New year, new Supercars era.
In the biggest shake-up to the sport in decades, drivers will face off in a playoff format.
There will be no hiding for the 24-man grid from the first lap of the Sydney 500 today to the last at the Adelaide Grand Final.
"The biggest thing this year is that you have to buy a ticket to the end of the year," Tickford driver Cam Waters said.
"There’ll be different parts of the year where you have to push or when you have to reserve.
"The aggression and the risk versus reward is going to keep going up."
In the first major revamp since 2007, the Nascar-inspired finals series will progressively whittle the grid down to four drivers who will race — still among the other cars on the grid — for a championship in the last round, in Adelaide.
Consistency was key for Will Brown in securing a maiden crown last year.
Despite winning fewer races than his prodigious Triple Eight team-mate Broc Feeney, the 26-year-old amassed an unassailable points lead with one race to spare, pulling off a 40-year first by securing a podium finish in every round.
Brown will have to stave off Feeney again in his quest to go back-to-back but he will not be able to enjoy another safe buffer this year.
Points will reset between the final three rounds, meaning there will be no dead rubbers.
The first mountain to climb will be eight rounds of sprint races before an endurance series at The Bend in South Australia and the centrepiece Bathurst 1000.
Winners of the Sprint and Enduro Cup will be handed a spot in the finals, part of the 10 drivers to qualify for the first elimination race on the Gold Coast.
Seven drivers will progress to Sandown before the final four in Adelaide.
The first race of the Sydney 500 starts today at 9.50pm, the second 9.30pm tomorrow and the third 6.05pm on Sunday. — AAP
