![\"\u2018Best](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RSC-Darwin-Speedcafe-083-copy.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupercars driving standards advisor Craig Baird (right) speaks to Adrian Burgess. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupercars driving standards advisor Craig Baird (right) speaks to Adrian Burgess. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n
Baird is the driving standards advisor for Supercars and will bring that expertise across to the new one-make series in 2026.<\/p>\n
Mustang Cup Australia will form part of the Shannons SpeedSeries program next year, with a mix of experience and youth expected to fill the grid.<\/p>\n
Baird is the driving standards advisor for GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS, Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, and Monochrome GT4 Australia.<\/p>\n
As the driving standards advisor, Baird will monitor on-track conduct, review incidents, and advise stewards on whether driver behaviour is compliant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to be involved in something new, something fresh to the scene,\u201d said Baird.<\/p>\n
\u201cMustang Cup Australia certainly has a home in our motorsport landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupercars is the pinnacle, and Mustang Cup\u2019s big, V8-powered race cars are an ideal stepping stone to Supercars.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the other hand, the series could also be a great way to start a GT racing journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like the class is going to have a mix of young drivers and gentlemen, and that is something that I feel I can manage very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have both Pros and Ams in GT World Challenge and Carrera Cup, and in my role, you talk to those types of drivers differently \u2013 you need a different approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the gentlemen drivers, you become more of a driver trainer, helping them understand where the issue may have occurred and what they can work on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mustang Cup Australia series manager Liam Curkpatrick welcomes Baird\u2019s involvement in the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is regarded as the best in the business. The drivers and teams respect him and an approach that suits drivers of all skill levels,\u201d said Crukpatrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing the \u2018referee\u2019 in motorsport is not an easy job, to have Craig joining us is fantastic for the series and our competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
2026 Provisional Mustang Cup Australia calendar
Round 1: 27-29 March \u2013 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria
Round 2: 8-10 May \u2013 Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, South Australia
Round 3: 12-14 June \u2013 Queensland Raceway, Queensland
Round 4: 24-26 July \u2013 Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory
Round 5: 18-20 September \u2013 Sydney Motorsport Park, New South Wales
Round 6: 30 October -1 November \u2013 Sandown Raceway, Victoria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Supercars driving standards advisor Craig Baird (right) speaks to Adrian Burgess. Image: InSyde Media Baird is the driving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29684,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-107349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-mustang-cup-australia","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}