Dual-cab diesel SuperUtes to replace Australian V8 Ute Racing Series in 2017

Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and VW Amarok set to go head-to-head on the race track.

An unusual racing series will hit Australian tracks in 2017, with the Supercars organisation today announcing it would debut a support series featuring dual-cab diesel-powered utes as the stars.

To be known as the SuperUtes, the series will replace the current Australian V8 Ute Racing category that has run since 2002. A six-round series is slated to kick off in July next year, with Supercars hoping for up to 20 utes to take to the grid.

The Ford Falcon Ute ceased production in August this year, while the Holden Commodore will reach the end of the line by the end of 2017.

Reports suggest that the racing utes will be developed from production vehicles.

The new series will see utes like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara pitched against each other as a support category to the Supercar series.

Supercar's own technical team is in the midst of developing a prototype ute to be displayed at the season-ending Homebush round, with the series set to start in July next year at Townsville.

Reports suggest that the racing utes will be developed from production vehicles, rather than having sheet metal placed on top of a bespoke racing chassis.

A kit of modification parts including suspension and safety gear is expected to add $60,000 to the cost of the donor car.

The parts would reportedly include a control ECU, a bodykit and a control roll cage.

A straw poll of ute sellers in Australia reveals that none of the major players had any prior knowledge of the series – and nor is there a great deal of interest at a factory level, at least until more details are revealed.

Toyota officials suggested that the company would "keep a watching brief" on the series, but is concentrating on its successful 86 category for the next couple of seasons.

The ute category has been one of the strongest on the Supercar support bill until recent times, when the Supercar administrators took it over.

One ute importer suggested that achieving any form of parity in the series would be very difficult to achieve, given the variety of engines and even suspension types within the top brands.

The ute category has been one of the strongest on the Supercar support bill until recent times, when the Supercar administrators took it over. Numbers of entrants for the 2016 season have been very low, as participants await a decision on the category's future.

The previous category administrator was some way down the path of building a bespoke racing ute with a control chassis to replace the Commodore and Falcon, but the those plans were benched when Supercar took over the category in 2015.

Would you like to see dual cab utes racing at Bathurst? Tell us what you think in the comments below