MOTORSPORT: New focus on permanent circuits

Multi-year works and new decade of V8 Supercars at Sandown

After years of obsession with creating or prolonging costly street races in Australia, attention is turning to ensuring the future of the country's permanent circuits.

Work has begun on upgrading Melbourne's Sandown venue, with some of the improvements to be seen by November -- and others to come over the next three years.

An upgrade had already been announced earlier this month for Perth's Wanneroo, or Barbagallo Raceway.

A big beneficiary of the works at these two tracks will be V8 Supercars, but motorsport generally -- participants and spectators -- will be a winner from them.

V8 Supercars Australia this week confirmed a new 10-year deal to race at Sandown, which is owned -- and the motor racing there now operated by -- the Melbourne (horse) Racing Club.

Construction is already underway on a revised paddock area for the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge on November 19-21 -- the penultimate round of this year's V8 Supercar Championship.

The works will include the pitlane and numerous track safety features.

MRC's manager for motorsport at Sandown, Wade Calderwood, said motor racing was embedded in the history of the venue, which has operated since the mid-1960s.

Calderwood said the makeover would be the circuit's biggest in a quarter of a century, when its layout was revised for an ill-fated round of a world sports car championship.

"We (MRC) have worked hard on this because we saw that we've got a wonderful venue here," Calderwood said.

"It's a multipurpose venue, and for us to have events such as V8 Supercars we need to keep our facilities up to a high standard.

"The amount of investment we are putting into this is the single largest investment that the MRC has made in motorsport infrastructure at this venue since 1984.

"Virtually every single corner that's on this track will have an upgrade in some form or another (over the next three years), whether it's additional tyre barriers, conveyor belting in front, guard rail heights increased and old tyre walls removed.

"There's a number of activities that we're going to be doing as we roll this extensive program out.

"Some are already in place now before the event in November this year."

The amount of this latest Sandown investment has not been revealed. Nor, unlike Wanneroo, has been there been any mention of any state government funding. In Perth the WA government's contribution appears to be about $15 million.

This November's Sandown race meeting will include a big historic element, with lots of classic touring cars, a celebration of the 50 years of the Australian Touring Car Championship (which has now morphed into the V8 Supercar series), and memorabilia displays.

Legendary drivers Dick Johnson and Allan Moffat were on hand for this week's announcement at Sandown with their sons Steven Johnson, a V8 Supercar veteran himself now, and James Moffat, a newcomer to the V8 Supercar ranks for this year's endurance races.

The elder Johnson and Moffat enjoyed many great races and successes at Sandown, especially with the late Peter Brock.

Also at the announcement were brothers Rick and Todd Kelly, whose V8 Supercar team is based at nearby Braeside, while Holden Racing Team is at Clayton and Garry Rogers Motorsport at Dandenong South.

Calderwood said there was very significant economic benefit to the greater Dandenong area from motor racing at Sandown and these teams being on its doorstep.

And he welcomed the move of the Sandown round of the V8 Supercar Championship to late November, avoiding a clash with either the Australian Football League finals in September or Melbourne's spring horse racing carnival throughout October and early November.

V8SA will name the 50 all-time top Australian touring car drivers in the lead-up to Sandown this year, with the top 10 to be named at the event.

It's a smart move to marry the heritage element with today's V8 Supercar show, although V8's acknowledgement of the 50th anniversary of the ATCC is belated.

It took no interest in the actual anniversary in February at Orange, NSW, home of the old Gnoo Blas circuit that hosted the first championship (it was a single race in its early days).

Among other acknowledgements of the significant milestone will be a dinner in Sydney on the first weekend of September coinciding with the Muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek -- surely the next permanent circuit whose future needs to be determined

New V8SA chief executive Martin Whitaker said MRC's commitment at Sandown was "a great day for motorsport in Victoria".

"This circuit has been very much a part of the DNA of Australian touring cars," Whitaker said. "We (V8SA) are very proud that we have been able to work so well with the MRC to reach this historic agreement for V8 Supercars and all those who use this iconic circuit.

"We are working on a number of concepts for the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge to incorporate all that is so great about Australian touring cars, the V8 Supercar Championship Series and its rich history."

Whitaker said the heritage element would help differentiate the Sandown round from others in the championship.

It could go a long way in starting to restore Sandown to its former glory.

Image: Dandenong Road straight, Sandown. hrt.com.au

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