V8s crash Gold Coast party with new series event
20/2/2002 13:05 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
The V8 Supercars will gatecrash Australian motorsport’s biggest party in October, the Gold Coast Indy carnival, upstaging the Champ Car circus with their own championship series event.
Self-confessed media tart, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, with Stone Brothers Racing's David Besnard at today's launch in Brisbane
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A resolution between race organisers IMG and V8 governing body AVESCO will see the category return to the streets of Surfers Paradise on October 10-13 to compete for championship points, sharing equal billing with the penultimate round of the CART World Series.
The new showcase championship event, round eleven of the V8 Supercar series, offers 200 points in two 100km races, one each on Saturday and Sunday.
Gillette has secured naming-rights sponsorship of the event, to be known as the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge.
AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane announced the ‘Double Header’ weekend, along with Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and race organisers, outside Parliament House in Brisbane today.
“We are pleased that we have been able to enter into a brand-new arrangement with the Honda Indy 300 board, which provides the V8 Supercars and Champ Cars equal billing,” Cochrane said.
”We have always considered the event at Surfers Paradise would be a fantastic location to contest a championship round and after months of negotiations we are delighted with this outcome, especially for our fans.”
Mr Cochrane said the decision was logistically a difficult one, with an upgrade of the V8 Supercar paddock facilities and greater access to pitlane at the centre of negotiations.
Indy race Chairman, John Cowley said it was a win-win situation. With the uncertainty of the beleaguered CART series in America, which has been rocked by a number of team defections to a rival league and the imminent withdrawal of manufacturer support, enticing the ever-popular V8 Supercars back to the Gold Coast was believed crucial to the event’s longevity and continued prosperity.
“Both our organisation and AVESCO realise the enormous benefits of the V8 Supercars returning to the streets of Surfers Paradise,” Cowley said.
”The V8 Supercars have been an important part of our program for several years and the fact that they are returning to contest a round of the championship takes the show to a whole new level.”
The Gold Coast will be a crucial stop on the Supercar circuit, just two weeks after the V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst and the third-last event of the 13-round season.
Paul Radisich, a Gold Coast resident and former winner at Indy, said the annual parade around Surfers Paradise would heat up now that championship points are on offer.
“Indy has always been an enjoyable event, but this time I guess you could say it is for real,” he said.
”There is no doubt that the Surfers Paradise races are being held at a vital stage of the season and that fans are going to see a much more serious show and an even more entertaining one.”
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