V8 Supercars has announced that this year’s visit to Sydney Olympic Park will be its last.
The 2016 Coates Hire Sydney 500 will be the last time V8 Supercars race at the Sydney Olympic Park street circuit, which has been the venue for the season finale every year since its inception in 2009.
CEO James Warburton confirmed that the category will not renew its contract when it runs out at the end of 2016, revealing that other locations for the championship’s finale in 2017 were under consideration.
“We are continuing discussions with Destination NSW about the best location for 2017 and beyond but we believe the time is right to move from Sydney Olympic Park,” Warburton said.
The 2016 event will also move back a week from November 25-27 to its traditional date of December 2-4 to avoid a scheduling conflict with other events at the venue.
“We apologise to our fans for any inconvenience but we want to do everything we can to ensure this is one of the biggest events on the 2016 calendar,” Warburton said.
V8 Supercars will mark the final event at the circuit with special family ticket offers, including free general admission for all fans on the Friday of the event.
“We want to give something back to all the fans who have been part of the event at Sydney Olympic Park since 2009 in what we hope will be a fitting finale,” Warburton said.
While no new location for the 2017 event has been confirmed, talks to relocate the series-ending event to a proposed new street racing track in Gosford, 76km north of Sydney on the New South Wales central coast, are well-advanced.
