SUPERCARS TO CONDUCT NIGHT TEST AT SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK
Supercars last ran under lights at Abu Dhabi – Photo: LAT
As plans take shape to introduce a night race to the Supercars Championship in 2018, two Supercars will take to Sydney Motorsport Park on Thursday Night to test lighting options.
The 3 hour test involving Simona de Silvestro (Nissan Motorsport) and Fabian Coulthard (DJR Team Penske) will take to the track to help assess both visibility for the drivers, as well as determining if the lighting will be sufficient for Television coverage.
A variety of different temporary flood lighting options will be moved around during the test, predominately through Turns 1 and 2, to determine sufficient lighting ahead of next years proposed big bash style Supercars event.
It’ll be the first time that Supercars have run under lights since their visits to Abu Dhabi in 2010 and 2011.
“This is the first step in testing a series of different light sources with real race cars at real race speed,” explained Supercars CEO James Warburton.
“There are many variables, none the least the speed of the cars at certain points and the quality of our broadcast pictures for our fans and networks.
“But we are very confident of finding the right, cost-effective way to light the entire circuit at a television standard.
“If you recall when we raced under lights in Abu Dhabi the cars were absolutely amazing.
“That’s clearly one of the best facilities in the world, our lighting will certainly not be that good, but we hope good enough to tick the right boxes.”
Warburton is making no apologies to traditionalist in his pursuit of creating a more exciting format for the event, noting the success of revolution in other sports.
“We want to create something unique and we are always looking to innovate and grow the sport,” he said.
“The runaway success of the Big Bash has shown people are looking for new, short forms of sporting entertainment, without necessarily taking away the traditions of the sport.
“Cricket has suddenly found a whole new audience and, importantly, encouraged kids to grab a bat and a ball. And the Big Bash lives comfortably within the traditional fabric of the game.
“It (a Supercars ‘Big Bash’) will be a maximum of a three-hour event in 2018, it will count for championship points and most likely we will be looking to run the event on a Thursday night
“At this stage it’s all conceptual but if the test is successful we want it in the schedule for 2018 and beyond.”
The test will take place ahead of this weekends Supercars round at Sydney Motorsport Park, with on track action starting on Friday.
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