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Yup – in the lead-up to last weekend, the question was once again being asked as to whether V8 Supercars should or shouldn’t be on the Australian Grand Prix support card.
And I’ll come straight out and say it. V8s need to be at Albert Park in 2025.
That’s not without caveats though. First and foremost, the lack of general admission access to the Supercars paddock was thoughtless and disrespectful towards teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans alike.
At the other end of the infield, the layout was such that all and sundry could, rightly, enjoy access to the Porsche paddock as well as wide open, green, fan areas giving that part of the precinct a much better atmosphere than the enclosure around Supercars, Formula 3, and the back of the Formula 2 pit lane.
Surely the AGP Corporation cannot be so inconsiderate that they will deny supporters the chance to meet V8 drivers and see the cars up close, assuming that Supercars return in 2025? Let’s hope not.
Better planning and layout of the area behind the F1 paddock is needed to improve the fan experience, not only for Supercars but also for access to the F2 and 3 cars. Fencing everything off for support categories might be the European way, but it’s not the Australian way and will, ultimately, lead to disappointment for GA ticket holders.
The other change needed is access to more racing track time. Surely, F1 and the AGPC can see a way to allowing longer slots for the Supercar races? Four x 45-minute slots is clearly achievable if there’s a will on all sides. Then we’d have at least the potential for 20-lap races.
Of course, Supercars should also maximise the time slots that they are given. As I mentioned 12 months ago, the cars could go straight to the grid from the collecting area and thereby remove the long, time consuming, out lap. This is what Porsche always do, and they had 15-lap (rather than 14-) races scheduled for the same length time slots as Supercars were given for Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, the messing around with grid media activities pre-race on Saturday would be better used for racing laps.
These issues apart, the presence of V8s at the AGP definitely added to the event. I couldn’t quantify exactly what their participation adds in terms of revenue from ticket and hospitality sales, but the current F1 popularity bubble may not last forever, at least at this level, and Supercars just might prove to be once again as important to the AGP weekend as they undoubtedly were some 15 years ago. Never forget where you came from. The AGPC would do well to remember that.
It was notable that the reports from Albert Park on Monday morning in the Australian Financial Review included a piece on the Supercars Sunday race. That’s unheard of, and was great recognition of the category. That further underlines the value of participation.
V8s also give the Grand Prix a uniquely Australian flavour at a time when so many GPs appear homogenous. Isn’t that something that is in everyone’s interests to preserve, including F1 owners Liberty?
The actual racing itself was, Saturday’s major Race 3 incident apart, superb. Albert Park lends itself to great racing in these cars. Up and down the field, there was action aplenty. One Safety Car period across four races was a pretty good outcome, even if the incident that led to it was unfortunate and avoidable, to say the least.
Of course, without full access to the old Supercars pit lane, pit stops were always going to be out of the question. But that was a positive, not a negative. Simple, straightforward races where what you see is what you get. Like MotoGP, for instance! Anyone can follow it, including a spectator base that probably wasn’t that V8-savvy.
I’ve long maintained that we overcomplicate our racing much of the time, with rules like the minimum fuel drop. Last weekend showed that pure, unadulterated, races should play a part in the Supercars season. Hard compound tyres are available that will last as long as a tank of fuel. At some tracks, even the Soft compound would last.
But whichever compound is used, tyres will always benefit from good driver management and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn’t lead to rolling right out of the throttle to the extent that we saw at Bathurst last year.
In fact, getting rid of compulsory pit stops at all non-fuel races needs investigating. Note, I didn’t say no pit stops, just no compulsory ones. The AGP is clearly a unique situation where pit stops are no longer feasible, but normal Sprint rounds could have zero CPSs. Of course, teams could choose to stop, with the clear pros and cons of doing so. This approach would potentially bring plenty of jeopardy into race outcomes, depending upon circumstances. Everything from track temperature to Safety Cars and driver-induced tyre degradation would come into play. Fewer rules, not more.
And, if everyone can get their heads around that, then move on to all races having zero compulsory stops. Apparently, the fuel consumption is pretty much identical between the two brands of engine now, so who needs CPSs? Just go racing.
But let’s get back to Albert Park. Putting aside the previously mentioned issue of fan access, the V8 paddock was actually perfectly adequate from a working environment standpoint. It was a case of back to the future for the more experienced team members as it wasn’t very different from those pre-2009 days before the second pit lane was built. The cars fed out into the collecting area on the outside of the penultimate corner, just as they used to years ago. It all worked pretty well, and not having those pit lane garages didn’t really matter once it was accepted that there would be no pit stops.
The Australian Grand Prix is a massive event by any measure. The fan numbers were huge over the weekend. Those spectator statistics are justification enough for Supercars to continue to attend. Throw in the great vision of the cars racing through the long sweeping bends on the back of the Albert Park track, and there’s still reasons aplenty for being there.
Please, just sort out the paddock layout and access plus the race lengths. Then crack on with the show. And what a great show it is, with the right formats, despite the off-track issues.
