MOTORSPORT: Seven rounds, six categories for Nationals

Despite fears of fewer events and categories, a seven-round calendar and at least six categories have been announced for next year's Shannons Nationals – although some details are still sketchy.

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) has not said which rounds each category will run at.

CAMS has flagged that more categories will be added to the bill yet, but there is little overlap between its Shannons calendar and the schedule already announced by the headline act in the Nationals, the Australian GTs.

CAMS is taking over the Nationals – the circuit-racing alternative to the V8 Supercar Championship program for competitors, fans and sponsors – after a decade of the series being run in partnership with Rob Curkpatrick, now the interim chief executive of the Australian National Drag Racing Association.

CAMS has said Australian GTs and Porsche GT3s remain on the Shannons Nationals program, along with sports sedans, the V8 Touring Cars, Formula 3 open-wheelers and the open-top Radical sports cars also on the bill.

CAMS general manager of motor sport development, Cameron McConville, said new categories would also be announced.

The Australian GT Championship, controlled by competitor Tony Quinn, had already announced a sprint and new endurance series calendar, and only one date on the new Shannons calendar tallies with that.

The 2016 Nationals schedule has two rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park and two at Victoria's Phillip Island.

There are none outside the three mainland eastern states and Wakefield Park near Goulburn, NSW, which has a round this season in just a few days – October 16-18 – has been dropped for next year.

The other three rounds next year will be at Melbourne's Sandown – the series opener in April – and country Victoria's Winton and Queensland Raceway at Ipswich.

McConville said the series would feature "the best permanent circuits in the country".

"We have maintained all along that it wouldn't look all that different to this year," McConville said.

"Happily we can also confirm that the main Shannons [Nationals] supporters will be back, such as Australian GT, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, sports sedans, radicals, F3 and V8 Touring Cars.

"We also look forward to welcoming a few new categories next year."

Television coverage is to continue with delayed free-to-air packages on SBS Speedweek, plus replays on Fox Sports and live streaming on the Nationals website.

Concerns were expressed about the potential Nationals schedule and category line-up at the time of the CAMS takeover announcement in mid-August, with industry publication Auto Action saying there may have been only three categories next year and a thinner calendar.

While that has not been the outcome, it is odd that the only Australian GT races, as announced by that category, that coincide with the Shannons calendar are at Phillip Island at the end of May, with both sprint and endurance races scheduled for Quinn's troupe that weekend.

The other Australian endurance round announced for the Australian GTs is at Sydney Motorsport Park at the end of August, as part of a V8 Supercar Championship round.

The other two rounds in the 2016 'Australian GT Endurance Series' are in New Zealand at Quinn-owned tracks – Hampton Downs near Auckland at the end of October and at Highlands Park near Queenstown two weeks later.

The major event of the year for Australian GTs, the Bathurst 12-Hour in February, next year becomes part of a new 'International GT Challenge Series' run by international promoter Stephane Ratel but promoted locally now by the V8 Supercars organisation.

The Australian GT category already features many prestige marques – including Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche – while Japanese brand Lexus is contemplating it with its RC F and Nissan won the 12-Hour this year with its GT-R.

In other programming news, Adelaide's Clipsal 500 that starts next year's V8 Supercar Championship will do so without the V8 Supercar development series on the support card.

At yesterday's launch of the Clipsal program Aussie Racing Cars were instead touted as "a vital part of the country's development of emerging driving talent", while American Robby Gordon's hugely-popular stadium super trucks will return for the event at the start of March.

Other support categories at the Clipsal will be the Porsche Carrera Cup, Australian GT, the Touring Car Masters and the V8 utes.

2016 Australian GT Endurance Series
Round 1 – Phillip Island 101, Victoria, May 29
Round 2 – Sydney Motorsport Park, August 26-28
Round 3 – Hampton Downs, NZ, October 28-30
Round 4 – Highlands Park 101, NZ, November 13