Sydney SuperNight explained

The Sydney SuperNight (known for sponsorship reasons as the Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Sydney Motorsport Park in Eastern Creek, New South Wales. The event has been a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Championship, Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship—since 1992. Since 2018, this is the only active Supercars event held in metropolitan Sydney.[1]

In 2020, the event was held twice due to calendar changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] [3] In 2021, it was held four times in four consecutive weekends again due to the pandemic.[4]

Format

The event is held over two days, from Saturday to Sunday. Following two thirty-minute practice sessions on Saturday, a three-part knockout qualifying session determine the grid for the following 200 kilometre race. On Sunday, a single fifteen-minute qualifying session determine the grid for the following 140 km race.[5]

History

1990s

Opened in 1990 as Eastern Creek Raceway, the circuit hosted non-championship events before its first official ATCC event in 1992, including the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 and the Winfield Triple Challenge. John Bowe won both races of the inaugural championship event, holding on in a close battle with Tony Longhurst in the first race. In 1994, Peter Brock scored the first race and round victories in the ATCC for the Holden Racing Team. The 1996 event was held on the shorter 'North' version of the circuit, enabling the third race of the event to be held at night. Craig Lowndes won the event, becoming the first driver to win an ATCC round on debut since David McKay won the very first ATCC round in 1960. Russell Ingall and Steven Richards also made their ATCC debuts on that weekend.[6] The event was dropped from the calendar in 1998 but returned in 1999, a year which began a four-event winning streak for Mark Skaife and the Holden Racing Team at the event.

2000s

In the first race of the 2001 round, Greg Murphy was credited with a race win despite finishing third, after top two Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose were given post-race penalties for separate incidents. Murphy himself was then penalised for a jump start in the second race giving Skaife the race and round victory.[7] Ambrose ended the Holden Racing Team streak by winning in 2003, the first of two championship events the circuit would hold in 2003 and 2004, the second being the season finale. was won by Marcos Ambrose, who secured his first championship win in the process. The 2003 event is perhaps best remembered for an incident between Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife, which has since been dubbed the "race rage" incident or the "shriek at the creek".[8] Ingall and Skaife made contact exiting Turn 9 which resulted in Skaife being spun into the wall. Having parked his damaged car on the other side of the track, Skaife remained next to his car, waiting for Ingall to return on the following lap. Skaife walked towards the edge of the circuit, shaking his fist at Ingall, and Ingall responded by swerving towards Skaife. Ingall was disqualified from the event and both drivers were fined.[6]

In 2004's first round, Rick Kelly broke the record for the lowest starting position from which an ATCC or Supercars round had been won, winning from seventeenth on the grid in wet conditions. Lowndes and Garth Tander, who completed the podium, started sixteenth and fifteenth respectively in a very wet race. In 2004's finale, Ambrose claimed his second successive championship title in race shortened due to heavy rain. In 2005, Lowndes took the first Supercars race and round win for Triple Eight Race Engineering, before the event dropped off the calendar again in 2006. In winning the event in 2007, Skaife broke Peter Brock's long-standing record of 37 round victories in the ATCC and Supercars Championship, taking his 38th win which was also his final solo round win. His teammate Todd Kelly made it a one-two finish for the Holden Racing Team, while Jamie Whincup was disqualified from the third race for using illegal rear brake rotors. The event was held on the Queen's Birthday long weekend, with qualifying and the first race on Sunday and the final two races on the Monday. In 2008, Will Davison took his first Supercars round win and the first for Dick Johnson Racing since 2001. Eastern Creek was dropped from the calendar in 2009, with the Sydney event moving to the Homebush Street Circuit, known as the Sydney 500.

2010s

After hosting the series' pre-season test day in 2011, the renamed Sydney Motorsport Park returned to the Supercars calendar in 2012 as a late addition.[9] As part of the renovation and name change, the layout was slightly changed, with the kink at turn 6 removed. The circuit was again removed from the calendar in 2013 before returning in 2014. The 2014 and 2015 events included rain-affected races, with the events won by Shane van Gisbergen and Chaz Mostert respectively.[10] [11] In the 2016 event Jamie Whincup won his 100th championship race, defeating Craig Lowndes, who was driving in his record 600th championship race, in a race-long battle.[12] One year later, Whincup won his 106th championship race at the Sydney event, surpassing Lowndes' record of 105 wins.[13]

In 2018, the event format changed to feature a single 300 kilometre race at night, the first event under lights in the championship since the 2011 Yas V8 400 and the first in Australia since the 1997 Calder Park round.[14] [15] It was originally planned to use the 2.8km Druitt circuit, similar to what was used for the 1996 night event, however after further testing of the lighting system, it was decided that the 3.9km Gardner Circuit would be used, like all other previous events at the circuit.[16] [15] The race itself was won by van Gisbergen, who overtook Scott McLaughlin in a late race battle following a safety car.[17] The event was excluded from the schedule for the 2019 Supercars Championship, with an intention of returning to the calendar early in the 2020 season with permanent lights to be installed.[18]

2020s

As intended, the event was announced as part of the 2020 Supercars Championship, albeit retaining its previous August slot.[19] However, the event was then brought forward to June as the return race for the championship after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was run as a two-day daytime event run behind closed doors.[20] In addition to this, it was later announced the circuit will host a second event in 2020, as in 2003 and 2004. After the first of these was held, won by McLaughlin, a third day/night event at the circuit was scheduled for July 2020, to replace the Winton Super400 which was postponed due to further border restrictions caused by the pandemic.[3] The second 2020 event had dual tyre compounds which led to mixed race results, including the first championship race victory for Jack Le Brocq, due to high degradation and a limited tyre bank.[21] Despite the mixed results, McLaughlin again won the round.[22] The planned third event for the year was later cancelled.[23]

Winners

YearDriverTeamCarReport
1992 John BoweDick Johnson RacingFord Sierra RS500
1993 Glenn SetonGlenn Seton RacingFord EB Falcon
1994 Peter BrockHolden Racing TeamHolden VP CommodoreReport
1995 Mark SkaifeGibson MotorsportHolden VR Commodore
1996 Craig LowndesHolden Racing TeamHolden VR Commodore
1997 Glenn SetonGlenn Seton RacingFord EL Falcon
1998not held
1999 Mark SkaifeHolden Racing TeamHolden VT CommodoreReport
2000 Mark SkaifeHolden Racing TeamHolden VT Commodore
2001 Mark SkaifeHolden Racing TeamHolden VX CommodoreReport
2002 Mark SkaifeHolden Racing TeamHolden VX Commodore
2003 Marcos AmbroseStone Brothers RacingFord BA Falcon
Marcos AmbroseStone Brothers RacingFord BA Falcon
2004 Rick KellyKmart Racing TeamHolden VY Commodore
Marcos AmbroseStone Brothers RacingFord BA Falcon
2005 Craig LowndesTriple Eight Race EngineeringFord BA Falcon
2006not held
2007 Mark SkaifeHolden Racing TeamHolden VE CommodoreReport
2008 Will DavisonDick Johnson RacingFord BF FalconReport
2009

2011
not held
2012 Craig LowndesTriple Eight Race EngineeringHolden VE CommodoreReport
2013not held
2014 Shane van GisbergenTekno AutosportsHolden VF CommodoreReport
2015 Chaz MostertProdrive Racing AustraliaFord FG X FalconReport
2016 Jamie WhincupTriple Eight Race EngineeringHolden VF CommodoreReport
2017 Fabian CoulthardDJR Team PenskeFord FG X FalconReport
2018 Shane van GisbergenTriple Eight Race EngineeringHolden ZB CommodoreReport
2019not held
2020 Scott McLaughlinDJR Team PenskeFord Mustang GTReport
Scott McLaughlinDJR Team PenskeFord Mustang GT
2021 Shane van GisbergenTriple Eight Race EngineeringHolden ZB CommodoreReport
Anton de PasqualeDick Johnson RacingFord Mustang GT
Anton de PasqualeDick Johnson RacingFord Mustang GT
Shane van GisbergenTriple Eight Race EngineeringHolden ZB Commodore
2022 Chaz MostertWalkinshaw Andretti UnitedHolden ZB CommodoreReport
2023 Shane van GisbergenTriple Eight Race EngineeringChevrolet Camaro ZL1-1LEReport
2024 Chaz MostertWalkinshaw Andretti UnitedFord Mustang GTReport
Notes:

Multiple winners

By driver

WinsDriverYears
6 Mark Skaife1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007
5 Shane van Gisbergen2014, 2018, 2021-1, 2021-4, 2023
3 Marcos Ambrose2003-1, 2003-2, 2004-2
Craig Lowndes1996, 2005, 2012
Chaz Mostert2015, 2022, 2024
2 Glenn Seton1993, 1997
Scott McLaughlin2020-1, 2020-2
Anton de Pasquale2021-2, 2021-3

By team

WinsTeam
9Walkinshaw Andretti United
7Dick Johnson Racing
Triple Eight Race Engineering
3Stone Brothers Racing
2Glenn Seton Racing

By manufacturer

WinsManufacturer
16Holden
15Ford
Notes

Event names and sponsors

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Night racing here to stay, so where should the Supercars target next?. The Roar. 7 August 2018. 9 August 2018.
  2. News: Supercars announce changes to draft 2020 calendar . 19 June 2020 . Supercars . 19 June 2020 . en.
  3. News: McAlpine . Heath . Supercars Confirm SMP, Night Racing and Crowd Return . 3 July 2020 . Auto Action . 2 July 2020 . en-AU.
  4. News: McCarthy . Dan . SUPERCARS CONFIRMS SMP QUADRUPLE HEADER . 31 October 2021 . . 24 September 2021 . en-AU.
  5. https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/sydney-supernight-format-twist-for-2023/ Sydney format twist for first ever Gen3 night race
  6. Book: The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years . Greenhalgh . David . Howard . Graham . Wilson . Stewart . Chevron Publishing Group . 2011 . 978-0-9805912-2-4 . St Leonards, New South Wales.
  7. News: Lacy . Justin . Ford snatches defeat from the jaws of victory . 25 June 2020 . GoAuto . 30 April 2001 . en.
  8. Web site: Ingall and Skaife: Ford Falcon vs Holden Commodore final showdown. Kirby. Cameron. 25 August 2016. Wheels Magazine. 14 August 2017.
  9. News: Eastern Creek added to 2012 V8 Supercars calendar . . Bartholomaeus . Stefan . 22 April 2012 . 23 July 2015.
  10. News: Van Gisbergen does the double at SMP . Speedcafe . Howard . Tom . 23 August 2014 . 23 July 2015.
  11. Web site: Chaz Mostert wins rain hit Sydney finale. Bartholomaeus. Stefan. 23 August 2015. Speedcafe. 10 August 2017.
  12. Web site: Holden's Jamie Whincup wins to reach Supercars ton. Fogarty. Mark. 28 August 2016. The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 August 2017.
  13. Web site: Whincup downplays Supercars milestone. Howard. Tom. 20 August 2017. Speedcafe. 20 August 2017.
  14. Web site: Sydney night race to join 2018 Supercars calendar. Howard. Tom. 3 October 2017. Speedcafe. 4 October 2017.
  15. News: SuperNight to run on full Sydney Circuit. supercars.com. 9 June 2018.
  16. News: Short circuit for SMP Supercars night race. Speedcafe.com. 25 April 2018.
  17. Web site: Van Gisbergen wins Sydney SuperNight thriller. Herrero. Dan. 5 August 2018. Speedcafe. 5 August 2018.
  18. Web site: Calendar revealed for 2019 Supercars Championship. Supercars. Mitchell. Adam. 11 October 2018. 11 October 2018.
  19. News: Supercars drops QR, Phillip Island in revised 2020 calendar. Tom. Howard. speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. 28 August 2019. 28 August 2019.
  20. Web site: Sydney to host first event back. Supercars. Connor. O'Brien. 16 May 2020. 16 May 2020.
  21. News: van Leeuwen . Andrew . Percat and first-time winner Le Brocq take Sydney Supercars spoils . 15 August 2020 . . 19 July 2020 . en.
  22. News: van Leeuwen . Andrew . McLaughlin unfazed by lack of formal round win . 15 August 2020 . . 22 July 2020 . en.
  23. News: Chapman . Simon . Supercars confirms double-header at The Bend . 30 August 2020 . Speedcafe . 30 August 2020.
  24. News: New sponsor for Sydney SuperNight. Speedcafe. Herrero. Daniel. 30 May 2024. 30 May 2024.