V8 calendar release confirms Bathurst 12H clash

V8 Supercars has released its 2015 calendar, officially confirming the clash between its pre-season Sydney test and the Bathurst 12 Hour.

As had been expected since June, the compulsory Sydney Motorsport Park pre-season test has been expanded to two days and is locked in for the February 7-8 weekend.

The move comes in the first year of V8 Supercars’ Fox Sports/Network Ten media rights deal and coincides with incumbent V8 broadcaster Seven picking up the 12 Hour.

The Seven deal was struck after Bathurst 12 Hour organisers knocked back a proposal from V8 Supercars that would have seen the GT race’s television package produced by V8 Media and broadcast on Fox Sports.

The bulk of the Sydney test will take place on the Saturday, with Fox Sports then televising a live livery reveal session, more test running, a fan track walk and new ‘SuperShootout’ on the Sunday.

The Shootout will include a timed lap, a pitstop for tyres and a closing lap for each car, with the fastest declared the winner.

Network Ten will show a one-hour highlights package of the test on the Sunday afternoon, while both days will feature free track entry for fans.

“It is a grand season opening launch, the style of which has never been seen in our sport,” V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton said in the calendar announcement.

“It’s about giving the teams more time for the most important test of the year and at the same time allowing maximum interaction and engagement with fans.”

Warburton recently told Speedcafe.com that the category makes no apologies for its stance on the 12 Hour, which has previously benefited from the presence of high-profile V8 drivers.

“We will always proudly support our stars, but we don’t need to be apologetic or explain ourselves in doing the best thing for our category,” he said when asked of V8 Supercars’ attitude towards its drivers racing in other categories.

“Our teams and drivers understand their obligations and commitment and to do so goes without saying.”

While the conflict rules full-time V8 Supercars drivers out of the Bathurst 12 Hour, those eyeing the Le Mans 24 Hours will be pleased to see that no V8 events have been scheduled on either the test or race weekends of the French classic.

As previously reported, the 2015 V8 Supercars schedule is largely unchanged from this season.

A shifting of the New Zealand date from April to November is the biggest change, while the Barbagallo and Winton events have been shuffled to fill the resulting gap.

NZ’s Pukekohe event now slots in between the Gold Coast and Phillip Island races ahead of the traditional Sydney Olympic Park finale.

Albert Park remains listed as a non-championship event, although discussions to make it a points paying round are understood to be ongoing.

V8 Supercars has meanwhile confirmed that each Super Sprint event will feature 120 minutes of practice on Fridays to incorporate team testing.

“It made sense that instead of testing away from the fans to combine Friday practice and allow teams the ability to adopt testing procedures as required,” Warburton underlined.

“That achieves two key objectives: more V8 Supercars on track for the fans and reducing the high costs to teams of testing away from race meetings.”

Other format tweaks include a return of the twin 200km race schedule at Townsville after an extra 50km was added to each race for 2014.

The Adelaide and Sydney 500s will retain the twin 125km Saturday format seen this season, while the Super Sprint format used at eight rounds continues to be made up of two Saturday sprints and a 200km Sunday finale.

2015 V8 Supercars Championship calendar

*Non championship event and date to be confirmed