More racing under lights at Sydney Supercars event

The Saturday encounter at Sydney Motorsport Park remains a night-time contest while Sunday’s race has been pushed back an hour to become a twilight affair, starting late in the afternoon.

The full schedule is yet to be confirmed, although Supercars Head of Television Nathan Prendergast believes the later finish will add to the spectacle.

“Night racing at Sydney Motorsport Park has become one of the highlights of the year, for fans and for viewers watching at home from around the globe,” said Prendergast.

“We believe this decision improves the overall quality of the on-track show and will bring fans fireworks at Sydney Motorsport Park as the winners cross the finish line in both races.”

While ‘Eastern Creek’ has had permanent lighting for the length of its traditional Gardner GP layout since 2020, Supercars has typically only held one night race per event at the Western Sydney venue.

The last time there were multiple night-time encounters was the second event of the four straight which took place at SMP in the back end of a heavily COVID-affected 2021 season.

In both 2022 and 2023, there was one Saturday night race and one on Sunday afternoon, if not in sunshine then at least in natural light.

This year’s format is unchanged, notwithstanding the schedule tweak, with both the Saturday and Sunday races being 200km long, and each preceded by Boost Mobile Qualifying and a Top 10 Shootout.

Friday practice is a single, 90-minute session, a schedule rolled out to multiple events this year.

The 2024 Sydney SuperNight takes place from July 19-21.