After a special role as host to the 2008 season’s grand final, Oran Park will be retired from the V8 Supercars calendar, to be replaced at least in the short term with a road circuit around Sydney’s Olympic Park Precinct. The transition marks a move from the oldest track in the country to the newest, while keeping the series in Sydney. 

Once Oran Park is off the schedule, it is expected to be replaced by a street circuit around Olympic Park, which will host the event for at least the next five years.

Olympic Park venue not yet official
The move to Olympic Park for next year’s series has not yet been made official, though Premier Morris Iemma is believed to support the changeover. The idea of racing around the park’s perimeter is not a new one, even to Iemma’s term in office. Two years ago he famously ruled out the possibility of such an event, then reversed his stance a month later.

There are still many hurdles for the project to clear, in part because the race would be a street circuit, and the accompanying inconvenience, noise issues and high expense are hard things to get past some local bureaucrats.

Nevertheless, the event should bring a great deal of money into the community, with an spectators needing concessions and lodging, and the race teams themselves spending huge sums at each location.

The series remains committed to moving to the new venue, however. "There are still strong plans for Homebush and I believe we are edging closer to convincing the State Government that it is a winner. What better way for Sydney to finally give the Championship a truly world class event,” said Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane.

Environmental concerns linger
Environmental figures are up in arms over the race’s very existence, instead insisting the city and the series would do better by the environment if they simply withdrew the round from the schedule altogether.

Some of the strongest opposition to the Olympic Park plan has come from the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. The members of that board have stood unanimously in voicing their disapproval of using the park’s perimeter roads as a street circuit for the V8 Supercars race.

Nonetheless, with ‘in-principle’ approval by state officials and the expected backing of Premier Iemma, it appears the move from Oran Park to Olympic Park will be complete in time for the 2009 season.

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