Supercars 2020 Calendar Announcement
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| Surfers becomes a night race |
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Australian Touring Car Championship, features more on track action, racing under lights in Sydney and new five-year agreements for Townsville and the Gold Coast.
Overall racing kilometres and hours increase with the extension of SuperSprint weekends to 200km races each day while The Bend Motorsport Park hosts a 500km co-driver race to begin the PIRTEK Enduro Cup.
Sydney Motorsport Park will host night racing for the second time with the new permanent lighting at the venue. It is one of two events under lights in 2020 with more details for the second event to be released soon.
The Vodafone Gold Coast 600 and Watpac Townsville 400 have new five-year agreements between Supercars, Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and the Queensland Government
A new five-year deal was announced for the Gold Coast and Townsville events.
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said the calendar was a win for fans and viewers with two night races, more racing on-track, a regular rhythm of events including the addition of longer SuperSprints and more ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootouts at The Bend, Gold Coast and Newcastle.
“It was important to us to increase the amount of Supercar racing for the fans at track and at home," Seamer said.
“SuperSprint weekends are now full of Supercars racing on both days and we are really stepping up the entertainment value for fans and partners, on and off the track.
“We are also working hard on providing an improved offering for the fans with a more seamless experience from the time they buy a ticket to the time they leave the track, diverse food and beverage offerings including more modern options and additional entertainment.
“The fan-favourite Stadium Super Trucks will return to the Gold Coast this October and feature events in 2020 as part of the support category line-up which we will finalise in the coming weeks."
The ITM New Zealand SuperSprint will celebrate the ANZAC tradition by moving to the ANZAC long weekend in April for its 20th anniversary year while Tailem Bend becomes part of the PIRTEK Enduro Cup prior to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Vodafone Gold Coast 600.
The ITM Auckland SuperSprint will move to the ANZAC long weekend in April.
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship features a regular flow of events every third week through the season, aside from a winter break for the Tokyo Olympics and two weeks between the final two events of the year.
“We believe events such as Auckland, Tailem Bend and Sandown are in even better times of year and we have been able to establish a more regular and consistent flow to all events, the teams have sufficient time between events to operate at the highest level," Seamer said.
The Sandown event moves later in November with two 200km races on Saturday and Sunday at the Penrite Oil Sandown 400, while reverting to a single driver weekend, as part of a three-year renewal with the circuit.
The Watpac Townsville 400 shifts forward a week to June 26-28 with the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown moving back a month to July 17-19.
The Darwin weekend precedes the break in which the Olympics take place, with the Championship resuming with a return for the Sydney SuperNight, then the Tailem Bend enduro before Bathurst and the Gold Coast.
Night racing returns to Sydney Motorsport Park in August 2020.
Phillip Island and Queensland Raceway have been omitted from the 2020 calendar in order to meet operational requirements of the series.
“Phillip Island is one of the best permanent circuits in Australia, but with our operational requirements limiting the number of rounds we can complete over 12 months, it was not included in the 2020 calendar," Seamer said.
“It was not an easy decision knowing the strong support we have in Ipswich. It does not mean that the championship will not return to either facility in the future. There were no easy decisions."
The season starts in Adelaide and ends once again with the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 from December 4-6.
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship
Feb 18: Supercars pre-season Test Day, The Bend, South Australia
Feb 20-23: Superloop Adelaide 500, Adelaide (DS2)
Mar 12-15: Melbourne 400, Formula One Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park
April 3-5: Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint, Launceston (DS2)
April 24-26: ITM Auckland SuperSprint, Auckland
May 15-17: PIRTEK Perth SuperNight, Barbagallo Raceway, Perth
June 5-7: Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint, Winton
June 26-28: Watpac Townsville 400, Townsville (DS2)
July 17-19: BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown, Darwin
Aug 28-30: Sydney SuperNight, Sydney Motorsport Park (DS2)
Sept 18-20: The Bend OTR 500, Tailem Bend, South Australia
Oct 8-11: Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Bathurst (DS2)
Oct 30-Nov 1: Vodafone Gold Coast 600, Gold Coast
Nov 20-22: Penrite Oil Sandown 400, Melbourne (DS2)
Dec 4-6: Coates Hire Newcastle 500, Newcastle (DS2)
DS2 = Dunlop Super2 Series