MOTORSPORT: Adelaide 500 future locked in

The Adelaide 500 will conclude the next five Repco Supercars Championships following the announcement of a long-term deal between South Australia’s Malinauskas Labor government and Supercars.

Set for a return on December 1-4, 2022, the permanent move to the end of the year represents a major shift for the event, which for its previous run of 22 editions was contested in either February or March.

Importantly, by running in December the 500 can stand on its own away from the busy festival-packed program Adelaide hosts through March, while also placing it in line for improved weather conditions.

The revived race will take place on a largely resurfaced track, while the series’ end-of-year gala awards night will also move to the City of Churches.

“This is an historic moment for motorsport in South Australia,” said South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas.

“Not only are we locking in the event’s return this year, but we are also securing the race for at least the next five years.

“I have every confidence hosting the final race in the Supercars Championship will become an integral part of the sport’s calendar in the same way the season opener in Adelaide used to be.

“Coupled with hosting the end-of-season gala awards night, this promises to be a spectacular end of the year leading into the Christmas period.”

Following an 11-year run of Formula 1 events on the streets through the Adelaide Parklands between 1985 and 1995, the inaugural running of the Adelaide 500 in 1999 ushered in a new era of street circuit racing for the home-grown touring car class.

The event was contested through to the 2020 edition when it was effectively the final major event held before the nation locked down for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsequently culled by the Steven Marshall-led government, the reinstatement of the festival was one of the pillars of Malinauskas’ successful recent election campaign.

Elsewhere, the Supercars calendar for 2022 has been officially locked in with confirmation of the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint on August 19-21, and the ITM Auckland SuperSprint from September 9-11.

With issues surrounding international freight and logistics overcome, the announcement sets the season at 13 events, one above the necessary 12 to fulfil the category’s television contract.

Next up, the Supercars Championship continues with the NTI Townsville 500 from July 8-10, with a return to the twin 250km-long refuelling races for the first time since the season-opening event at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Following last weekend’s event in Darwin, Shane van Gisbergen continues to lead the championship, albeit with a diminished advantage following victories by title challengers Anton De Pasquale, Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert in the first leg of the series’ northern swing.

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