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Indy sequel — V8 open-wheelers
THIS is the first look at the V8 open-wheelers set to take the Gold Coast 600 back to the glory days of Indy. The final touches are being put to a deal that could have the homegrown Super5000 series racing through Main Beach next year.
THE Gold Coast 600 could return to its Indy glory days with V8-powered open-wheelers set to burn up the streets of Main Beach next year.
The Bulletin can reveal the final touches are being put to a new Supercars support series featuring Formula One-style cars powered by 600 horsepower V8 engines.
The last time V8 openwheelers raced on the Gold Coast was the 2008 Indy 300 featuring US IndyCars.
The proposed Super5000 series is homegrown – developed and backed by Australian companies PAYCE and Wilson Security. Supercars owns the intellectual property rights.
Up to 20 cars could race at the Supercars opening race in Adelaide next year.
A source said the Gold Coast, with its rich openwheeler tradition, was another likely venue.
“It (the Gold Coast) would be at the top of the list of potential venues should the series be approved,’’ the source said.
Wilson Group CEO John McMellan said the series could produce the next Australian F1 or IndyCar driver.
“Both PAYCE and Wilson are incredibly excited about this project for many reasons, one of them being the opportunity to introduce an exciting open-wheel category in Australia the fans will embrace,” McMellan said.
“It is also a way to introduce an incredibly powerful racing car in an affordable package which can be a pathway for younger drivers into the openwheel categories of Europe or the US.”
Running the same five-litre litre engine used in a V8 Supercar, the carbon fibre car hit 300km/h in a secret test at Phillip Island early this year. It can go from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds.
There have already been six expressions of interests from people considering buying and running a $300,000 car in a championship series next year.
“Now we hope with a positive market response we can present an undeniable case for the Super5000 to become an official support category in 2018,’’ McMellan said.
The Super5000 cars have conducted several high-speed tests with Supercars champion Garth Tander. Lee Holdsworth and Alex Davison have also tested the vehicle.
“The initial impression was, ‘Wow, this is a seriously fast race car’ and being much lighter than a Supercar with a similar amount of horsepower has plenty of acceleration,” Tander said.
“The car felt comfortable straight away and I had no problems from a safety point of view as it has all of the modern-day modern day features, including F1-style head protection – which is important in a really fast car.’’