Sandown 500 Axed

[Raskill]

Just one for the motorsport passionates.

Sandown has been axed as an enduro round of the V8 supercar series.

Next year, the enduro will be held at Phillip Island, with Sandown being used as a sprnt round earlier in the season. Phillip Island will take the Sandown spot on the calender, in September.

Seems V8 Supercars had serious doubts about the Sandown Horse Racing people trying to organise a race, and refusing to spend money on the pit complex.

Glad I got to go to the last one.

Next year, Phillip Island!!!

[MCWB]

Mmm I don't know how an enduro at PI is going to go. Is everyone going to be limping around tring not to shred right rear tyres?

[bwhinnen]

Hmm always enjoyed PI as a sprint event, enduro will be very interesting

Shame about Sandown, but things must move on.

[gstark]

Mmm I don't know how an enduro at PI is going to go. Is everyone going to be limping around tring not to shred right rear tyres?

Endurance racing at PI is nothing new.

Way, way, way back ... before Bathurst, there was the Armstrong 500, held at PI. That's the lineage of Bathurst, in fact, which replaced PI. During much of the 80s, and well before, the Island was in disrepair and unused and unloved.

It was resurrected for the bikes, with Wayne Gardner winning the first Moto GP there IIRC, and is now firmly re-established as a mainstream circuit.

The problems at Sandown are probably similar to those that Warwick Farm had to put up with. There are issues where (if) the grass race track and the bitumen need to cross paths, and the single horsepower engines have a much more visible and frequent presence at these locations, so they get to win the difficult questions.

[MCWB]

Endurance racing at PI is nothing new.

Indeed, so I've read over the last few days. I was just commenting about the fact that in the V8 sprint races there in recent years everyone has been trying not to murder the right rear tyre (as it gets such a caning from all the high-speed left-handers), so I wonder how they'll go over extended runs... we'll see I guess!

[Raskill]

Slightly O/T, but Bathurst will be interesting on the brakes, with most teams very worried about the discs not holding up.

[MCWB]

Indeed, should make for some nice glowing disc shots?

[gstark]

Slightly O/T, but Bathurst will be interesting on the brakes, with most teams very worried about the discs not holding up.

You're suggesting a vantage point in the run-off area at the end of Conrod as being a great place to be?

[Shorty]

Mmm I don't know how an enduro at PI is going to go. Is everyone going to be limping around tring not to shred right rear tyres?

Endurance racing at PI is nothing new.

Way, way, way back ... before Bathurst, there was the Armstrong 500, held at PI. That's the lineage of Bathurst, in fact, which replaced PI. During much of the 80s, and well before, the Island was in disrepair and unused and unloved.

It was resurrected for the bikes, with Wayne Gardner winning the first Moto GP there IIRC, and is now firmly re-established as a mainstream circuit.

The problems at Sandown are probably similar to those that Warwick Farm had to put up with. There are issues where (if) the grass race track and the bitumen need to cross paths, and the single horsepower engines have a much more visible and frequent presence at these locations, so they get to win the difficult questions.

There was a time before Bathurst...???



Shorty

[Raskill]

I think the 'before bathurst' they were riding camels in the Jeruselum 500....

[MSF]

Who here remembers Catalina Park race circuit at Katoomba.. ??

[Raskill]

[quote="MSF"]Who here remembers Catalina Park race circuit at Katoomba.. ??[/quote

I've raced around it!

Admittedly I was in a fully marked Commodore.....

Now that is a tight circuit

[gstark]

Who here remembers Catalina Park race circuit at Katoomba.. ??

Spent many a day there. One of my favourite circuits; I used to be the assistant starter there during the days of the rallycross.

Last time I was there ... just a few years ago ... it was in a very sorry state. Still has the wooden fences all around, but the surface is a mess, but there's lots of stories that come from that fence.

[MSF]

Yes, I know what you mean by the state of the track..

I was thinking of heading up there tomorrow on the way to bathurst and getting some pics, but I've postponed the bathurst trip now - Too many idiots of the road - I was nearly wiped out twice today by inattentive drivers, so i will wait until AFTER the long weekend before I head up..

I was last up there about 3 mths ago (without the Camera unfortunately, but I checked in on the place anyway...) - The track is terribly overgrown with huge cracks and grass growing in many places. Certainly a sad site to see, ( But makes for great pics)..