Following the success of the inaugural Sydney SuperNight 300, the event may become a permanent fixture on the Supercars calendar, while night racing may be implemented at other championship races.
The reformatted event, at Eastern Creek, was to be the first Supercars race under lights at the venue since 1996, the first in Australia since Calder Park in 1997, and the first anywhere since the season-opening Abu Dhabi event in 2011.
It was seen as the sport’s response to formats introduced by cricket (Twenty20), rugby league (nines), rugby union (sevens), tennis (Fast4), and, more recently, the AFL (AFLX).
A practice session was held on Friday night and another on Saturday afternoon, then three phases of qualifying in the twilight, before the main race starting at 7:25pm.
Before the main race, each of the drivers were introduced, with the loudest cheers being reserved for Craig Lowndes, who announced last month that he would retire at the end of this year.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Nearly 34,000 spectators, including myself, attended the event, with only the AFL match between the Sydney Swans and Collingwood played some 50km away at the SCG drawing more spectators (close to 40,000).
The most disappointing aspect was the fact that the race wasn’t televised live on free-to-air, with Channel Ten only showing a two-hour highlights package on Sunday afternoon, some 18 hours after the race had concluded.
Fans aren’t happy with the lack of free-to-air coverage, with only seven races (Adelaide, Melbourne, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Newcastle) available to those without Foxtel.
By contrast, when Channel Seven had the rights between 2007-14, most (if not all) of the races were shown live, switching to the secondary channel 7mate in the southern states whenever it clashed with the AFL.
The success of the reformatted Sydney event, which is set to be retained for many years to come so long that it continues to be a success, is set to raise questions and ideas about where night-time racing should be trialled next.
An ideal event to trial this next would be the Gold Coast 600, which is raced around the streets of Surfers Paradise and would not only be easily accessible, but also be viewed from the balconies of the surrounding buildings.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
As that event has two races, as opposed to the single event seen at Eastern Creek over the weekend, the first race would be held on the Saturday evening, maximising attendances and television ratings, while the second race would remain in its Sunday afternoon slot.
It would be Australian motorsport’s answer to Formula One’s Singapore Grand Prix, which has been held under lights since it moved to the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 2008. The night-time race was implemented so that it could be televised live at a respectable time to European audiences.
As Channel Ten has the rights to televise the Gold Coast event live, the Saturday night race would not have to go head-to-head with any other major sporting events, as the AFL and NRL seasons would have finished by then.
However, the A-League season, to which Ten has the rights to televise the Saturday night match via its secondary channel One in conjunction with Foxtel, would be into its early rounds.
Also, by this point of the calendar year, daylight saving would have kicked in, meaning the Saturday night race would start at 6:25pm local time (7:25pm in Sydney and Melbourne) with the race likely to take around two hours, as was the case at Eastern Creek.
A future night race on the Gold Coast, whether it is one race or two, would also boost the region’s economy and come hot on the heels of the success generated by this year’s Commonwealth Games.
After the success generated by the reformatted Sydney SuperNight 300, the event is here to stay.
Where do you think Supercars should next trial night racing?
anon
Roar Pro
It's too hard to watch on TV because of the headlights. They need the circuit illuminated properly otherwise it detracts from the spectacle.
woodart
Guest
maybe circuit racing should look at the two big motorsports, speedway and drag racing, two totally different motorsports in just about every way....except they both realise that night racing is the way to go. get the crowd in , dont muck around, give them a show, leave them wanting more.engines make way more horsepower when the sun goes down, the backfires are more spectacular, and the colours of the cars stand out under the lights.
Avatar
Roar Guru
Yeah I'd love to see the Supercars race in Singapore one day, though take note that the Singapore Grand Prix takes place in mid-September and it would be about three or four weeks before the Bathurst 1000. And while it would be a twilight affair as you pointed out, it would be perfect for the Australian east coast audience for the fact it would be televised into our prime time. I agree that having one of the two Gold Coast races under lights would be exciting, it would add another dimension to the sport and offer something of a rock concert-feel to it. As you pointed out, it would remain two races, but you also repeated what I had proposed: the Saturday race at night and the Sunday race in the afternoon. If that proposal becomes successful, then in the future a Saturday night race and a Sunday afternoon race could become the norm at the majority of future events such as the Adelaide 500 and the Newcastle 500, which is still only in its infancy. It would also boost the popularity of the Supercars as a whole in terms of television ratings, attendances and revenue. Just a shame that we only get a limited number of extensive coverage on FTA, though.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Hard to say yet where else we'll see night racing locally. I do hope that the proposed undercard to the Singapore Grand Prix does happen, even though the prime-time slot on our TVs will be more like a twilight affair. Turning the Gold Coast 600 into a night race would also be pretty exciting and would turn what is already a difficult endurance race into a more harder contest. Perhaps keep the event as a two-race meeting, but have the 300km Saturday leg under lights and then the Sunday race as per normal.
Max danger
Guest
Coober Pedy or Kalgoorlie