Supercars have given the go-ahead for a historic night race in Sydney after a successful round of testing.
The August 4 event will mark the first race under lights for the series in Australia since 1997 at Calder Park.
A number of current drivers have experience at night from the 2011 season when a championship round was staged in Abu Dhabi.
Holden’s James Courtney took part in last week’s testing at Sydney Motorsport Park, looking to add to his race win seven years ago in the UAE.
« Being the last person to win a race under lights is a nice tag to have and, hopefully, I can roll that into this event, » Courtney told the Supercars.com website.
« It’s going to be very different as a race weekend and racing at night is going to be very unique. I think it will draw a crowd and, hopefully, we can put on a good show.
« Anything under lights looks better and racing cars will look fantastic, with the flames out of the exhaust and the brake disks glowing red. »
About 60 temporary light towers will be installed at the track for the 10th event of the year.
The format will include practice on Friday August 3, with a second practice and qualifying in daylight on the Saturday before culminating in the 300km race at 7:20pm.
Supercars are planning a big build-up to the race, including a light show, live music and fireworks.
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/23766637/supercars-ticks-sydney-night-race
