The 2024 Newcastle 500 will not be run, city mayor Nuatali Nelmes confirmed in an ABC Newcastle radio interview this morning.
Nelmes stated Supercars CEO Shane Howard called to inform her the series would instead opt for a backup plan for the season opener.
It’s believed the season will instead open early, a week after the Bathurst 12-Hour, in late February, as a part of a ’10-day Festival of Motorsport.’
The news comes following months of speculation as to what the event’s future holds, with the Newcastle City Council not coming to terms with a one-year deal proposed by the New South Wales Government and Supercars themselves.
The council’s stance on the event comes from a survey completed by local residents, which found a significant portion did not support the event being run in their community.
Local MP Tim Crakanthorp has long supported this stance, ultimately resulting in the deal falling through.
“An event of this size and scale would have to be supported by local state MPs for it to ever go ahead, so the decision really does rest with the NSW government,” Nelmes said.
“Tim has come out quite clearly not supporting the event [following] the consultation that we have done in his particular area.
“There is no way we’ll be going ahead with an event of that size and scale when your local state representatives don’t support it.”
It’s believed the delay in the decision has been the hold-up for the release of the 2024 calendar, with Taupo’s SuperSprint over the weekend of April 19-21 the only event officially announced.
The Newcastle 500 may return to the calendar in 2025 and beyond, with a five-year deal said to be in discussion between Supercars and the State Government.
Header Image: Supercars
