V8 Supercars Australia have unveiled the 2010 Championship Series Calendar.
The series’ organisers recently announced that next season’s championship would begin with a Middle East double-header in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. The addition of the Abu Dhabi race on the new Yas Marina Circuit and the moving of the Bahrain round to the top of the calendar, means that the series will kick off even earlier than usual, the opening event being slated for 20 February.
The earlier start means that the 15-round season will see nine rounds, plus the non-championship event supporting the Australian GP, take place before mid-June and a further six, culminating in the season finale at Sydney in December, taking place after a nine-week mid-season break.
Other calendar changes see the Falken Tasmania Challenge pushed back from this year’s date in May to December, while the Norton 360 Challenge at Sandown as also been pushed back to the more weather-friendly month of November. That means the BigPond Perth 300 moves up to June.
The Fujitsu V8 Supercar series, the feeder category for the main championship, will support V8 Supercars at seven rounds in 2010, visiting Adelaide, Queensland Raceway, Winton, Townsville, Bathurst, Sandown and Homebush.
2010 Provisional Calendar
Round 1 18 – 20 February Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Round 2 25 – 27 February Desert 400, Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
Round 3 11 – 14 March Clipsal 500, Adelaide Parklands, SA#
N/C Event 26 – 28 March Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, VIC
Round 4 16 – 18 April ITM Hamilton 400, Hamilton, NZ
Round 5 31 April – 2 May Queensland Raceway, QLD#*
Round 6 14 – 16 May Winton, VIC#
Round 7 4 – 6 June BigPond 300, Barbagallo, WA*
Round 8 18 – 20 June SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, NT
Round 9 9 – 11 July Dunlop Townsville 400, Townsville, QLD#
Round 10 10 – 12 Sept L&H 500, Phillip Island, VIC
Round 11 7 – 10 Oct Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Mt Panorama, NSW#
Round 12 21- 24 Oct SuperGP, Surfers Paradise, QLD
Round 13 5 – 7 Nov Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains, TAS
Round 14 19 – 21 Nov Norton 360 Sandown Challenge, Sandown, VIC#
Round 15 3 – 5 Dec Sydney Telstra 500, Homebush, NSW#
* = Provisional date
# = Fujitsu V8 series to support
Watch V8 Supercars action on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) in 2009 including the Bathurst 1000 LIVE on Saturday 10 October at 9pm (BST).
Andy Wilkinson
International
