The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC) is proud to announce that not one, but two V8 Supercar Championship events will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) in 2014. Round nine of the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship Series, the Sydney Motorsport Park 400, will be held at the Eastern Creek circuit on August 22 – 24, joining the Sydney 500 and the Bathurst 1000 as the third NSW venue for the premier touring car series.
Earlier this month, V8 Supercars announced that SMSP would continue to hold the official Sydney.com V8 Supercars Test Day until 2016. The Test Day, which precedes the Championship season, is free for all fans to attend, and saw numbers in excess of 18,000 in 2013.
“We are excited and delighted to announce that Sydney Motorsport Park will host a round of the V8 Supercars series next August, in addition to the pre-season test and fan day on February 15,” said Glenn Matthews, CEO of the ARDC.
ARDC President Andrew Leithhead said: “The ARDC is keenly looking forward to welcoming V8 Supercars back to Sydney Motorsport Park for round nine of the 2014 Championship. Our Members and all motorsport enthusiasts will be delighted to have four separate V8 Supercar events in NSW next year, and we anticipate some exciting racing at SMSP.”
Sydney Motorsport Park is owned by the NSW Government and operated by the ARDC, and is the only permanent Australian race facility that holds a FIA/FIM Grade 2 International licence.
In August last year, the V8 Supercar Championship was one of the first major racing events to sample the $11 million track and facility redevelopment undertaken at the Western Sydney circuit, which was completed in May 2012 and jointly funded by the ARDC and the NSW Government.
“The support of the NSW Government has been important to the ongoing expansion of Sydney Motorsport Park’s contribution to economic activity in Western Sydney, in terms of infrastructure, employment and major events.” “We would like to thank Minister Souris and Destination NSW for their support in helping to bring a Championship round to Sydney Motorsport Park,” added Matthews.
“This is yet another great event that we have brought to SMSP, and 2014 will be a very exciting year with these premier events – the two V8 Supercar events, Top Gear Festival Sydney, and more still to come.”
The Championship round is just two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the Australian Muscle Car Masters, which celebrates the heritage of V8 Supercars with a weekend of racing and memorabilia from the glory days of the Bathurst 1000. Other major events on the 2014 Race Calendar at Sydney Motorsport Park include Top Gear Festival Sydney, World Time Attack, the Shannons Nationals, the NSW Motor Race Championships, FX Superbikes, Australian Superbikes, and the HSRCA.
A full calendar will be released shortly on www.sydneymotorsportpark.com.au.