Support categories announced for Townsville

Three support categories have been confirmed to feature across two weekends of racing in Townsville as part of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship doubleheader in north Queensland.

The opening weekend on August 29-30 will feature the North Queensland Supersprinters category – made up of local competitors – and the Townsville Tin Tops powered by motorsportsales.com.au.

The Tin Tops will be a combined sedans category featuring a mix of Porsche Carrera Cup cars, Porsche GTs, sports sedans, MARC cars, Super3 and V8 Touring cars.

Motorsport identity Nathan Cayzer said the Townsville Tin Tops will run exhibition races on both days of the action, showcasing various cars to an international audience.

“It’s about getting motorsport back out on track both for drivers and fans alike – and at all levels, not just the main game,” Cayzer said.

“We all know things are tough across the board at the moment, and I'm sure you all agree, like we did with Supercars, that any chance we can get to allow the motorsport community to get their engines running again, especially around one of Australia's best street circuits at Townsville, is an opportunity not to be missed.

“So, we thought outside the box ... I mean really, who isn’t going to love seeing Porsche, Super3, MARC cars, sports sedans and V8 Touring cars hitting the track together.”

The NQ Supersprinters will give local drivers a once in a lifetime opportunity to race on their own street circuit, in front of a live television audience.

“Townsville and its outer community have a number of motorsport enthusiasts and for Supercars to be able to give a number of guys the chance to get racing again around their local street circuit is just awesome,” Cayzer said.

“I’m confident that the people at the track and watching on the TV are going to get the chance to see some pretty cool cars.”

The popular Hyundai Excel Series will be the third support category to feature, with races to run on the second weekend of the doubleheader.

The NTI Townsville SuperSprint will be held on August 29-30, followed by a second SuperSprint event on September 5-6.

Fans will be permitted to attend both weekends, although all tickets must be pre-purchased. Tickets are now on sale via Ticketek.

The August 29-30 event in Townsville will be broadcast on Foxtel and 10 HD and streamed on Kayo. The September 5-6 round will be live and ad-free on Fox Sports and Kayo.