2013 International V8 Supercars Championship
The championship was contested over thirty-six races,[4][5][N 1] starting with the Clipsal 500 Adelaide on 2 March 2013,[6] and finishing with the Sydney Telstra 500 V8 Supercars on 8 December.
[7] The series' calendar also expanded, travelling to the United States for the first time for a race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
[8] The 2013 season saw the introduction of the "New Generation V8 Supercar", a revision to the regulations which were designed to cut costs and to make the series more attractive to new manufacturers.
[12][13] Holden teams competed with the new VF Commodore, which replaces the VE model,[14] whilst Ford continued to use the FG Falcon, which had been raced since 2009, but built to New Generation V8 Supercar specifications for the 2013 season.
Whincup successfully defended his title, winning eleven of the season's thirty-six races and scoring a record-breaking thirteen pole positions.
The basic chassis and roll cage, differential, brakes, cooling and fuel systems and rear suspension were all changed to control parts.
The larger tanks and a restructuring of event formats to include more compulsory pit stops instead allowed drivers to push as hard as they pleased until the end of the race.
In order to ensure the cars can remain competitive, the process of homologation only applies to the basic engine platform, which teams will be free to develop over the course of the season.
[125] James Moffat provided Nissan Motorsport with three top ten results, continuing the team's strong form from New Zealand.
[127] Engine upgrades for Erebus Motorsport saw the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs find pace, with Maro Engel giving the team its first top ten qualifying result.
Jamie Whincup went on to win the race ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who had spent most of practice struggling with mechanical problems, and James Courtney.
Whincup was given a drive-through penalty in the third race for spinning his wheels while the car was in the air, allowing Lowndes to close the points gap in the championship.
However, his luck ran out on the first lap in the third race when he was involved in a multi-car accident which caused a red flag and eliminated himself, Lee Holdsworth, Alex Davison, Dean Fiore, David Wall, Alexandre Prémat and James Moffat.
Scott McLaughlin, Jason Bright, Fabian Coulthard and Russell Ingall were also involved in the crash but were able to take part in the restarted race.
Series veteran Russell Ingall made his 226th championship event start, breaking John Bowe's record of 225, and used the number 226 in celebration of the achievement.
[131] Shane van Gisbergen continued his strong street circuit form from Adelaide, taking pole position for the Saturday race.
[132] Winterbottom took pole for the second race on Sunday but lost out on strategy, after many drivers pitted during an early safety car to do a double stint on soft tyres.
The Sunday race also saw Tony D'Alberto equal his career-best result with a sixth place while Ingall returned to the top ten with a fifth.
[137] The final race featured tyre problems which affected many drivers: Whincup, McLaughlin, Courtney, Garth Tander, Alex Davison and David Wall all had punctures which dropped them down the order.
The race saw differing strategies with many drivers pitting for fresh tyres during a late safety car period and then making their way through the field.
The pair finished ahead of their teammates Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff and the pole-sitting Ford Performance Racing car of Will Davison and Steve Owen.
Erebus Motorsport achieved its best result of the season, with Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird taking their E63 AMG to fourth place.
Ashley Walsh, driving with Tim Blanchard for Dick Johnson Racing, had a major accident at the end of the back straight on lap 35, significantly damaging the car.
The first was to allow the clean-up of debris after David Russell struck a kangaroo at Griffins Bend while a heavy crash for Greg Murphy at Reid Park brought about the second safety car period.
The twelfth event on the Gold Coast saw Craig Lowndes take the championship lead from Triple Eight Race Engineering teammate Jamie Whincup after Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell failed to finish the Saturday race, with Dumbrell causing a heavy crash for Greg Murphy before suffering a drive-train failure.
Lowndes and co-driver Warren Luff won the race from pole ahead of Shane van Gisbergen and Jeroen Bleekemolen, the first Dutchman to stand on a V8 Supercar podium, and Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards.
