2016 Calendar

[William5]

V8 Supercars exploring racing under lights for Sydney nights in for 2016
V8 Supercars could add a night race event as soon as next year if Sydney Motorsport Park gets the go ahead to install permanent lighting.

The $7.8 million plan, which requires NSW government funding, is for broadcast-quality floodlighting that would be suitable for televised V8 night racing.

Following a V8-sanctioned secret test under lights, SMP operator, the Australian Racing Drivers Club, prepared a feasibility study with the help of sports lighting experts.

The verdict was that lighting part of the multi-configuration circuit at Eastern Creek in western Sydney was viable technically and would boost business.

Sydney Motorsport Park is owned by the NSW government and run by the ARDC on a long-term lease.

As well as V8 night racing, lighting would enable SMP to extend its operating hours for corporate and public track events, which are now at daylight capacity all year.

Permanent floodlights would also make feasible a 24-hour sports car endurance race, which track executives want to run within five years.

ARDC chief executive Glenn Matthews confirmed that a submission had been made to the state government to finance the track lighting project.

"We're quite serious about it," Matthews said. "We've completed the feasibility study and have put in a submission to the government, and I'm waiting to hear from them."

If funding is approved, the club is targeting 2016 to begin night operations at SMP, aiming to secure as soon as possible V8's first after-dark event in nearly two decades.

V8 Supercars is backing the SMP lighting proposal because it would boost the appeal of the series' appearance at the track, which struggles to attract large daytime crowds.

There is also the potential for staging a family-friendly weeknight event lasting no more than a few hours, which is a goal of V8 chief executive James Warburton.

The V8s have not raced under lights since the inaugural event under the V8 Supercars branding at Melbourne's Calder Park in March 1997.

The proposed lighting at SMP, revealed in the latest issue of Auto Action magazine, would be installed around the 2.8-kilometre Druitt circuit, the second shortest of the complex's four track layouts.

The course is a truncated version of the traditional 3.93-kilometre Gardner circuit that the V8s use for its championship event – scheduled this year for August 22-23.

"For a number of reasons, we were motivated to look at lighting that course," Matthews said. "To be able to put on V8 Supercars under lights would be fantastic. The lighting would also extend our trading period for both racing and non-racing.

"It certainly makes good sense for the state government to keep investing in Sydney Motorsport Park."

Temporary lighting was tried on the Druitt course a year ago in a secret test by Todd Kelly in his Nissan Altima V8 racer, with the results confirming the need for high-intensity lamps suitable for TV coverage of night racing.

"To do it to a standard good enough for broadcast, it would cost around $7.8 million," Matthews said.

According to V8's Warburton, the test showed that night racing at SMP was "almost viable" with the temporary set-up that was tried.

"There are two components - obviously the lighting at an acceptable level for broadcast and then there's the suitability for our cars of the short[er] circuit," he said. "So we got some feedback on that and we've been passionately working with Glenn [Matthews] and his team.

"It's probably not as we would want it in its current configuration, but it's not far away – and probably only further served to whet the appetite to push even harder to find a solution."

Both the ARDC and V8 Supercars see the potential for Big Bash-style Thursday or Friday night – or even midweek – events under lights lasting just two to three hours.

"The absolute preference is to get a night-at-the-speedway-style family entertainment package together in a two- or three-hour window," Warburton said.

"Put on some real good content in a really compressed format. That's probably still the preference [for night racing]."

He added: "You have to continually push. Look at the Big Bash league in terms of attracting young families and their engagement, let alone television ratings for Ten across the course of the summer.

"So I think from that perspective we have to keep on generating new formats and really ensuring that you're freshening things for the fans."

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motor...skin=text-only

[Alan52]

Stupid idea.Druitt circuit takes out many of best part of track and has not been liked by competitors.Midweek and 2-3 hours disregards access to circuit and value of V8 ticket prices with 2-3 hour meeting.24 Hour race?Eastern Creek?
I am a big fan of circuit but Matthews and ARDC administration wasted enough government money with their pathetic track extensions that are the worst piece of track design in motor racing history and have been a white elephant that nobody wants to compete on.
The lighting may generate some extra drive day income but is this enough reason to spend the money?A 2 hour midweek V8 meeting held at night would be a joke.

[Mixer]

Yeah are QLD and VIC teams going to stump up for 3 hours of racing?

[one five five]

Surely the race formats would need a tweaking for a "night at the speedway" type of event to work.

For a 'speedway' style event, are they talking a speedway style format with a couple of short, sharp races.

Under a 'normal' format, you'd struggle to get more than qualifying and one race in during a 3hr period.

[Umai Naa]

Night at the speedway?

So they'd need to kick off at around 3pm, run through til 10pm. Plus fit in a few support classes as well.

Will they run A and B mains, too?

[Mixer]

The success of 20/20 has many sports thinking. Fast fours didn't really work for the tennis and I am not sure about this given the complexity of motorsports.

[one five five]

Originally Posted by Mixer

The success of 20/20 has many sports thinking. Fast fours didn't really work for the tennis and I am not sure about this given the complexity of motorsports.

Speedway has been having "20/20" style stuff going on for what, 70 years? The whole show done and won in 3 hours (excluding thiongs like weather or major accident delays of course).

I don't see how circuit racing (on anything other than a short oval) could replicate anything along the lines of what 20/20 does.

Anything mid-week stuff would surely be a "made-for-TV" thing, as opposed to hoping to gain any sort of spectator turnout.

[William5]

WARBURTON ‘NEVER GIVING UP’ ON NIGHT RACING
V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton remains optimistic that night racing will return to the calendar as soon as next year.

The championship’s 2016 schedule has been largely bedded down, with Malaysia’s KL City Grand Prix pencilled in for August, pending final sign-off on the four-year deal.

The Malaysian race will increase the calendar to 16 race meetings, including the non-championship Australian Grand Prix.

Finalising a new deal with the Western Australian government to continue at Barbagallo and determining whether any events will take night time slots meanwhile remain works in progress.

While twilight formats were run at the 2013 Sydney 500 and 2014 Clipsal 500, flood-lit V8 Supercars racing has not taken place since 1997.

Sydney Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway have both been mooted for possible night fixtures in recent years, with the former seen as the strongest possibility.

Circuit caretakers the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club put a feasibility study to the state government earlier this year, seeking funding for an $8 million permanent lighting project.

“There are two permanent circuits that are still pitching the idea,” Warburton told Speedcafe.com of night racing.
“It’s expensive but I’m never going to give up on it.
“I’ve told the (NSW) Minister we’ll be there for three consecutive nights to do effectively what we do at a Super Sprint round.
“We are keen for those discussions to continue. At this point in time it is still far from done.”

V8 Supercars has focussed on reducing the number of lengthy gaps in its calendar for next year, compacting the campaign into nine months with a single mid-season break.

The season is again set to begin with the Clipsal 500 Adelaide in March before concluding with the Sydney 500, which will be brought forward from December to November.

“Very rarely outside of time to go to Perth or Darwin and a dedicated mid-year break will there be more than a three-week gap between events,” said Warburton.
“The calendar is still subject to FIA approval and confirmation from the Western Australian Government, but we are not expecting any surprises there.
“We haven’t got it (the calendar) right this year but we are committed to fixing it for 2016.”

The category’s pre-season Sydney Motorsport Park test is expected to be held later in February than it was this year, when it controversially clashed with the Bathurst 12 Hour.

V8 Supercars meanwhile remains hopeful that its Australian Grand Prix support races will finally be run for championship points next year.
Although V8 Supercars and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation have both been on board with the plan, final sign-off rests with Formula One Management.

http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/06/09/...-night-racing/

[chavez]

Yet even as recently as the mid nineties it was done and done well.

The Peter Brock Classic meeting at Calder was a great event run under lights.

Has the sport gone so far backwards that night racing can't be funded from within the sport itself?

[one five five]

Originally Posted by chavez

Has the sport gone so far backwards that night racing can't be funded from within the sport itself?

The V8 mantra for many years has been "make someone else pay for it"...preferrably governments.

The series can't function without sizeable REC handouts at the end of each year we keep getting told....

Presumebly holding a race at night, which will give a sense of "uniqueness", will require a steeper sanctioning fee to be paid V8SC's way??

[William5]

I am too young too know what happened at Calder but what was featured on RPM for Armor All special and it just look magnificent.

I think the sport has gone quite backwards when essentially night racing could be the answer to save the sport.

The sport should revisit twilight / night racing for the Sydney 500 this year and roll it on to the likes of Clipsal, Townsville, Sandown, start Bathurst at 1pm local and Gold Coast. It needs to happen sooner rather then later and tbh I didn't see anything wrong with it but it would need time develop.

[Reload]

V8s set for compressed calendar

• V8 SUPERCARS

NEXT YEAR’S V8 calendar will be shorter and tighter, with most events just two weeks apart in a new split-season… Read more.

[mikuni]

Very happy to hear that and I'm sure the drivers (at least) will be too.

[peckstar]

sounds good, Checking price of tickets to adelaide now

Edit $80 return

[Scrut]

The sport should revisit twilight / night racing for the Sydney 500 this year and roll it on to the likes of Clipsal, Townsville, Sandown, start Bathurst at 1pm local and Gold Coast. It needs to happen sooner rather then later and tbh I didn't see anything wrong with it but it would need time develop.[/QUOTE]


I don't know what the EPA or council reg's are interstate, but it wont happen here in Victoria. Sandown has to stop running at 5.00pm for
state level and they can run to 6.00pm for the V8's and nationals, to appease the locals who brought cheap land near the track.
The same applies to Phillip Island, but their worried about frightening
the penguins.

[Reload]

14mAuto Action @Auto_Action

.@v8supercars 2016 calendar set to be released this week, confirming major shake up. Read more http://autoaction.com.au/?p=16936

[billybanana]

Happy with the PI move. Much more predictable time of year weather wise (although this is Melb we're talking about )

[Average Punter]

Originally Posted by billybanana

Happy with the PI move. Much more predictable time of year weather wise (although this is Melb we're talking about )

Fancy "predictable", "Phillip Island" and "weather" all in the same post.

Like "military intelligence". Some words just don't belong together.

[one five five]

Wasn't the selling point of moving the Phillip Island event from early in the year (which is where it was until 2003) to the latter end of the year when it returned to the calendar in 2005, that the weather was much better at the end of the year...?

[Umai Naa]

What of the bird life?

[bortall]

In 2006 & 2007 PI was in December, weather was very hot on at least one of those occasions.

But at PI anytime of year can be +35 or -35, quite often on the same day.

[thetormentor]

2016 Calender confirmed.
Plus KL is a go for '16

http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sp...-1227518048922

[peckstar]

Sandown deep into AFL finals, not sure thats wise.

But now its 3 weeks before bathurst again

[peckstar]

I know its also in the 2015 silly season thread

V8 SUPERCARS RELEASES 2016 CALENDAR

[GTRMagic]