V8 Supercars granted international status

The V8 Supercars championship has been granted international status by the FIA up to 2015, paving the way for the series to expand its schedule.

The ruling by the FIA at last week’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council means the championship can add up to six international events to its race calendar.

“This is tremendous news for the sport and we thank the FIA for their endorsement and recognition of V8 Supercars as a major international player, particularly in the Asia Pacific region,” said V8 Supercars CEO Martin Whitaker.

“After an enormous amount of hard work by CAMS and with the support of the FIA Touring Car Commission this gives V8 Supercars flexibility in exploring further expansion of the sport.

“V8 Supercars is the most high profile motorsport category in the Asia Pacific region and we thank the FIA for their consideration in elevating the status of our sport accordingly. The tremendous contribution of CAMS in liaising with the FIA has been invaluable and we thank them for their ongoing support of V8 Supercars.

“Australia and New Zealand remain our absolute priority in terms of where we race although the new status means we can move forward with confidence when exploring growth outside of Australasia.”

The championship is expected to drop the word ‘Australia’ from its title, becoming V8 Supercars from 2011.

The announcement comes shortly after the series confirmed its 2011 calendar, which actually features one less international round than in 2010, with the removal of the round in Bahrain, and the lack of inclusion of a much speculated date at Singapore, leaving Hamilton, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi as its only international events.