The famous Eastern Creek circuit, which is back on the V8 Supercar Championship calendar, has been renamed Sydney Motorsport Park.
Sadly the refurbishment and new name doesn’t bring it any closer to Sydney’s CBD, so it’s still a nice little trip down the M4 to get there. But when you do get there you will be greeted by a few decent changes that will make life better for competitors and fans.
A $12 million upgrade is currently underway with a lot of the work already completed. Fan capacity has doubled, the track has been extended 830 metres to make it a 4.5 kilometre circuit and new pit facilities are being built. With all the new work done it will also mean that Eastern Creek can hold two race meetings at the same time.
ARDC (Australian Racing Drivers’ Club) CEO Glenn Matthews said that the name change was the next important phase of the transformation plan and positioned the facility as a truly international operation.
“Firstly, I must thank the NSW state government for embracing our vision, their passion for the venue and for their decision to continue their contribution to the future of motorsport in NSW,” said Matthews. “What we have in Sydney Motorsport Park is unique in Sydney, and indeed NSW. It is the only permanent race track in the Sydney basin, and as a result the decision was taken that its name should reflect this. There are now four different track configurations, with the ability for the North GP and South GP layouts to operate at the same time, which significantly increases our capacity.”
Sydney Motorsport Park will host round 9 of the V8 Supercar Championship in 2012.
