Motorsport: Supercars field set with five rookies

Scott McLaughlin leads the field into turn 1 at the Newcastle 500. Photo / Getty Images

The Supercars championship field has been set for 2018 with the final spots on the grid confirmed.

Jack Le Brocq is the fifth rookie to get a fulltime seat and will drive the Tekno Autosports Holden this year.

Le Brocq joins Kiwi Richie Stanaway (Tickford Racing), James Golding (Garry Rogers Motorsport), Anton De Pasquale (Erebus Racing) and Todd Hazelwood (Matt Stone Racing) in the first time drivers competing this season.

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Five New Zealanders feature as fulltime drivers with 2016 champion Shane van Gisbergen (Red Bull Holden Racing), championship runner-up Scott McLaughlin (Shell V Power Racing) and Fabian Coulthard (Shell V Power Racing) being joined this year by Stanaway and Andre Heimgartner (Nissan Motorsport).

Shell V-Power Racing duo McLaughlin and Coulthard will get the benefit of filling the last two garages on pit lane courtesy of winning the team's championship in 2017. It relegates Red Bull Racing a couple of spots down the lane for the first time since 2009.

The last spot in the lane allows teams to get out on track first and gives them more strategy options as they can watch and react to rivals better.

The season also marks the debut of two new teams on the grid. Matt Stone Racing steps up from the Dunlop Super2 Series with champion driver Todd Hazelwood while veteran racer Will Davison joins 23Red Racing, formerly known as Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.

The season gets underway with a test day on February 16 before the season-opening race on the streets of Adelaide in March.