Sydney Olympic Park to continue hosting of V8 supercars finale

Australia's V8 Supercars series will continue to stage its championship finale at Sydney Olympic Park with the announcement of a three-year extension to its contract with the NSW Government for the season-ending event.

The deal to host the Grand Finale of the V8 Supercars Championship and a fan day for enthusiasts, was announced by NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris who stated "the new agreement for the Sydney 500, to be held at Sydney's Olympic Park and the V8 Supercars Test Day at Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek, runs for the next three years - until 2016 - with an option for an extra two years.

"Besides providing a multitude of motorsports fans with a wonderful experience, these two events will also provide many jobs and inject millions of dollars into the NSW economy."

The Sydney 500 will see Ford, Holden, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz for the first time this year, with Volvo joining in 2014. The V8 Supercars Test Day allows fans to get up close and personal to the driving teams and the cars in a carnival atmosphere.

Minister Souris added "the events are expected to attract more than 5,000 interstate and international visitors and 15,000 intrastate visitors and, over the three years, bring an estimated $50 million to our State. It will also be seen by millions of people throughout Australia and the world thanks to a live broadcast by Channel 7."

The Minister indicated that the new agreement would deliver significant exposure for NSW with naming rights for the V8 Supercars Test Day presented by Sydney.com. Vignettes promoting the Sydney 500 event will feature throughout the television broadcast for other races in the V8 Supercars Championship with video postcards of Sydney featuring throughout the live broadcast.

V8 Supercars Chief Executive James Warburton continued "securing the Sydney 500 V8 Supercars Grand Finale at Sydney Olympic Park for at least another three years will mean motorsport lovers will be able to experience a truly exciting race in a unique venue which brings the precision of the V8 drivers to a challenging course that really delivers entertainment for the fans.

"The V8 Supercars Test Day, another exciting fixture for Western Sydney at Sydney Motorsport Park, will give fans the first reveal of the line-up of cars and drivers for the new season."

The organisers are also considering staging the race as a twilight event.

The 2013 Sydney 500 V8 Supercars Grand Finale at Sydney Olympic Park takes place from 6th to 8th December.

The V8 Supercars Test Day will be a free event taking place in February 2014, revealing the line-up of cars and drivers for the year's V8 Supercar Championship.

The event will be staged at the former Eastern Creek International Raceway now known as Sydney Motorsport Park.

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/events/sydney-500