ZB Commodores.

Brad Jones Racing expanded to a three-car team, after acquiring an REC that was formerly owned by Britek Motorsport and had been leased to Matt Stone Racing. Brad Jones Racing continued to operate a fourth car on behalf of Tim Blanchard Racing.

Kelly Racing scaled down from a four-car team racing Nissan Altimas to a two-car team with Ford Mustangs. Two of the team's RECs were purchased by Charlie Schwerkolt Racing and Matt Stone Racing, with both expanding to two car entries. Matt Stone Racing acquired a second REC from Garry Rogers Motorsport to replace the one it had been leasing from Britek Motorsport. Team principal Garry Rogers cited escalating costs of competing and a model that required them to purchase parts rather than develop them as the reasons for his decision to withdraw.

Driver changes
Walkinshaw Andretti United is fielding a new line-up in 2020 after James Courtney and Scott Pye left the team. Courtney moved to the Team Sydney, with his seat at Walkinshaw Andretti United filled by Chaz Mostert. Jack Le Brocq left Tekno Autosports and joined Tickford Racing, where he replaced Mostert. Scott Pye joined Charlie Schwerkolt Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United named reigning Super2 champion Bryce Fullwood as Pye's replacement. Chris Pither returned to the championship on a full-time basis, racing with Team Sydney. Pither last competed full-time in 2016. Courtney departed Team Sydney after one round.

Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki graduated from the Super2 Series and make their championship débuts driving for Matt Stone Racing. Goddard and Kostecki will share a car as part of the new SuperLite program, allowing both drivers to compete in five rounds of the series each before teaming up for the Enduro Cup.

Todd Hazelwood left Matt Stone Racing to join Brad Jones Racing. He replaced Tim Slade who will join DJR Team Penske as a co-driver. Jack Smith made his full-time début in the championship with the team. Smith had previously competed for Brad Jones Racing in the Super2 Series and at selected Supercars rounds as a wildcard in 2019.

Richie Stanaway and James Golding left Garry Rogers Motorsport after the team withdrew from the series. Stanaway retired from motorsport, while Golding joined Charlie Schwerkolt Racing for the endurance races.

Simona de Silvestro and Garry Jacobson left Kelly Racing after it scaled down to two cars. De Silvestro returned to the Formula E championship as a test driver for Porsche, while Jacobson joined Matt Stone Racing.

Mid-Season Changes
James Courtney left Team Sydney after round one, citing an inability to come to an agreement with the team for the contract to continue. He was replaced by Alex Davison. 23Red Racing withdrew from the series after its primary sponsor withdrew after round 2, leaving Will Davison without a drive. Tickford Racing, which had prepared the car, wil enter the car as a fourth entry with James Courtney.

Calendar
The 2020 championship was originally due to be contested over twenty-eight races run at fourteen rounds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Melbourne 400 event was cancelled after practice and qualifying had commenced, and the Gold Coast 600 and Newcastle 500 events were later cancelled altogether. A revised calendar was issued in May 2020 featuring thirteen rounds, including the incomplete Melbourne 400.

Calendar changes
The Sydney SuperNight was originally scheduled to return to the calendar after a one-year absence, but will instead be the first event back after the enforced break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be run in daylight hours. Sydney Motorsport Park will continue to host the event. The Gold Coast 600 was to have also become a night race. The Auckland Super400 moved from Pukekohe Park Raceway to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. The change was made in response to Auckland Council passing legislation that prohibited from running any event at the circuit on key dates, with Anzac Day falling on the Saturday of the round.

The Bend 500 is scheduled to replace the Sandown 500 as the opening round the Enduro Cup. The Bend SuperSprint was re-formatted as a 500 kilometre race, while the Sandown round adopted a sprint format. This resulted in a 500 kilometre being restored as the first race of the Enduro Cup after the Bathurst 1000 was the first endurance race in 2019. The Sandown round, the first sprint round at the circuit since 2011, will be known as the Sandown Super400.

The Ipswich and Phillip Island SuperSprints were removed from the calendar. It will be the first time since opening that Queensland Raceway has not been on the calendar and the first since 2004 for Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Format changes
The Saturday race at the SuperSprint and SuperNight events and the Darwin Triple Crown will be extended from 120 kilometres to 200 kilometres, The Melbourne 400 will change from two 70 kilometre and two 130 kilometre races to four 100 kilometre races, each with a mandatory pit stop. The extended race distances mean that although the number of individual races has been reduced from the 2019 championship, the 2020 championship features an increased total race distance. The SuperSprint event title, used for selected sprint events since 2015, will be renamed as "Super400" to reflect the longer race distances.

The Bend 500 will abandon the "Races for the Grid" format used by the Sandown 500. The grid for the race will be determined by a traditional qualifying system and Top 10 Shootout rather than a system of qualifying races and cumulative points totals. The Races for the Grid format was abandoned as it had proven to be too complicated and unpopular with spectators.

Impact of 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
The championship was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Melbourne 400 cancelled before the first race of the event. Supercars' management announced that should an event be postponed, the calendar would have been altered to complete the 2020 fixture, and that a January 2021 finish may be required to do so. Supercars later announced the postponement of the Launceston, Auckland and Perth rounds due to the pandemic.

The championship is scheduled to recommence in June with a reformatted round at Sydney Motorsport Park, with the postponed races assigned new dates later in the season. The street races on the Gold Coast and Newcastle were removed from the schedule. A sprint round at Bathurst will be added to conclude the championship in support of the 2021 Bathurst 12 Hour, with the championship concluding in February 2021.

During the enforced hiatus, all championship drivers competed in an eSports championship using the iRacing platform.

Technical regulations
The number of engines that a team is allowed to use has been reduced to three, compared with four in 2019 in a bid to reduce costs. The piston ring and rocker ratios became control components and engines must complete 4000 km before being rebuilt. Breaking the engine seal before reaching the mileage limit will result in a ten-place grid penalty, similar to Formula One's system of grid penalties for changing engine components. However, engine changes can be made with the approval of Supercars provided that teams present a clear reason for doing so.

A control shock absorber manufactured by Supashock was introduced in a bid to reducing costs. All cars had a reduction of downforce of up to twelve percent, in a bid to improve racing and encourage overtakes. The rear wing angle was be reduced from 18 degrees to 13 degrees, and has gurney flaps of 13 millimetres and 10 millimetres on the wing plane and bootlid respectively. The Mustang's rear wing has also moved forward by 90 millimetres and lowered by 50 millimetres.

LED panels will be fitted in the windows of all cars. To accommodate this, the car number on the front windscreen moved from the top-right to top-left corner. Originally scheduled to be introduced from the start of the season, due to production delays it has been delayed.

Points system
Points were awarded for each race at an event, to the driver or drivers of a car that completed at least 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the race. At least 50% of the planned race distance must be completed for the result to be valid and championship points awarded.


 * Standard: Used for all Super400, SuperNight and SuperStreet races, including the Gold Coast 600.
 * Endurance: Used for The Bend 500 and Bathurst 1000.
 * Melbourne: Used for the Melbourne 400.