V8 Supercars have revealed a twilight schedule for Saturday’s final race of the 2014 Clipsal 500 Adelaide and a move away from the traditional two 250km race format.
The 2014 Season-opener will be split into three races with Saturday’s itinerary featuring two separate 125 kilometre races (39 laps) finishing at sunset and a 250km race on Sunday.
Race organisers announced the details of the Super Street format at the official event launch in Adelaide, the first major changes to the race format in the event’s 15-year history.
The first 125km race will start at 3.30pm local time and finish just before 5pm, with the twilight race scheduled to start at 6.30pm and finish at 7.30pm as the sun sets.
Sunday’s format remains the same with Qualifying and a Top 10 Shootout preceding the final 250km race in its customary afternoon time-slot.
“With the new racing format, fans will get to see two V8 Supercar race starts, two finishes, and the drivers going flat out with valuable Championship points awarded for each 125 kilometre race on Saturday afternoon and evening,” said Clipsal 500 CEO Mark Warren.
“Next year’s race will also see the debut of Volvo into the competition which is another first for Adelaide.”
V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton has been pushing the twilight race concept and says the Adelaide event is a key pillar to V8 Supercars’ future.
“It’s appropriate that the mighty Clipsal 500 sets the tone for the 2014 season, as it has done for the last 16 years,” said Warburton.
“The Clipsal 500 is without doubt one of this country’s most successful and remarkable entertainment events.”
The drivers will get their first taste of the twilight format at this season’s finale, the Sydney 500, the first event to trial the format, with the Saturday race getting underway at 5:10pm and finishing at 7:30pm EDT.
The 2014 Clipsal 500 Adelaide runs from 27 February to 2 March.
