Last weekend the NZ Herald ran the following headline: ‘Night racing at Pukekohe? It could happen‘
Such was the success of the recent Supercars night race at the Sydney Motorsport Park that the article speculated on the possibility of the annual Virgin Australian Supercars event in Auckland becoming a night race. Supercars are now obviously looking at expanding the successful formula to other circuits.
“The Kiwi round at Pukekohe Park Raceway looms as an obvious choice. Firstly it is a small track and relatively easy to fit with temporary lighting like what was used in Sydney. The time difference means races are run earlier than normal at present but a later timeslot would help Australian television reach a more prime time audience. Finally the New Zealand round always attracts a good crowd – well in excess of 100,000 across the weekend. But it is slowly trending in the wrong direction as fans become used to the same thing each year. A night race would serve as a novelty and breathe new life into an already successful event.”
The current ITM Auckland SuperSprint has been held at the beginning of November at Pukekohe Park Raceway since 2015. Previously the event had taken place in the autumn in the month of April.
The problem with night racing at Pukekohe is that sunset doesn’t take place over that November weekend until just before 8pm. Arguably it is just too late. There would have to be a date change much further towards a winter time slot.
An early September date, when some spring warmth kicks in, would see sunset at more favourable time of around 6pm. In order to change the date of the current event could prove to be a massive undertaking as it would then require a rethink of the Supercars calendar with a number of circuits all vying for the same thing.
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