Newcastle council makes call on Supercars street race return

Council last night discussed a motion put forward by councillor Callum Pull, who had declared a desire to see the Newcastle 500 revived.

First run in the city’s east end in 2017, the event was quashed by the council three years ago following a community consultation survey.

The event was discontinued despite ongoing support from the New South Wales state government’s Destination NSW tourism arm and Supercars.

Councillor Pull declared last month he wanted to test the waters for a Newcastle 500 return, which was discussed by council on Tuesday night.

“Council unanimously supported an amended notice of motion to reaffirm City of Newcastle’s previous resolutions of October and November 2023 that Council supports retaining Supercars in the Hunter region through a regional model,” read a council resolutions summary.

“The motion confirmed that Council does not support reinstating the Newcastle 500 street circuit in Newcastle.”

The Newcastle 500’s axing was followed by a proposal for a ‘Wine Country 500’ on roads in nearby Cessnock.

That proposal, put forward by now former Cessnock Mayor Jay Suvaal, has so far failed to gain significant support.

According to Newcastle Labor councillor Declan Clausen, there is a need to service motorsport fans in the region without having the impact on residents endured by the Newcastle 500.

“There are a number of potential alternate locations that have been raised periodically, including by Supercars themselves, but also by neighbouring councils,” Clausen said via Newcastle’s 2HD.

“That includes ideas like a Wine Country 500 in Cessnock, or an event at the new Circuit Italia racetrack in Port Stephens, or indeed something on the Central Coast.

“The motion that I took to Council recognised that there were real benefits that came from the Supercars event for Newcastle, but also that there were impacts and that Newcastle East disproportionately felt those impacts as a result of the way that the street circuit was run.”

Supercars has made clear it wants a new marquee street race in NSW to replace Newcastle, which took over the fixture from Sydney Olympic Park.

CEO James Warburton has flagged Wollongong and the Central Coast as potential destinations, with the aim of having a new event up and running by 2028.