V8 Supercars season starts with a Kiss

Nick Percat wasn't even born when infamous rock band Kiss first toured Australia in 1980, but that hasn't stopped the 2011 Bathurst 1000 winner from rocking out in a pre-race tribute to the band, which will be performing at one of the biggest post-race events Adelaide has ever seen.

The young driver scored himself a last-minute drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup support race that precedes the V8 Supercars main event, and was so stoked to hear about Kiss playing after the race he underwent two painstaking hours of glam-rock make-up to celebrate.

The 24-year-old Adelaide-born race driver confessed his love of the band and tongue-talented Kiss legend Gene Simmons.

"When it comes to rock and roll, Gene Simmons is one of the greats," said Nick Percat.

"The passion of a band like Kiss to still be playing as hard as they do after all these years is just amazing. After the effort we made to get the make-up and hair right for this bit of a stunt, I now realise what an effort it must be just to get ready for a concert night after night," he added.

All eyes will turn to the V8 Supercars this weekend, which ushers in a new era at the season opening Clipsal 500 race in Adelaide between March 1 and 3 as Nissan and Mercedes-Benz join the fray with Ford and Holden.

The organisers of the first race of the 2013 V8 Supercars season have put together plenty of off-track entertainment for what are expected to be record crowds, as the two newcomers from Japan and Germany attempt to make history.

Friday night entertainment includes several hip-hop artists such as Adelaide locals Hilltop Hoods, plus Pez, Drapht and Illy, while the Saturday night will see The Angels and Ian Moss belting out the tunes.

After the main race concludes Sunday night, Kiss and Motley Crue will make for a noisy weekend.

"I cannot wait to see their show on Sunday night and I am sure Motley Crue will also give us a pretty good show," said Mr Percat.

"The Clipsal 500 is obviously my favourite race of the year because the organisers really know how to put on a show. Kiss are really like rock royalty, so getting the chance to see them play is going to be cool," he said.