Supercars drivers revved up as favourite street race returns to Adelaide

Motorsport’s top supercar drivers are gearing up for the return of the Adelaide 500.

Ask any Supercars driver why they love the Adelaide 500 and the answer is always “the atmosphere”. The four-day event is renowned in motorsport circles as being as much about the party – with family friendly attractions by day and international music concerts by night – as it is about the top-notch car racing.

Bathurst may be seen as the pinnacle of Australian motorsport as a race, but it is the Adelaide 500 that is the best as an event.

“Everyone loves the Adelaide 500,” Penrite Racing driver David Reynolds says. “The track’s unbelievable, it’s got heaps of history and the layout is spectacular - it’s scary, it’s fast. The races are long and tough. The crowd’s generally quite exceptional too.”

Fellow driver Tim Slade, from CoolDrive Racing, agrees. “I don’t think anything comes close to it,” he says. “As an event, I think Adelaide is a clear leader. It just has a massive buzz around the city and the state.

“The atmosphere there – nothing really compares to it, and I think just having an awesome track in the middle of a major city, it’s pretty hard to beat.”

The Adelaide 500 returns to South Australia this year after it was cancelled by the previous state government. “When we lost it, we were all probably in disbelief,” IRWIN Racing driver Mark Winterbottom says. “It was an icon. It’s the event you look forward to. The vibe, the atmosphere and everything that went with it hasn’t been matched ever in our calendar. It’s a benchmark for a reason and it’s going to come back with a bang now.”

The start of race one of the Adelaide 500 in 2020. Picture: Brenton Edwards

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says the Adelaide 500 is coming back “bigger and better than before”.

“Our government is determined to reclaim South Australia’s title as the home of motorsport – and that starts with bringing back the Adelaide 500 to our streets,” he says. “It’s going to be more than just a race – it will be a festival of motorsport, we will have concerts and events that will attract crowds with a cross-section of interests.”

This year the Adelaide 500 will finish the Supercars season and will be held on December 1-4. South Australian Motorsport Board chairman Andrew Daniels says it is not just for die-hard motorsport fans, with only about a third of spectators calling themselves “petrol heads”.

“The other 70 per cent, they admire, they enjoy the racing, but they enjoy sport; they enjoy the music, they enjoy the atmosphere, they enjoy the displays, they want to be there with their friends, with their family, with their kids – it’s all about a great day out,” he says.

“It’s all about, at the end of the day, having fun. And seeing the best national motorsport that you can see, all brought together in one motorsport program, backed with outstanding national and international music. The Adelaide 500 is just so much more than a motorsport event; it’s a true festival on and off the track.”

Some of today’s Supercars drivers well know it is a fun, family friendly event. As a child, Todd Hazelwood (Truck Assist Racing) went with his mum, dad and sister. “For me, it was the one time of the year I got to see my heroes and got to stand on the fence and see the Supercars in person. It was a really exciting week,” he says.

“Having the opportunity to go to the track, and smell the fumes, see the cars going around and feeling like you’re part of something really special and a part of history to some degree – I have really fond memories growing up as a kid.”

South Australian driver Nick Percat (Mobil 1 NTI Racing) was there every year as a youngster with his family, too. “The thing that I loved about the event is creating the experience for families off-track as well,” he says.

“For me, I used to be glued to the fence when Supercars were on; then between their sessions, I’d be running around with my friends on the big oval where they had the kids amusements.

“The whole event itself is what made me fall in love with it. It was not just the cars itself, it was the atmosphere, getting to meet the drivers and get their signatures and see the race as well. I’ve never experienced another (motorsport event) like that.”

Nick Percat for Future ADL

For motorsport fans, the Adelaide 500 is a pilgrimage to be made at least once in a lifetime. South Australia’s motorsport reputation goes back to 1985, and the street circuit on which Supercars races is world renowned. The Adelaide 500 track layout begins with remnants from the Formula 1 years, with Senna Chicane through Turns 1, 2 and 3.

Percat says that “daunting” layout has most drivers nervous on the starting grid, but it can offer a highly enjoyable view for spectators. “It’s pretty unique, the traffic jam we normally have through that first sector for the opening of the races. You’ve got 26 of us (race cars) piling into Turn 1,” he says.

“It’s a pretty unique circuit: there’s a lot of character so it creates its own story, and I think that’s why it’s so loved, because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s just a wild place.”

Turn 8 is the most famous corner in Australian motorsport. Nulon Racing driver Scott Pye says Turn 1 and Turn 8 are probably the two parts of the circuit that show Supercars at their best. “To get an appreciation of the speed, Turn 8 is the place you’ve just got to go and stand and watch the cars through there,” he says.

Winterbottom says, “When you get it wrong, you hit the fence; that’s just how it is”. If you get it right, the mirror hits the wall and if you get it wrong, the whole car hits the wall.

“Everyone loves crashes except for the drivers and the guy who pays for it. It’s the spectacle of the sport.

“I’ve seen cars roll over at Turn 1, we’ve seen the races won on the last corner – there’s action everywhere.”

With grandstand seating as well as spots for general admission ticketholders at all major vantage points, any spectator can get a good view. Daniels says organisers are focused on ensuring the event has its roots in the glory days of old, but also rejuvenating facilities to ensure it offers the international standard that attendees expect in 2022.

Supercars drivers say it being the finale instead of starting the season will only add to the event’s action and excitement, possibly making this year’s round the best yet.

Fans can expect a very high-paced, intense race, and potentially some big crashes. “Because it’s the last round of the championship, it’s the last opportunity for some people to really prove a point in the season,” Pye says. “If you’re not in championship contention, then you’re going for the race win.”

The 2020 Sunday night after-race concert featured Hilltop Hoods, Illy and G Flip.

Percat agrees there will be even more action than in years past. “It’ll be interesting, as normally we go there with shiny new cars, and you don’t want to damage it because you’ve got an event soon after it, and the Adelaide track bites,” he says. “This year we’re going there and we’ll never use that new car again.”

Drivers rue the fact they work well into the evening and miss out on the after-dark attractions that turn the Adelaide 500 into a non-stop blockbuster.

They talk about debriefing the day’s racing with their team while hearing the concerts entertaining spectators well into the night. International acts of the calibre of Robbie Williams and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have performed in the past.

“That’s the unfortunate part,” Reynolds says. “We can hear them, how good they are, but we never get to see them.”

But even if the music is not to your taste, it does not take long to be back in Adelaide’s CBD at a cafe, bar, or restaurant. And that closeness to the CBD and the Parklands in which the circuit is located is special.

“To be honest, when we come to Adelaide one of the best things is just walking around the Parklands, near the race track. Just walking into the track in the morning, you can grab a coffee at a cafe on the way,” Winterbottom says. “We normally stay pretty close, always within walking distance so you don’t have to drive in and out. To walk in the parklands and feel the city that close, literally it feels like you’re in nature in about 500m pretty quickly. It’s one of the coolest things that we do there.”