New era dawns as AVESCO unveil 2001 SCS calendar
7/10/2000 16:04 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - It was being hailed as a revolution. And while today’s 2001 V8 Supercar calendar launch produced few surprises, it does promise Motorsport action like Australia has never seen before.
Today is the dawning of a new era for the V8 Supercar world,
according to AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane at today’s invite-only calendar
launch at Sandown Park Raceway.
The much-anticipated,
fan-friendly, 13-round calendar was unveiled amid claims of it delivering
exactly what fans have been asking for.
The Supercar circus will
travel to all mainland Australian states (including Western
Australia) where fans will see more longer races, more pit stops and more
qualifying shootouts – more bang for their buck.
Speaking at the
Sandown launch today, AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane was most enthusiastic
about his two new Shell Series additions.
"We are introducing two
new exciting events to the calendar, The Australian V8 Ultimate Sandown
and the first ever international round, The V8 International New
Zealand," Cochrane said.
The main changes, however, centre
around the race formats, and will see the three 20-minute “sprint” events
axed in favour of two longer races with compulsory pit stops in each.
Phillip Island, Eastern Creek, Hidden Valley, Oran Park and Winton
will host the new-look shorter events, which will feature two 100km-long
races on the Sunday.
"Our fans have been asking for greater
competition on the track and the new formats of 100km and 150km races, in
addition to the traditional sprint and endurance rounds are sure to
deliver that,” Cochrane said.
"For the first time teamwork will
come into play, with teams racing against the clock to achieve maximum
advantage in the pits, similar to the successful approach used in Formula
One,” he said.
Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway (which has retained its
place on the calendar after much conjecture, albeit three months later
than last year) and Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway will continue to play
host to the traditional triple-sprint format. It is the only time the
format will be seen in 2001.
Mr Cochrane said the people of
Western Australia have Shell to thank for their round, and warned unless
government support is forthcoming, it may be the last V8 Supercar event in
the West for some time.
"Shell have a substantial investment in
Western Australia and wanted to see a race in that state as part of their
100th year Anniversary celebrations in Australia,” Cochrane said.
"The future of a V8 Supercar race remaining in Western Australia
beyond 2001 will now depend entirely on that governments support for a
street race," he said.
The wildly-successful Clipsal 500 retains its early April date with its two-leg 500km event on the streets of Adelaide.
Reverse grid racing will return to the narrow streets of Canberra in June for the GMC 400. The race format (a 25-lap race on Saturday, a 25-lap full reverse grid race and a 50-lap points-heavy deciding race on Sunday) will remain unchanged, however alterations to the circuit are expected to better accommodate the V8s.
The FAI-backed 1000km epic at Bathurst has be relocated back to October, on the traditional first weekend of the month.
The major addition to the calendar is New Zealand’s “V8 International” at Pukekoe Raceway near Auckland.
AVESCO has the event (the first time the SCS will venture offshore) locked in for November 9-11 – the race immediately following Bathurst and the penultimate round of the Championship.
AVESCO’s plans for an Asia event have been put on-hold until 2002.
Queenslanders may see themselves the victims of the new-look calendar, with the mid-year Queensland Raceway sprint meeting dumped. The Shell Series will only make one visit to the Sunshine State – August’s 500km OzEmail 500 – in 2001.
The Supercars will, however, continue to feature on the Gold Coast Indy support card in October under a new deal which will see them compete over a longer 30-minute race distance (once on Saturday and twice on Sunday).
With Bathurst reverting back to its traditional date, the Championship-deciding final round has been taken from Bathurst and handed to Sandown Raceway.
Coined as the “Australian V8 Ultimate Sandown,” the Melbourne circuit will host the showcase event which will see drivers compete over a 150km race distance three times (once on Saturday, twice on Sunday) to decide the title crown.
All events will now feature a top-ten or top-fifteen qualifying “shootout” to determine grid positions at the pointy end of the field.
Shell Australia continue their enduring support of the Series next year – their fifteenth year as naming-rights sponsor.
"One of the most successful of all sporting partnerships has been that which exists between Shell and the V8 Supercar category, and season 2001 looks set to take that relationship to even greater heights," Shell Australia Sponsorship Manager, Ross Brodie, said.
"The V8 Supercar category is growing at an enormous rate with increased crowd attendances and television ratings figures and the exciting changes in store for 2001 are sure to continue these trends,” Brodie said.
All Shell Championship Series events (excluding endurance meetings) will be restricted to the top 25 cars in the Series, plus seven pre-qualifiers..
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