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Next year’s V8 Supercar championship looks set to start in the Middle East rather than Australia in one of the biggest calendar shake-ups in the series’ history.
Officials are seriously considering starting the 2010 season of Australia’s homegrown motor racing category overseas, with the first two events to be held in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
It would mean the traditional season-opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide would be the third race of an expanded 15-event championship, which would be shifted forward to start in February.
It is understood a deal confirming a race in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is close to being signed off – possibly within the next month.
If that happens, the Abu Dhabi event is set to run back-to-back with the existing Desert 400 in Bahrain to cut down on transport costs and time.
After the two Middle East races, the series would then move to Adelaide, which would keep its regular March timeslot.
V8 Supercars Australia refused to confirm whether it planned to start the 2010 season in the Middle East.
“Any speculation about the calendar is just that,” a spokesman said.
But a senior member of the Bahrain royal family was present at the Sandown V8 race last weekend, and is believed to have spoken with V8 officials about a February date for the 2010 Bahrain race.
Weather in the region is also much cooler in February, with average temperatures in the low-20s – making for more comfortable conditions for drivers.
The Abu Dhabi V8 event would be held at the spectacular new Formula One track, which is scheduled to host its inaugural F1 race in late October.
If next year’s V8 season does start in February, it is likely the championship will have a mid-season break similar to 2008 in which it went into hiatus during the Beijing Olympics to appease broadcaster, the Seven Network.
No events are facing the axe for 2010, with year-to-year propositions Queensland Raceway and Winton in north-east Victoria set to survive another season.
The V8s are also likely to return for another non-championship event as part of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne.
But confirmation has been complicated by the recent row surrounding a possible breakaway F1 series, which has delayed the release of the 2010 F1 calendar.
The 2010 V8 calendar is likely to be finalised next month.
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