The 2023 Gold Coast 500 is the penultimate race of the Supercars Championship which will take place from the 27th to the 29th of October, before the Adelaide 500 wraps up the season. For a total distance of 250 km each day, the drivers will have to complete 85 laps of the 2.96km street circuit.
After two years of cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 marked the return of the Gold Coast 500, which took place as a single driver 500km event. His sixth time winning, Shane van Gisenbergen was victorious last year and is performing promisingly this season.
However, Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Broc Feeney are also making exciting moves. Ahead of this year’s penultimate race, we’ve outlined all the track, ticket and Gold Coast 500 news you need.
Track schedule:
There is a lot happening over the course of the three day event from V8 SuperUtes events to the Supercars Championship race itself. The following schedule will relate to the latter.
Practice 1 for the Repco Supercars Championship will begin at 11:35a.m on the Friday and run for 30 minutes. A mixture of on-track entertainment and other practice sessions will take place before Practice 2 begins at 3:30.pm.
Pit lane walks and safety car courses will be kicking off early on the Saturday at 08:10a.m. A 25 minute drivers parade will begin at 10:05a.m and the ARMOR ALL Qualifying race 25 beginning at 11:35a.m.
We can expect the Repco Supercars Championship Saturday race to begin at 3:45p.m that afternoon, which will be the final event of the day on the track.
Pit lane walks will kick off at the even earlier time of 7:40a.m on the Sunday ARMOR ALL Qualifying – Race 26 starts at 10:05a.m.
The most anticipated race of the weekend, the Repco Supercars Championship will finally begin at 1:50p.m
Track history:
Since 1994, the temporary Surfers Paradise Street circuit in Queensland, Australia has been home to the Gold Coast 500 race. An extremely scenic, beach side track, it has a number of fast sections and features two man-made chicanes, which were introduced to improve safety in 2010.
These safety improvements in 2010 meant that the track was shortened from 4.47km to 2.96km which led to a name change. It became the Gold Coast 600 as two 300 km races took place over the Saturday and the Sunday. However, upon its return to the calendar last year, the race consisted of two 250 km races taking place over the Saturday and the Sunday.
Even though it’s a temporary circuit, the construction of the track has been widely praised and is used as a benchmark for constructing new temporary circuits around the world. Not only can it facilitate high speed racing but it has been designed to hold hundreds of thousands of fans.
Over the years both the Confederation of Australian Motorsport and the FIA have commended the track for being a safety role model in the championship.
The annual rollout of the track operates on a 12 month planning and implementation cycle involving the erection of temporary structures, because of the number of commercial, residential and buildings and holiday destinations that are impacted by the circuit, the process is quite lengthy.
Tickets
Most of the motorsport news platforms will be covering the event and you can stream the races live too, But if you want to be in front of the action yourself, you may want to go along to the Gold Coast 500. As with many of the other Supercar racing events, there are three different types of ticket packages available.
General admission
Starting at $74, this is the most basic ticket on offer, however it doesn’t mean you can’t get up close and personal with all the action. You can bring a blanket or chair if you wish to set yourself up in a particular spot
This type of ticket also allows you to roam from viewpoint to viewpoint and enjoy some of the off track entertainment over the weekend.
Unreserved grandstand
These tickets are available as a one, two or three day pass and start from $90. People who are looking for a secure spot with a guaranteed good view, but don’t mind moving around should consider these tickets.
3 day reserved grandstand
If you want more of a premium weekend experience, this might be the ticket to opt for. Purchasers will have allocated seats under a cover to protect you from the harsh heat or heavy rain. Located along the straight, holders of reserved grandstand tickets will have a superior view of the drivers as they exit turn seven in the circuit.
These tickets are sold out unfortunately but there are still some unreserved grandstand and general admission passes available, so have a look online if you’re considering attending.
As well as all the action that’s set to take place on the track, major artists have also been booked so it promises to be a great weekend. If you can’t make it to Surfers Paradise, then of course you can follow all the developments of the weekend on the main motorsport news platforms.
