The name and formula for the exciting four-day motor sport carnival held each October on the streets of Surfers Paradise has been changed and revamped for 2009.
For the past 18 years, the ‘Indy 300’ was the feature race and attracted top open-wheel racing teams to Surfers Paradise from USA in what had became an “on and off again” championship event. From 2009 and for the next four years, the Australian Indy race has been replaced by an official round of the A1GP World Cup of Motor Sport. The Surfers Paradise event is now known as ‘Nitro SuperGP’. All the fabulous supporting races and on-track entertainment that made the Indy 300 carnival a national and international draw-card, will be even bigger and better than ever.
The Australian leg of the A1GP championship has been held at the Easter Creek Racing Circuit outside Sydney for the past three years. This year however, it moves to the Gold Coast and takes the premier place in the Nitro SuperGP event. It will attract all the media focus that was previously splashed on the Indy 300. A1GP races are televised to 155 different countries and have a huge overseas following.
A massively popular supporting event at the unique Surfers Paradise street circuit has been the thundering V8 Supercar races. While their Surfers Paradise results did not count towards championship points in the past, drivers did not hold back from their traditional hard-charging, cut and thrust, wheel-to-wheel driving – with speeds up to 260kph within the concrete canyon-like confines of the surrounding safety fencing. No excuses this year, the V8 Supercar races now count towards the championship points tally so it will truly be on for young and old.
The A1GP is an international racing formula where one car and team represents their country, with 23 nations represented in the A1GP series. The Australian team has former World Champion Alan Jones as its Chairman and is managed by a former NASCAR driver, Peter Nolan. Each team can use more than one driver during practice and qualifying sessions by only one nominated driver can race at each championship round.
The A1GP series started in 2004 with the aim to have a level playing field by deliberately equalizing the technology used by teams. This year, all cars use the carbon fibre 2004 Formula 1 Ferrari chassis and a 4.5 litre Ferrari V8 motor that produces 540bhp or up to 600bhp in short bursts when using the PowerBoost feature for passing, with speeds reaching 300kph. Standard control tyres and 102 RON petrol are used by all competitors. The race has two compulsory pit stops so it gets down to a battle between driving skills, race strategy and pit management.
Look for future articles that explain more about the 2009 Nitro SuperGP event and tips to help you plan your travel and accommodation arrangements for the event. The articles will also reveal the best car rental Gold Coast.
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