Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Newcastle’s Supercars race would be “noisy but worth it” after the city secured the championship finale for the next five years.
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Supercars Australia chief executive James Warburton and Premier Mike Baird confirmed on Tuesday that Newcastle would host the last round of the series from November next year.
The three-day Newcastle 500 will include 250km feature races on Saturday and Sunday, support races and a rock concert on Saturday night, attracting up to 50,000 spectators to the CBD each day.
The proposed 2.6km, anti-clockwise circuit takes in Wharf Rd, Watt, King, Pacific and Telford streets, Parnell Place and a horseshoe-shaped section through Nobbys Beach Reserve. It includes new roads through the reserve and Pacific Park.
A Supercars representative said work would start on track infrastructure about six weeks before the race, but road closures would be limited to the three-day weekend.
He said initial plans to run the track along Shortland Esplanade had been scrapped to reduce the impact on residents, and organisers would meet with residents next month to explain the logistics of the race weekend.
Destination NSW and council staff joined forces to secure the race, and Cr Nelmes said she was “thrilled”.
“The economic value of having the V8s race here over the next five years is upwards of $50 million a year, and that is nothing to be sneezed at,” she said.
Cr Nelmes said she understood some East End residents would object to motor racing on their doorsteps, but the council and Supercars officials would work hard to protect their interests.
“That’s a genuine concern, and we are here to look after the whole community. We want to make sure that this is a burgeoning tourist destination and we are attracting big events, but we also have to be mindful of protecting the local residents, the history and the heritage of this city.
“I guarantee that that consultation will be deep with the community. It will be noisy for that weekend, but I believe it will be worth it for the city of Newcastle.
“If people don’t like the noise for that particular weekend of the year, what opportunities can they have to derive their own benefit?
“Can their house be rented out or their apartment? That’s what happens in other cities, and it is of good personal value to those families directly affected.”
Supercars rookie Aaren Russell said it was a “good day to be a Novocastrian” and hoped Newcastle would be “packed” during the race.
Mr Russell’s father, Wayne, a former touring car driver, said the Hunter had the highest ratio of motor racing fans in Australia and “everyone’s going to be absolutely stunned at how much Newcastle will get behind this”.