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2016 V8 Supercars Championship calendar announced

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The organisers of the V8 Supercars Championship have announced the calendar for the 2016 season, adding the Kuala Lumpur city race as a championship round in the middle of August as the championship leaves Australasia again for the first time since 2013.

The Phillip Island race has been moved earlier in the season to follow the Formula 1 supporting event at Albert Park, Melbourne, with the season close at Sydney Olympic Park brought forward into November to provide a longer off season.

“We have a taken a close look at the calendar and come up with something that will be great for the teams, drivers and fans across Australia,” said V8 Supercars chief executive James Warburton.

“This more compact calendar delivers consistent and regular events throughout the season and expands the championship into Asia in what is a truly exciting development for the sport.

“We believe it will result in an even bigger following for our sport both locally and overseas with bigger crowds and our expanded television coverage on Fox Sports and Network Ten.

“A more condensed calendar will help build even more momentum and still provide adequate breaks for the teams and drivers.

“We have also moved the Coates Hire Sydney 500 forward to the end of November in what we expect will be a massive grand finale to the season.”

The formats for the championship will be confirmed later this year.

The addition of a trip to Malaysia for the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix is a new feature for 2016, following a demonstration run by each other competing manufacturers there earlier this year.

“Malaysians were genuinely excited to see our five cars race through the streets of KL and we can only imagine their reaction when the full field is on the grid next year,” added Warburton.

“We expect up to 10,000 Australians to travel to Kuala Lumpur for the event which will also build exposure for V8 Supercars across Asia.”

2016 V8 Supercars Championship Calendar

Date – Circuit, State/Country

March 6th – Adelaide Street Circuit, South Australia
March 20th – Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania
April 3rd – Albert Park, Victoria (with Formula 1)
April 17th – Phillip Island, Victoria
May 8th – Barbagallo Raceway, Western Australia
May 22nd – Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria
June 19th – Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory
July 10th – Townsville Reid Park, Queensland
July 24th – Queensland Raceway, Queensland
August 14th – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
August 28th – Sydney Motorsport Park, New South Wales
September 18th – Sandown Raceway, Victoria
October 9th – Bathurst 1000, New South Wales
October 23rd – Surfers Paradise, Queensland
November 6th – Pukekohe Park, New Zealand
November 27th – Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales