Supercars set for 2022 calendar expansion
The Supercars calendar could expand to 13 or more events for the 2022 season.
Photo by: Edge Photographics
It's expected the yet-to-be-revealed 2022 schedule will at least 13 events, split by a mid-season break and run at roughly two-week intervals.
A move to a minimum 13 rounds would make for a bigger schedule compared to the last two seasons that have been heavily affected by state border closures prompted by the pandemic.
It would also be more than the 12 required by the broadcast agreement with Fox Sports and the Seven Network.
The additional rounds could see the likes of Queensland Raceway or Phillip Island, which both missed out on a spot on the original 2021 calendar, return to the schedule.
Both circuits were set to get a reprieve this year as the schedule evolved due to border closures, but eventually missed out after Supercars opted for a quadruple header at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Newcastle has already been confirmed as the 2022 season opener with an early March slot, while the likes of Symmons Plains, Albert Park, Winton, Perth and the northern swing to Darwin and Townsville have been touted for the first half of the season.
The Albert Park date is set as well with the 2022 Australian Grand Prix to take place between 7-10 April.
A post-Townsville winter break could run for as long as 10 weeks and stretch into September to limit clashes with the major football codes.
Will Brown, Erebus Motorsport Holden
Photo by: Edge Photographics
The second half of the season will likely see racing at the likes of The Bend, Sydney Motorsport Park, Sandown, Bathurst and New Zealand before a late November/early December season finale on the Gold Coast.
News of the impending sale of Supercars to Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE) has prompted questions over the role Australian Racing Group's suite of categories could play on the undercard next season.
Current indications are that there will continue to mostly be a separation of Supercars and ARG properties.
However there is talk that the ARG-owned and -run TCR Australia series could feature on the Newcastle undercard, while S5000 may appear at Bathurst and the Gold Coast.
Between Supercars and the standalone events for the ARG categories, RACE could oversee around 20 events next year.
As part of that the consortium will control four of the five events permitted to take place at Mount Panorama each year – the Supercars-owned Bathurst 12 Hour, the Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst International (currently owned by ARG) and the Bathurst 1000.
Intercontinental GT Challenge boss Stephane Ratel recently named 18-20 March as the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour date, although given that clashes with the 12 Hours of Sebring there is talk that date may yet change.
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