MOTORSPORT: Supercars to return to Sydney

Australian Supercars racing will return to Sydney in 2020, but Phillip Island and Queensland Raceway have got the chop.

Sydney Motorsport Park will race under lights in late August, after successfully debuting the SuperNight concept in 2018.

While that didn’t stop it missing a calendar slot in 2019, SMP was always expected to return in 2020.

However, it’s not all bad news for Queensland and Victorian Supercars fans.

Up north the Townsville and Gold Coast street races have been locked in for new five-year deals, while down south Melbourne’s historic Sandown venue is guaranteed a Supercars date for the next three years.

The Winton circuit in north-east Victoria also emerged victorious over Ipswich’s Queensland Raceway in a battle for the final slot on the calendar.

“It was not an easy decision knowing the strong support we have in Ipswich,” said Supercars CEO Sean Seamer.

“It does not mean that the championship will not return to either facility in the future. There were no easy decisions.”

With the teams pushing hard to cut the number of events – some wanted to chop two for 2020 – the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit was an obvious target.

Supercars hires the venue – which is expensive -- and promotes the race, which consistently pulls mediocre crowds and low TV ratings.

In total, the V8s will grid up for 28 races over 14 events in 2020 versus 32 times this year over 15 events.

Sydney and Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia are both listed as SuperNight events, with 2 x 200km races scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday.

Pukekohe in New Zealand will shift from September back to an ANZAC weekend slot in April.

The Bend in South Australia is a big winner. It will become the pre-season test venue – replacing Phillip Island -- and will swap from a SuperSprint to a 500km co-driver enduro and Bathurst warm-up.

Sandown traditionally held that role but shifted to November this year. In 2020 it reverts to a single driver SuperSprint with two 200km races on the schedule. It will be known as the Sandown 400, reminiscent of its 1976 to 1983 title when it was a 400km race.

In fact, all SuperSprint events -- Symmons Plains in Tasmania, Pukekohe, Winton, Hidden Valley in Northern Territory and Sandown – will now conduct 200km rather than 120km races on Saturday, as well as continue with 200km races on Sunday.

The Townsville street race will continue with 2 x 200km races. The traditional championship opener on the streets of Adelaide will stick with 2 x 250km races, as will the Newcastle closer.

The Albert Park races will be 4 x 100km, the Gold Coast will continue as 2 x 300km and the jewel in the crown, Bathurst, will of course be a single 1000km marathon.

“It was important to us to increase the amount of Supercar racing for the fans at track and at home,” Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said.

“SuperSprint weekends are now full of Supercars racing on both days and we are really stepping up the entertainment value for fans and partners, on and off the track.

“We are also working hard on providing an improved offering for the fans with a more seamless experience from the time they buy a ticket to the time they leave the track, diverse food and beverage offerings including more modern options and additional entertainment.

“The fan-favourite Stadium Super Trucks will return to the Gold Coast this October and feature events in 2020 as part of the support category line-up which we will finalise in the coming weeks.”

Significantly, Supercars has managed to establish a more regular championship cadence with events every third week through the season, aside from a winter break for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and two weeks between the final two events of the year.

That’s great news for teams which have been groaning under the pressure of back-to-back races. Staff losses due to the rigour of the schedule has been a huge issue for a number of years.

Health and well-being is also part of the reason Supercars is expanding the use of parc ferme in 2020 from two events to five. The system locks the set-up of the cars down from qualifying until the race, reducing staff workload and potentially throwing another wildcard into the racing mix.

Supercars has yet to roll out other significant measures related to the cars themselves for 2020. More Dunlop tyres are to be allocated per meeting, eliminating banks of old rubber and making practice times more relevant.

As well, engines will be slightly detuned and durability extended; a drive-by-wire throttle is under test; a control shock absorber under consideration and a reduction in aerodynamic downforce possible.

Supercars is looking to cut costs and improve the racing, which has been dominated by the Ford Mustang in 2020, especially DJR Team Penske’s Scott Mclaughlin, who has won 16 of 22 races, including two last weekend at The Bend.

The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship:
Feb 18: Supercars pre-season Test Day, The Bend, South Australia
Feb 20-23: Superloop Adelaide 500, Adelaide (DS2)
Mar 12-15: Melbourne 400, Formula One Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park
April 3-5: Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint, Launceston (DS2)
April 24-26: ITM Auckland SuperSprint, Auckland
May 15-17: PIRTEK Perth SuperNight, Barbagallo Raceway, Perth
June 5-7: Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint, Winton
June 26-28: Watpac Townsville 400, Townsville (DS2)
July 17-19: BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown, Darwin
Aug 28-30: Sydney SuperNight, Sydney Motorsport Park (DS2)
Sept 18-20: The Bend OTR 500, Tailem Bend, South Australia
Oct 8-11: Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Bathurst (DS2)
Oct 30-Nov 1: Vodafone Gold Coast 600, Gold Coast
Nov 20-22: Penrite Oil Sandown 400, Melbourne (DS2)
Dec 4-6: Coates Hire Newcastle 500, Newcastle (DS2)
* DS2 = Dunlop Super2 Series