» Supercars: No changes to Gold Coast format

Plans to change next year’s Gold Coast endurance round into a single 500-kilometre race have been shelved by Supercars, which confirmed the current format of twin 300-kilometre races will be retained next year.

The series had announced plans to change the format of the Surfers Paradise street round to mirror the existing format of the Sandown 500 when it unveiled its 2019 calendar.

The switch was part of a mooted tie-up with Supercars and the American NASCAR series or even a return of the IndyCar Series, but with no deal forthcoming series officials have backtracked on the idea for now.

“At the most recent Commission meeting before Newcastle it was decided to remain with the successful and proven format of two 300-kilometre races, one each day,” Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said.

“The format will allow for us to continue to explore an international presence at the event.”

In other news, the Phillip Island round will revert to a traditional SuperSprint format next year, with a 120-kilometre race on Saturday followed by a 200-kilometre race on Sunday. The event had previously been staged as two 250-kilometre races over the weekend in 2017 and 2018.

2019 Australian Supercars Championship Season Calendar
Date	Event	Location	Format
02-03 MAR	Adelaide 500	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide	SuperStreet
15-17 MAR	Melbourne 400	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	Grand Prix
06-07 APR	Tasmania SuperSprint	Symmons Plains Raceway, Launceston	SuperSprint
13-14 APR	Phillip Island SuperSprint	Phillip Island Circuit, Phillip Island	SuperSprint
03-04 MAY	Perth SuperNight	Barbagallo Raceway, Pinjar	SuperNight
25-26 MAY	Winton SuperSprint	Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla	SuperSprint
15-16 JUN	Darwin Triple Crown	Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin	SuperSprint
06-07 JUL	Townsville 400	Townsville Street Circuit, Townsville	SuperStreet
27-28 JUL	Ipswich SuperSprint	Queensland Raceway, Ipswich	SuperSprint
24-25 AUG	The Bend SuperSprint	The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend	SuperSprint
14-15 SEP	Auckland SuperSprint	Pukukohe Park Raceway, Auckland	SuperSprint
13 OCT	Bathurst 1000	Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst	Enduro Cup
26-27 OCT	Gold Coast 600	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Gold Coast	Enduro Cup
10 NOV	Sandown 500	Sandown Raceway, Melbourne	Enduro Cup
23-24 NOV	Newcastle 500	Newcastle Street Circuit, Newcastle	SuperStreet