The Sandown 500 is back in 12-round 2023 Supercars season
The 2023 Supercars calendar is finally here and the historic Sandown 500 will make a welcome return to the Championship, which will feature just 12 rounds and no race in New Zealand.
The new Gen3 era featuring Chevrolet Camaro’s and Ford Mustang’s will be get underway at the Thrifty Newcastle 500 on March 10-12 before the 12th and final round his held at the VALO Adelaide 500 on November 23-26.
A draft calendar was spotted during the recent Gold Coast 500 and the biggest unknown was a To Be Confirmed slot with the fight for the final spot on the calendar won by The Bend Motorsport Park.
It means Winton will lose out after being a familiar stop on the Supercars roadshow, while the recently revamped Queensland Raceway also remains off the calendar.
Other highlights include the 60th anniversary of the Bathurst 1000 with the big day taking place on October 8 and the return to Newcastle, while traditional favourites Australian Grand Prix, Perth, Tasmania, Darwin, Townsville, Sydney and Gold Coast retain their spots.
Half of the 12 rounds to be broadcast live on free to air TV, while rest are exclusive to Fox Sports.
Newcastle, Perth, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst and Adelaide will host Super 2/3 action, while formats for each race of the season will be confirmed prior to the season opener in March.
Supercars CEO Shane Howard said there will be great excitement surrounding next year’s season with the roll out of Gen3.
“With the Camaro vs Mustang debut, the return of the Sandown 500 and our marquee event, the Bathurst 1000, celebrating its 60th anniversary, 2023 is shaping as one of the most exciting in the history of our sport,” he said.
“This year we have seen huge crowds return to our events and Adelaide is shaping as a spectacular finale for the Holden Commodore and Ford Mustang rivalry.
“We cannot wait to rollout out our Gen3 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro at Newcastle in March.
“What an amazing way to start the new chapter of racing for our sport.”
Famous moments like Jason Bright’s and Mark Winterbottom’s tight win in 2006 will be brought back to life when the Sandown 500 returns next year. Image: Mark Horsburgh/LAT Photographic
The Sandown 500 is back
The big news of the 2023 calendar is the popular return of the Sandown 500, which fires back to life on September 15-17 – a direct clash with the previously announced Motorsport Australia/ARG SpeedSeries round at the same Victorian venue,
A statement from Motorsport Australia revealed it was only advised of the clash on Tuesday night.
“Motorsport Australia was told, as late as Tuesday afternoon, that we still held the booking for Sandown on 15-17 September,” a Motorsport Australia spokesperson said.
“Today we have now discovered the circuit has clearly been double booked, which is certainly frustrating given we announced and locked in this date some time ago.
“In the interests of everyone involved, we have agreed to move the SpeedSeries booking to a new date to be confirmed.”
Whilst the calendar is subject to change, the Sandown 500 will be welcomed by many.
The enduro established itself as the traditional stepping stone to the Bathurst 1000 and one of the biggest crowns in Australian motorsport.
The race started in 1964 and from 1968 to 1998 the event was held prior to the Great Race, but it has not been a consistent fixture in the 21st century with the 500km enduro also held at Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island between 1999-2002 and 2008-2011 respectively.
It returned to its traditional home in 2012 and was last held in 2019, but Sandown looked set to lose its race again to The Bend in 2020, only for COVID-19 to ensure Bathurst has been the only enduro in the last three years.
Calls to bring back the 500 reached an all-time high during this year’s Sandown SuperSprint where both fans and drivers alike voiced their support for the famous race to return.
After a chaotic start to this year’s Bathurst 1000, teams then put the pressure on for a second endurance race to return to ensure drivers will be better prepared for the Great Race.
The return follows pressure from the public, who want to bring the race back and the teams who saw it as imperative preparation for the biggest race of the year.
Not long ago the future of not only the race, but the track itself looked bleak, but now with the 500km endurance race returning and the precinct possibly being saved the long-term future looks much brighter.
September 17 already looms as one of the most special days of the 2023 Supercars season.
Cam Waters and Shane van Gisbergen put on a memorable battle at Winton in May, but the Raceway will miss out on a 2023 spot on the Supercars calendar. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Winton loses out to The Bend
The Bend Motorsport Park has won the battle to win the last remaining spot on the calendar.
The eighth round of the championship on August 18-20 was listed as To Be Confirmed with Winton, The Bend, Queensland Raceway and New Zealand all in an arm wrestle for the coveted spot.
Following the release of the calendar today, it is clear the series will continue racing at The Bend, which has been a staple since its inaugural round in 2018.
Whilst the confirmation of the Bend SuperSprint is another boost for South Australian fans following the return of the Adelaide 500 this year, it is a blow for racegoers in Victoria.
Ever since joining the ATCC calendar in 1985, Winton has been a popular stop and grew a reputation for producing action and tight racing.
Despite a successful and memorable return to Supercars from COVID earlier this year, the twisty country track has lost its place on the calendar, but will play a valuable roll in the introduction of Gen3 hosting a key test prior to Newcastle.
Although it is a “disappointing” result for the owners of Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla Auto Club, general manager Stephen Whyte understood Supercars decision.
He said Winton was squeezed out due to the limited space on the calendar
“It is obviously disappointing from the facilities perspective and the club,” he told AUTO ACTION.
“We had been in regular contact with Supercars over the journey and we were fully aware there was three or four of us vying for one last spot.
“But in fairness to Supercars, we understand the reasons why. They are reducing the numbers back as far as rounds and the amount of venues they are dealing with is surpassing the number of rounds they have available.
“2024 has already been spoken about, there are progressive talks with New Zealand and we hope we would be a party to talking with Supercars as well.
“It is just a matter of numbers and the reality is not everyone would join the calendar.
“We will continue on as a test track and we will continue to work with Supercars to rejoin the calendar in 2024.
“The unfortunate thing will be the fan base in the North East. The Benalla Auto Club still has a busy year ahead.”
The big crowds that packed Pukekohe in September will not get the chance to cheer on Shane van Gisbergen in 2023. Photo by Mark Horsburgh / LAT Images)
No trip across the Tasman
The other big causality of this year’s Supercars calendar is the trip to New Zealand.
After missing out on Supercars action for three years, the sport made a memorable return to the other side of the Tasman in September this year where huge crowds gathered to say farewell to the historic Pukekohe circuit.
But those fans will once again miss the chance of cheering on the Kiwi Supercars stars such as Shane van Gisbergen due to a resort consent for the preferred location of Hampton Downs not being secured in time for 2023.
Howards said Supercars will push to return to New Zealand in 2024.
“We are still in progressive talks with our counterparts there for an event in the future, however as they continue it is in the best interest of all parties involved to focus on 2024 and beyond,” he said.
“We have every intention to return to New Zealand and we are confident of an announcement in the new year regarding a partnership with a new venue.”
MBIE’s Manager NZ Major Events, Kylie Hawker-Green also said the benefits of a Supercars round in New Zealand are clear and the government also hopes racing can resume in Aotearoa.
“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has previously supported the V8 Supercar events with $2.2 million over five years from the former Major Events Development Fund,” he said.
“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will continue to liaise with event organisers to consider how the government could support the event returning to Aotearoa New Zealand in future.”
2023 Repco Supercars Championship Calendar
Round 1: Thrifty Newcastle 500 – 10-12 March (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
Round 2: Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix – 30 March to 2 April 2023 (Broadcast on Ten and Fox Sports)
Round 3: Perth SuperSprint – 28-30 April (Broadcast on Fox Sports)
Round 4: NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint – 19-21 May (Broadcast on Fox Sports)
Round 5: Darwin Triple Crown 16-18 June (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
Round 6: NTI Townsville 500 – 7-9 July (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
Round 7: Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight – 28-30 July (Broadcast on Fox Sports)
Round 8: OTR SuperSprint – 18-20 August (Broadcast on Fox Sports)
Round 9: Penrite Oil Sandown 500 – 15-17 September (Broadcast on Fox Sports)
Round 10: Repco Bathurst 1000 – 5-8 October (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
Round 11: Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 – 27-29 October (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
Round 12: VALO Adelaide 500 – 23-26 November (Broadcast on Seven and Fox Sports)
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