Co-drivers will again be allowed to start of the Bathurst 1000 as controversial rule change scrapped
In a move which will bring more tactics into play for the Great Race, the rule which dictated primary drivers must start the endurance races has been scratched.
The contentious rule was introduced in 2024 to make sure that the sport's biggest stars were behind the wheel for the opening to the marquee race of the season.
But the change was not widely welcomed among the teams, who felt it restricted their race strategy for the 1000km classic at Mount Panorama.
In a bid to shake-up the start to the endurance races this year, Supercars had initially weighed up a proposal where the top 10 cars would have to start with the driver who took part in the Saturday shootout, while the rest of the field from 11th onwards on the grid would be free to choose which starting driver they wanted.
But there will now be no restrictions on teams' choice of starting driver for the endurance season, which kicks off at the South Australian track from September 12-14.
Many teams had previously chosen to start with their co-drivers in a bid to get their minimum quota of laps completed early in the race before handing over to the primary driver.
The issue of co-drivers starting the race came under the spotlight following the 2022 edition of the Bathurst 1000 amid carnage in a chaotic start to the race.
But teams will now have the option to start either driver for this year's endurance races at Tailem Bend and Mount Panorama.
The rule stating 'primary drivers must start the race' has been deleted from the regulations for the Tailem Bend endurance race, which will go out to teams this week and it will also be removed from the Bathurst regulations.
The Enduro Cup will be the second leg of Supercars new-look three-part championship season, which will award its Sprint Cup winner at the Ipswich round this weekend.
Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney leads the championship and Sprint Cup standings by 220 points ahead of his teammate Will Brown.
The championship leader at the end of this weekend's final sprint round in Ipswich will win the Sprint Cup and automatic entry to the inaugural Supercars finals, which start on the Gold Coast in late October.
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