Skaife’s V8 Super Cars Will Star At Gold Coast SuperCarnivale
February 12th 2010 07:35
Following eighteen years of Indy cars, and last years A1 SuperGP no show, the V8 SuperCars are set to steal the spotlight at the 2010 Gold Coast SuperCarnivale in October. Five time V8 SuperCar Champion Mark Skaife met with SuperCarnivale GM Shane Howard and engineering boss John Howe this morning to go over the changes to the track, which will be reduced from 4.47 kilometres to 2.8.
With track design experience on New Zealand’s Hamilton street circuit, the Townsville 400 and Sydney’s Telstra 500, Skaifey was the ideal candidate to help reconfigure the Gold Coast Circuit. Skaife never missed a race on the Gold Coast until he retired in 2008, and had podium finishes in 2003 and 2005.
“We have looked at the engineering maps and walked sections of the track. With this shortening plus the inclusion of new grandstands and general admission areas, the atmosphere will be enhanced,” Skaife said.
“I think the fans and racers alike will be very happy with this new design.”
The truncated event reduces construction and dismantling time by five weeks and saves over 5 million dollars, a win for the fans, the teams, the locals and the taxpayers. In a new addition to the programme, twenty nine regular V8 SuperCar drivers will take to the track accompanied by 18 international guest racers, with one in each team, for the third endurance event of the 2010 V8 SuperCar season
“We’ve tried to make the circuit as open and raceable as possible, with more overtaking opportunities,” Skaife said, “and the cars will be going faster into the beach chicane.”
I asked him if there would be more or less crashes.
“Theres always gunna be a lot of crashes,” he said, “If you make a mistake at this level of racing, it’s unforgiving.”
"It's what we do, mate!"
With track design experience on New Zealand’s Hamilton street circuit, the Townsville 400 and Sydney’s Telstra 500, Skaifey was the ideal candidate to help reconfigure the Gold Coast Circuit. Skaife never missed a race on the Gold Coast until he retired in 2008, and had podium finishes in 2003 and 2005.
“We have looked at the engineering maps and walked sections of the track. With this shortening plus the inclusion of new grandstands and general admission areas, the atmosphere will be enhanced,” Skaife said.
“I think the fans and racers alike will be very happy with this new design.”
The truncated event reduces construction and dismantling time by five weeks and saves over 5 million dollars, a win for the fans, the teams, the locals and the taxpayers. In a new addition to the programme, twenty nine regular V8 SuperCar drivers will take to the track accompanied by 18 international guest racers, with one in each team, for the third endurance event of the 2010 V8 SuperCar season
“We’ve tried to make the circuit as open and raceable as possible, with more overtaking opportunities,” Skaife said, “and the cars will be going faster into the beach chicane.”
I asked him if there would be more or less crashes.
“Theres always gunna be a lot of crashes,” he said, “If you make a mistake at this level of racing, it’s unforgiving.”
"It's what we do, mate!"
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