MOTORSPORT: V8 Supercar enduro for Grand Prix

In the biggest revamp of the grand prix's racing program in its 15 years in Melbourne, there will be 200km races for the V8 Supercars on the Friday and Saturday and 100km on the Sunday.

The races will comprise what is being called the Albert Park 500 -- with $500,000 prizemoney.

However, this 500 will still not be part of the V8 Supercar Championship because of the conflict of telecaster -- the Seven Network for that championship and Ten for F1.

Ten will screen the longer, non-championship Albert Park races, which should provide more entertainment for viewers and track spectators ahead of each day's F1 activity that is now later for the supposed benefit of the overseas television audience.

The expanded V8 Supercar program also will reduce other support categories.

New, separate garages for the V8 Supercars alongside the Albert Park pit entry will enable tyre changes and fuel stops during each of the three races.

It's all part of a five-year extension of the deal for the premier national category on the GP program.

No details of the cost to the event organiser, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, or fees to be paid to V8 Supercars Australia have been announced.

But the dollars are obviously enough for V8SA to put up the half million in prizemoney.

V8SA's SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis revealed here on April 12 stated that it received a total of $71 million last year from various governments -- including establishment costs for the new Townsville and Sydney street races.

The longer Albert Park races will return a form of V8 Supercar enduro to metropolitan Melbourne following the move of the traditional Bathurst lead-up event each September from Sandown to Phillip Island in recent years.

Coinciding with the announcement of the 500, V8 Supercar drivers have admitted that their previous races at Albert Park have been little more than demonstrations.

Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom said they had been "almost not worth getting out of bed" for but that the new, longer format was "a massive step up" for the category.

The temporary pits will be infrastructure V8SA already has and will take four weeks to erect and two weeks to dismantle.

Trading Post Racing's Jason Bright said the V8 Supercars would now be seen at their best at the GP.

"We feel like part of the show now," Bright said. "It's always been a challenge for the teams coming into the (F1) pitlane and setting up very temporarily for each session.

"Being able to set up properly and have our booms set up and do the fuel stops and the tyre stops ... it throws a pretty good dimension into it.

"This track is very hard on tyres, so strategy is going to play a big part in it."

 Image: Artist's impression - speedcafe.com.au

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