V8X Supercar — November-December 2017

As we prepare to farewell the 2017 season and look ahead to 2018, here’s a look at the key

questions around the make-up of the calendar moving forward.

B

alancing domestic
events with
international-
expansion
aspirations
remains the biggest dilemma
for Supercars’ evolving calen-
dar of events.
Creating a footprint in
Asia is now a realistic goal for
Supercars off the back of a
better working relationship
with new Formula 1 owners
Liberty Media and the Sepang
Circuit in Malaysia declaring its
interest in hosting Supercars.
But international expansion
creates its own problems with
its impacts on Australian events.
Racing at Formula 1’s Singapore
Grand Prix in mid-September,
for example, disrupts the Pirtek
Endurance Cup scheduling and
the Sandown 500’s place as the
lead-up event to the Bathurst
1000.
Sepang Circuit hosted its
final Malaysian Grand Prix at
the start of October. And any

future Supercars event will

be paired with another Asian

event, either at Singapore or

at other potential circuits in

China, Thailand and Indonesia,

complicating the potential

clash with the Pirtek Endur-

ance Cup.

Closer to home, the

Australian Grand Prix gets

championship status for the

first time in 2018, adding some

weight to the start of the new

season.

Sydney Motorsport Park’s

event is revamped with a

new ‘Big Bash’-style format

run under lights. The circuit

formerly known as Eastern

Creek Raceway is now the sole

Sydney event on the calendar

following the demise of the

Sydney Olympic Park street

circuit, which is a concern for

Supercars.

It remains to be seen what

impact the format changes will

have on the Sydney Motorsport

Park event. But the changes are

a concession that the circuit

will always struggle to attract a

big crowd, therefore it’s worth-

while to realign the event to

better television demographics.

Supercars will also be hoping

that changes at Queensland

Raceway help crowd numbers.

Queensland Raceway recently

signed a new a 10-year deal

to host Supercars as part of

facility upgrades and a track

extension.

The boost to these tracks

follows the near completion

of The Bend Motorsport

Park at Tailem Bend in South

Australia, the first facility to be

built in Australia since Queens-

land Raceway two decades

ago and a potential long-term

replacement for Sandown

as host of the 500-kilometre

endurance race.

Beyond the addition of

Tailem Bend, Supercars will

be looking to other regional

centres to expand its national

footprint and replicate the

Adelaide, Gold Coast, New-

castle and Townsville formula

elsewhere.

For example, will a successful

Newcastle event inspire the

likes of Geelong, the Central

Coast, etc?

And across the Tasman, does

the success of New Zealanders

in Supercars warrant a second

round in addition to Pukekohe

Park Raceway?

We wait to see.

CALENDAR

CONUNDRUMS

“IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHAT

IMPACT THE FORMAT CHANGES

WILL HAVE ON THE SYDNEY

MOTORSPORT PARK EVENT.”