Perth SuperNight

The Perth SuperNight (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pirtek Perth SuperNight) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Wanneroo Raceway in Wanneroo, Western Australia. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship and its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, since 1973.

Perth SuperNight
Race Information
Venue Wanneroo Raceway
Number of times held 42
First held 1973
Last held 2019
Race Format
Race 1
Laps 83
Distance 200 km
Race 2
Laps 83
Distance 200 km
Last Event (2019)
Overall Winner
Scott McLaughlinDJR Team Penske
Race Winners
Fabian CoulthardDJR Team Penske
Scott McLaughlinDJR Team Penske

The event was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is scheduled to return in 2021.[1]

Format

The event is staged over a three-day period, from Thursday to Saturday, with the races held at night. Three thirty-minute practice sessions are held, one on each day of the event. Friday features a three-stage knockout qualifying session which decides the grid positions for the following 120 kilometre sprint race. Saturday features a repeat of the Friday qualifying format with a longer 200 km race distance following.[2]

History

Wanneroo Park Raceway, as it was then known, hosted its first round of the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) in 1973, with Allan Moffat taking the first of his three event victories over Peter Brock. It was the first ATCC event ever held in Western Australia and featured the only appearance of a Subaru in the history of the ATCC. The championship did not return to Wanneroo until 1978. The event that year consisted of two heats and the Holden Dealer Team scored a rare 1-2-3 finish in the overall results, with Brock taking victory, from 12th on the grid, over team-mates John Harvey and Wayne Negus.[3] Allan Grice won the event in 1980 and 1982 despite only completing partial championship campaigns in each year.

During practice for the 1983 event, Moffat found that his Mazda RX-7 struggled on the rises in the circuit compared to the other cars. To compensate for this, he started the race with the petrol tank only half-filled and made a pit stop during the race. The strategy worked and Moffat took victory, despite almost colliding with Brock when the latter spun in the closing stages.[4] Moffat's Mazda won again in 1984, the final win for the four-time champion. Under Group A regulations, from 1985 to 1992, the event was dominated by Nissan Skylines and Ford Sierras, with Gibson Motorsport's Nissans taking three wins and Fords of Dick Johnson Racing and Mobil 1 Racing taking four combined. This included Mark Skaife took his first ATCC round victory in the 1991 event for Nissan.[3] Ahead of the 1993 event, the circuit was renamed from Wanneroo Park to Barbagallo Raceway due to a sponsorship from Alf Barbagallo, a name which remained until 2020.[5] Alan Jones won the 1994 round on the same weekend that he was fined for throwing a punch at an official.[6]

The Holden Racing Team controlled the event from 1996 to 2000, taking victory in all five years. Craig Lowndes won all twelve races across the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 events having missed the 1997 event as he was racing overseas.[7] Brock took his final ATCC round victory in that 1997 weekend despite not winning any of the races during the event. Paul Radisich interrupted the Holden Racing Team's success in 2001, winning for Dick Johnson Racing, before Jason Bright returned the Holden team to the top step of the podium in 2002.[3] Bright won again in 2004 for Paul Weel Racing, before Steven Richards won consecutive events at the circuit in 2005 and 2006 despite only winning one of the six races in the two years. In the second race of the 2005 event, Skaife and Marcos Ambrose, who had started together on the front row, both ended up in the gravel trap at the first turn of the race. While Skaife retired, Ambrose managed to drive out and finished fifth despite a drive-through penalty being issued during the race, before he was then given a further points penalty post-race for the same incident.[8]

In this period, discussions were held about moving the event to a street circuit in Perth, and Barbagallo dropped off the 2010 calendar due to dated facilities.[9][10] The Government of Western Australia resisted moving the event and Barbagallo was instead upgraded, with the circuit returning to the calendar in 2011 and a new pit and paddock complex being built for 2012.[10] The 2011 event saw one of the biggest accidents in the history of the championship take place. Karl Reindler, 13th on the grid, stalled at the start and was hit by Steve Owen, who had started 25th and was travelling at 150 km/h. The impact ruptured the fuel tank in Reindler's car, engulfing both cars in flames. Reindler suffered superficial burns to his hands and face as well as smoke inhalation, while Owen escaped serious injury.[11] In the same race, Jason Bright took the first championship victory for Brad Jones Racing, the team that also prepared Reindler's entry.[12]

Lowndes took his 91st career race victory in the ATCC and Supercars Championship during the 2013 event, breaking Skaife's previous record of 90.[13] In 2014, Scott McLaughlin gave Volvo its first race victory in its return to the series, having last competed in 1986.[14] Lowndes took his 16th and final Barbagallo race win in the Saturday race in 2016, opting to make an additional pitstop to most other cars and moving up from 22nd at pit exit to take the victory.[15] The two other Triple Eight Race Engineering entries of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup completed the podium in a repeat of the Holden Dealer Team feat of 1978.[16] From 2017 to 2019, McLaughlin won three consecutive events, including winning the Sunday race in 2018 from 19th on the grid, a record at the circuit.[17]

The event was reformatted in 2019 to become a SuperNight event with races on Friday and Saturday night for the first time at the circuit.[18] The 2020 event, again due to be held at night, was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The event was later rescheduled to the end of October, however as a daylight event, before being cancelled altogether in August 2020.[20][1]

Winners

Year Driver[3] Team Car Report
1973 Allan Moffat Ford Motor Company Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III
1974

1977
not held
1978 Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team Holden LX Torana SS A9X
1979 Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team Holden LX Torana SS A9X
1980 Allan Grice Craven Mild Racing Holden LX Torana SS A9X
1981 Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team Holden VC Commodore
1982 Allan Grice Re-Car Racing Holden VH Commodore SS
1983 Allan Moffat Allan Moffat Racing Mazda RX-7
1984 Allan Moffat Allan Moffat Racing Mazda RX-7
1985 Jim Richards JPS Team BMW BMW 635 CSi
1986 George Fury Gibson Motorsport Nissan Skyline DR30 RS
1987 Glenn Seton Gibson Motorsport Nissan Skyline DR30 RS
1988 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500
1989 John Bowe Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500
1990 Peter Brock Mobil 1 Racing Ford Sierra RS500
1991 Mark Skaife Gibson Motorsport Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
1992 John Bowe Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500
1993 Jim Richards Gibson Motorsport Holden VP Commodore
1994 Alan Jones Glenn Seton Racing Ford EB Falcon Report
1995 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford EF Falcon
1996 Craig Lowndes Holden Racing Team Holden VR Commodore
1997 Peter Brock Holden Racing Team Holden VS Commodore
1998 Craig Lowndes Holden Racing Team Holden VS Commodore
1999 Craig Lowndes Holden Racing Team Holden VT Commodore
2000 Craig Lowndes Holden Racing Team Holden VT Commodore
2001 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon Report
2002 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden VX Commodore
2003 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford BA Falcon
2004 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden VY Commodore
2005 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden VY Commodore
2006 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden VZ Commodore
2007 Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team Holden VE Commodore Report
2008 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon Report
2009 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford FG Falcon Report
2010 not held
2011 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore Report
2012 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon Report
2013 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore Report
2014 Chaz Mostert Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon Report
2015 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore Report
2016 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore Report
2017 Scott McLaughlin DJR Team Penske Ford FG X Falcon Report
2018 Scott McLaughlin DJR Team Penske Ford FG X Falcon Report
2019 Scott McLaughlin DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang GT Report

Multiple winners

By driver

Wins Driver Years
6 Craig Lowndes 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2015, 2016
5 Peter Brock 1978, 1979, 1981, 1990, 1997
3 Allan Moffat 1973, 1983, 1984
Jamie Whincup 2009, 2011, 2013
Scott McLaughlin 2017, 2018, 2019
2 Allan Grice 1980, 1982
John Bowe 1989, 1992
Jim Richards 1985, 1993
Glenn Seton 1987, 1995
Jason Bright 2002, 2004
Steven Richards 2005, 2006
Mark Winterbottom 2008, 2012

By team

Wins Team
7 DJR Team Penske1
6 Holden Racing Team
5 Triple Eight Race Engineering
4 Gibson Motorsport
Holden Dealer Team2
3 Ford Performance Racing
2 Allan Moffat Racing
Glenn Seton Racing
Perkins Engineering

By manufacturer

Wins Manufacturer
20 Holden
16 Ford
3 Nissan
2 Mazda
Notes
  • ^1 – DJR Team Penske was known as Dick Johnson Racing from 1980 to 2014, hence their statistics are combined.
  • ^2 – Holden Dealer Team was known as Mobil 1 Racing from 1988 to 1990, hence their statistics are combined.

Event names and sponsors

  • 1973, 1978–80, 1984–85 1987–92: Wanneroo
  • 1981: Saab-Scania Trophy
  • 1982: Walpamur Cup
  • 1983: Saab-Scania Cup
  • 1986: Motorcraft 100
  • 1993–2001, 2004: Barbagallo
  • 2002–03: VB 300
  • 2005, 2014: Perth 400
  • 2006: Perth V8 400
  • 2007–08: BigPond 400
  • 2009: BigPond 300
  • 2011–12: Trading Post Perth Challenge
  • 2013: Chill Perth 360
  • 2015: Ubet Perth Super Sprint
  • 2016–18: Perth SuperSprint
  • 2019: Pirtek Perth SuperNight
  • 2021: Perth SuperNight

See also

References

  1. Chapman, Simon (30 August 2020). "Supercars confirms double-header at The Bend". Speedcafe. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. "Supercars Operations Manual 2019 - Division "A" - Administration Rules" (PDF). Supercars. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. Greenhalgh, David; Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (2011). The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years. St Leonards, New South Wales: Chevron Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-9805912-2-4.
  4. "The Top 10 Aussie Touring Car races of all time – Part one". Auto Action. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. Lawrie, Shane (23 January 2020). "West Australian Sporting Car Club returns circuit to its roots". DriveTribe. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  6. Seton, Glenn; Bartholomaeus, Stefan; Noonan, Aaron (2020). Seto: The Official Racing History of Glenn Seton. Melbourne, Victoria: AN1 Media. ISBN 978-0-6487863-2-0.
  7. Crehan, Riana (30 April 2015). "Can we rename Barbagallo 'Lowndes Raceway'?". V8Supercars.com.au. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  8. "Stewards punish Ambrose after run-in with Skaife". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  9. "Barbagallo omitted from 2010 calendar". v8dailydump.com.au. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  10. Washbourne, Michael (3 May 2012). "Street circuit off the grid for Perth". PerthNow. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  11. Noonan, Aaron (4 May 2013). "Saturday Sleuthing: The Barbagallo BBQ". V8Supercars.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  12. "BJR unveils tribute livery for Bright". Supercars. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  13. "Lowndes scores record V8 race win in Perth". ABC News. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  14. "Victory for Scott McLaughlin and Volvo". Garry Rogers Motorsport. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  15. Gadeke, Kassie (7 May 2016). "Super strategy". Supercars.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  16. Noonan, Aaron (30 April 2017). "Fast Facts - Perth SuperSprint". Supercars. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  17. "McLaughlin takes famous Supercars win". Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  18. Adam, Mitchell (11 October 2018). "Calendar revealed for 2019 Supercars Championship". Supercars. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. "Supercars postpones three events, launches Eseries". Supercars. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  20. Chapman, Simon (17 May 2020). "Supercars releases revised 13-round 2020/21 calendar". Speedcafe. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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