The 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship (often simplified to the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship) was an FIA-sanctioned international auto racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the seventeenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the nineteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.
Mark Winterbottom of Prodrive Racing Australia secured his first championship title with one race remaining, winning nine races during the season, while Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams' Championship. The Enduro Cup was won by Garth Tander and Warren Luff, driving for the Holden Racing Team.
Holden, Nissan and Volvo were all represented by factory-backed teams. Ford reduced its commitment as a prelude to a complete exit from the series at the end of the season, while Mercedes-Benz continued to be represented without any factory support.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2015 championship.
Teams competing with the Ford Falcon updated to the new Falcon FG X, though Rod Nash Racing and Super Black Racing started the season with the previous FG configuration. Both teams updated to the FG X for the second event of the championship.
Ford Performance Racing was rebranded as Prodrive Racing Australia, following Ford reducing its funding to the team.
Charlie Schwerkolt Racing switched from racing a customer Ford Performance Racing Falcon to a customer Holden Racing Team Commodore.
Dick Johnson Racing was rebranded as DJR Team Penske, after Team Penske purchased a 51% stake in the team. The team scaled back to run a single car.
James Rosenberg Racing returned its Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) to the series' management.
Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport returned to fielding two cars having scaled back to run a single car in 2014.
Super Black Racing entered the series full-time as a customer of Prodrive Racing Australia with a REC leased from DJR Team Penske.
After making a one-off appearance at the 2014 Sydney NRMA 500 for Dick Johnson Racing, former series champion Marcos Ambrose returned to the championship on a full-time basis. With the team scaling back to run a single car for Ambrose, Scott Pye was left without a drive.
Tim Blanchard joined Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport full-time after driving for the team in the endurance races in 2014.
Andre Heimgartner competed in his first full-time season, driving for Super Black Racing, after racing in a wildcard entry in the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
Lee Holdsworth moved from Erebus Motorsport to Charlie Schwerkolt Racing, replacing Jack Perkins. Holdsworth's place at Erebus Motorsport was taken by Ashley Walsh.
Nick Percat moved from James Rosenberg Racing to Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport following Russell Ingall's retirement from full-time driving.
David Wall moved from Dick Johnson Racing to Garry Rogers Motorsport to replace Robert Dahlgren.
Marcos Ambrose stepped down from full-time driving duties at DJR Team Penske prior to the second event of the championship. He was replaced by Scott Pye, who had originally been listed as the team's endurance co-driver, for the rest of the season. Ambrose returned as a co-driver for the endurance races.
James Courtney was injured during practice for the Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint when he was hit by pieces of pit equipment which were flung into the air by a low-flying helicopter. His endurance co-driver, Jack Perkins, replaced him for the remainder of the weekend. Courtney also missed the Wilson Security Sandown 500 and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, with Russell Ingall coming out of retirement to be co-driver for Perkins.
Cam Waters made his full-time V8 Supercar début, replacing Chaz Mostert at Prodrive Racing Australia after Mostert was injured in an accident at the Bathurst 1000. As Waters was originally scheduled to partner Mostert for the Gold Coast 600, Russell Ingall was drafted in as co-driver ahead of James Courtney's return to the Holden Racing Team. Steve Owen drove the car at the Sydney 500 to allow Waters to concentrate on his Dunlop Series commitments.
Dean Canto replaced Ashley Walsh at the Phillip Island event, with Erebus Motorsport citing the need for an experienced driver to help with car setup. Alex Davison drove the car at the Sydney 500 as Erebus Motorsport continues its development program.
Chris Pither replaced Andre Heimgartner at the Phillip Island event as Super Black Racing evaluated its full-time driver options for 2016. Pither also drove at the Sydney 500, having been confirmed as Heimgartner's replacement for 2016.
After taking part in Friday practice at the Phillip Island event, Nick Percat elected not to take part in the rest of the weekend due to a foot injury sustained at the Gold Coast 600. He was replaced by Paul Dumbrell for the rest of the event. Percat did not recover in time for the Sydney 500 and was replaced by Jack Perkins for the event.
Two wildcard entries would be granted for the Bathurst 1000. Prodrive Racing Australia elected to run an all-female wildcard for Renee Gracie and Simona De Silvestro, while family team Novocastrian Motorsport ran a Commodore for brothers Aaren Russell and Drew Russell.
The 2015 calendar was released on 12 September 2014. Two non-championship events were held; one being the V8 Supercars Challenge in conjunction with the Australian Grand Prix on 12âÂÂ15 March, and the other a demonstration using five cars (one from each manufacturer) at the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix in Malaysia over 7âÂÂ9 August.