2024 Supercars calendar details fall into place

Some big clues about the shape of the 2024 Supercars calendar have been given by the release of that of Formula 1.

The World Drivers’ Championship is set to be contested over 24 rounds next year, although it is two which are of interest in a Supercars context.

Obviously the first is the Australian Grand Prix, which will be held on the weekend of Sunday, March 24.

The other is the Singapore Grand Prix, the subject of support category ambitions for some time now, which has been set down for the weekend of Sunday, September 22.

While the release of the 2024 Supercars calendar could be some months off, the ‘tentpoles’ have now fallen into place.

Championship CEO Shane Howard wants to be back at the AGP, notwithstanding relegation to third-string support category this year, behind the Formula 2 and Formula 3 World Championships.

Logically, then, Albert Park would be Event 2 of the 2024 season.

However, with Australia’s F1 event taking place a week earlier than it did this year, it is more likely than not that Event 1 of the Supercars calendar would likewise shift.

Based on recent comments to Speedcafe by Howard, the Newcastle 500 thus appears likely for the weekend of Sunday, March 3.

Looking to the middle of the year, the Hidden Valley event should wrap up on Sunday, June 16, the weekend after the King’s Birthday public holiday in the Northern Territory (and elsewhere).

The timing of the NTI Townsville 500 is similarly determined by climate and public holidays, meaning another three-week (Sunday to Sunday) turnaround next year with that event concluding on July 7.

That is the day before the students of the Townsville State High School which fronts the Reid Park Street Circuit’s main straight are due back in the classroom for next year’s third Queensland school term.

Race day at the Bathurst 1000 will move back from October 8 to October 13 given 2024 is a leap year and Labour Day in New South Wales next year is Monday, October 7.

The latter is of significance because the National Rugby League Grand Final’s customary timing is nowadays the eve of Labour Day and, assuming it is not sold elsewhere, will take place in the NSW capital of Sydney.

Bathurst’s date points to a Gold Coast 500 on the weekend of Sunday, October 27 or November 3, and then the year’s last day of racing at the Adelaide 500, which is contractually entitled to host the season finale, on November 24.

Less can be predicted about the other events on the 2024 Supercars calendar, including which events they will be and when they might fall.

However, the date of the Singapore Grand Prix is a major obstacle for Supercars’ hopes of racing there.

Having only revived the Sandown 500 this year, a move welcomed wholeheartedly by drivers and fans, going to Singapore would require discarding tradition of a 500km enduro as a warm-up for the Great Race immediately.

Furthermore, it would be a risky proposition to fly cars offshore to a street circuit and then fly them back with less than three weeks to get ready for the category’s crown jewel.

That means the Sandown 500 is likely to keep a mid-September slot, and thus the likelihood of two – or perhaps three – events between Townsville and Sandown, which are those of Sydney Motorsport Park and The Bend this year.

Assuming no drop-offs, one must also consider Perth’s Wanneroo, a new contract for which was announced in May, as well as Symmons Plains and what Speedcafe understands is now the virtual certainty of the addition of Taupo, on New Zealand’s North Island.

Symmons Plains had been earmarked for a return to late-March after this year’s frigid May event but the Australian Grand Prix renders that a near impossibility, while Taupo owner Tony Quinn nominated April or perhaps October as likely dates for the stop on the other side of the Tasman.

Those considerations create a relative logjam in April and May, although the following would appear feasible: Symmons Plains on April 7, Taupo on April 21, and Wanneroo on May 19.

Wanneroo and Hidden Valley on consecutive events has not been done since 2014, when the turnaround was five weeks (Sunday to Sunday), with the aforementioned dates making for a four-week turnaround under this hypothetical.

Alternatively, the Perth stop could be shifted forward to May 12, providing more breathing space between the long hauls across the Nullarbor and, for the southern-based teams, up the Red Centre.

The other option is to shoehorn one of Symmons Plains, Taupo, and Wanneroo between the Gold Coast and the season finale, which would be reminiscent of pre-2020 calendars.

Either way, it leaves 13 events for the 2024 Supercars calendar, down on RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold’s stated goal of 15, which includes Singapore, but matches the floor which Howard has loosely set.

This weekend’s NTI Townsville 500 is just the sixth event of the 2023 season, despite the calendar having ticked into July already.

Predicted 2024 Supercars calendar