Winton Motor Raceway is pushing for a return to a three-day Supercars format as it seeks a new deal to remain on the 2020 calendar.
Last weekend saw a new streamlined format trialled at the Victorian circuit with Supercars action only on Saturday and Sunday instead of the traditional three days.
It is understood the decision to condense the Supercars action to two days was made relieve the pressure on teams in the lead up to the event and in turn save costs.
The format did however heap pressure on the teams come Saturday and Sunday with both days featuring practice, qualifying and a race.
However, circuit operators the Benalla Auto Club (BAC) wishes to return to Supercars action on three days to offer fans something extra on Fridays in an effort to improve crowds.
This year’s event was the last of its current deal with Supercars with a format change part of its proposal for a new agreement to remain on the 2020 calendar.
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“There were extensive negotiations involved with us going from a three day to a two event,” BAC CEO Chris Lewis-Williams told Speedcafe.com.
“We were surprised when it was announced like that. We certainly made our feelings known that we were disappointed in how that happened.
“To their credit, Supercars realised they didn’t handle the communications as well as they could of and I think they’ll take the feedback onboard.
“It seems strange to have so many of the guys here (on Thursday).
“We could do support categories on Friday morning, and then some Supercars stuff on Friday afternoon, so the guys don’t have to get on the late Thursday flight or the early Friday plane.
“But most of them are up here doing corporate stuff anyway.
“I’d like to hope we go back to three-day events, and that will be the discussion we have going forward.
“We’ve expressed our desire to be on the calendar, and we’ve got the support of the Victorian government and also Truck Assist’s partnership, which is with Supercars.
“We’ve put our hand up and we’d love one, but we won’t do it to lose money for the club.
“If we can partner with Supercars and the government to make sure we at least break even, we’ll continue to run an event.”
The condensed format drew mixed reviews from teams with Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards unsure if it was a success.
“The jury is out a bit for me,” said Edwards.
“Unfortunately, we unloaded the trucks on Thursday, so we’re all here, and it made Friday a day of just standing around almost wondering why we weren’t on track.
“The output of it might be we need to unload the trucks on Friday if we do a two-day meeting in the future.
“We will sit down and discuss it at the Commission, and decide whether it worked or it didn’t.”
Triple Eight team manager Mark Dutton admitted it did allow crews flexibility in travelling to races, but ultimately believes a two-day scheduled is best suited for night races.
“I totally see the reason for a two-day event, because (on) Friday a lot of people have to work, and it’s an extra day of circuit hire,” Dutton told Speedcafe.com.
“But I think that the two-day format is better suited to a night event where you space the day, you don’t start so early because then the teams don’t have to finish late and start early, and then the fans don’t have to get up and be locked in for a full, big, heavy day, which means they can’t do anything else.”
However, Penrite Racing CEO Barry Ryan was far more positive suggesting he would like to see more events adopt the format.
“I’d have it every weekend,” Ryan told Speedcafe.com.
“I think the crowd looked good. There was still a crowd here Friday anyway because they camp here.
“I think you’ve just got to be careful we don’t alienate a crowd for three days and make sure there’s some action and really good support categories on the Friday.”
Meanwhile, Supercars claims the two-day format proved a hit with television audiences, reporting a 30 percent increase in its viewer numbers on Saturday.
Scott McLaughlin’s win in the opening Winton race was watched by a peak of 164,000 viewers with a reach of 214,000 for the day on preliminary figures, not including streaming numbers on Kayo Sports.
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