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Between a live Supercars title fight, a packed support card and plenty of off-track action, the 2023 Vailo Adelaide 500 is shaping up as unmissable.
A Supercars champion will be crowned
The Supercars season will conclude on the famous Adelaide street circuit on November 23-26, with a champion to be crowned.
Just who that champion will be is still undecided with the series live heading into the decider for the first time since 2018.
In the box seat to claim a maiden crown is exciting young talent Brodie Kostecki. In just his third season as a full-time Supercars driver, he and the underdog Erebus team are on the cusp of something amazing – toppling the seemingly unstoppable Shane van Gisbergen/Triple Eight combination.
Kostecki holds a 131-point lead over van Gisbergen heading to Adelaide, although the Kiwi can never be discounted. He will be desperate to snatch one last title before he heads to NASCAR next year.
And if he does win, the celebrations will surely be wild. Remember that epic burnout while he was standing on top of his car in Adelaide last year?
The teams’ championship is still up for grabs as well with Erebus holding a narrow lead over bitter rivals T8.
Packed support category action
It’s not just Supercars that will be providing on-track thrills and spills across the four days of the Vailo Adelaide 500.
The event features one of the most stacked undercards of the season with no less than six categories joining Supercars.
The Dunlop Series features the second and third tiers of Supercars, with a number of exciting young drivers making names for themselves this year. Zak Best will be looking to seal his maiden Super2 crown, while Ryan Wood and Aaron Love will make their last starts in the series before moving up to Supercars next season.
A Porsche Carrera Cup champion will be crowned as well with little separating Jackson Walls and Callum Hedge heading into the finale.
Some of the most exotic racing machines in the country will be in action in GT World Challenge Australia, while there will be plenty of V8 power in the Touring Car Masters series, a recreation of a bygone era of touring car racing.
The V8 fun continues with the S5000 open-wheelers – a nod to the old days of Formula 1 racing in Adelaide – and the V8 SuperUte series.
Grandstand comfort
There’s not a bad seat in the house at the Vailo Adelaide 500 with eight grandstands in total. But here’s our favourite three stands to choose from.
BARRY SHEENE PIT STRAIGHT GRANDSTAND
This grandstand runs for full length of pit straight, providing pole-position views of the cars on the grid, as they roll through the pits and battle for the chequered flag.
New shade structures have been constructed for this year’s event, ensuring 80 per cent of seats are covered all day. Even those described as uncovered are expected to have some shade during the two main Supercars races.
Single-day tickets for Friday, Saturday or Sunday are offered in 2023 as well as four-day ticket options.
Aside from having prime track viewing, the Barry Sheene Pit Straight Grandstand is also located next to major car displays for the Kindig Custom Car Show and MG 100-year anniversary car display, while younger fans can enjoy riding on the maii Pedal Circuit.
HAIRPIN GRANDSTAND
Get in quick to secure a grandstand ticket at the hairpin, as it is so popular among fans that some seating options have sold out. A limited number of single-day and four-day grandstand seats that are uncovered are available.
Fans choose to sit in this grandstand as it offers excellent views of drivers struggling to control their car into this last corner of the circuit, while it also is a good place to see drivers passing each other for position.
Hairpin grandstand seats are also situated close to a feature race paddock and the Motorsport Hub where fans can learn more about how to participate in motorsport, from officiating to entry-level categories such as karting and Hyundai Excels.
INSIDE CHICANE (UNCOVERED)
Catch all the action in the chicane from a dedicated seat that provides a bird’s eye view of the race cars jostling over the kerbs and wrestling each other for on-track position – with those coming unstuck ending up sideways or beached in the gravel.
It is a great choice particularly for those new to grandstand seating, as they can purchase a single-day seat and absorb the first corners of the circuit that always provide breathtaking moments for fans as well as drivers. Four-day tickets are also offered.
These ticketholders also have the easiest access to all activities inside the racing circuit, with the Supercars paddock a short walk one way, and a feature race paddock and the concert oval the other. Many food and beverage vendors and other facilities are located right behind this grandstand.
Aside from having a reserved seat located in a prime viewing location, grandstand seats come with a stack of other benefits.
GOLD ZONE
Each grandstand ticketholder has access to the Gold Zone, a dedicated area surrounding the grandstand where racegoers can relax away from their seats.
Here they can enjoy exclusive access to food and beverage vendors and other facilities.
VAILO SUPERSCREENS
Every grandstand has a VAILO Superscreen in prime view to ensure ticketholders do not miss a minute of the action when race cars are at other parts of the circuit.
Soak up the atmosphere
Vailo Adelaide 500 organisers are ramping up corporate hospitality suite offerings for 2023, drawing inspiration from the F1 Paddock Club. The brand new Piper-Heidsieck Club Eleven facility is located across two levels with sweeping panoramic views across the track and will be one of the hot spots to watch all the racing.
There is also the Garden Bar and Turn 11.
Get your groove on
When the racing stops, the party keeps going at the Vailo Adelaide 500.
There is an unbelievable line-up of music acts, starting with DJ SVVLO and Carl Cox & Eric Powell’s Mobile Disco on Friday evening.
Saturday is Aussie rock night with Puree, Mum’s Favourite, Australian Rock Collective, The Screaming Jets, Baby Animals and Icehouse.
It all comes to a thrilling end of Sunday evening with Rob Edwards, Lufthaus, Sneaky Sound System, Gaz Coombes and the big one, Robbie Williams.
Speedcafe has a paid partnership with the Vailo Adelaide 500.
