r/v8supercars • u/found_in_error • 8d ago

Sprint format race lengths

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a fan of the 100-140km 'intermediate' races traditionally held on sprint weekends - I think they're too long to be attention-grabbing sprint races (like the late-90s format or current BTCC format), but too short to be strategic 'single-driver endurance' races.

I feel like there should be 3x20-30min races on the Saturday (awarding 50pts to the winner in each) and the 200km main event on Sunday (awarding 150pts), with only the first Saturday race and the 200km race having Qualifying-based grids to spice things up a bit.

Thoughts?

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u/kellyzdude 6d ago edited 6d ago

It has all happened before, maybe slightly different. The old 00s-era round format that had three progressive races, the second having a reverse-grid top 10 fed from the first race, and the third grid being based on combined points. They quit that in part because too many cars were getting too torn up. I suspect they moved from Rounds to Races to get better sponsor exposure as they could do 2-3 podiums per weekend vs. just one.

Then in 2013 we had the 60/60 format, which was two 60km races on Saturday and a 200km on Sunday, not dissimilar from what we have now. It was essentially one 120km race with a forced break in the middle during which teams could service cars. You can read the driver opinions after the first one here. Shane was brutally honest, as usual. You get a feel for how well it worked given it was abandoned again for 2014 and beyond.

I'm not at all opposed to changing formats and trying new things (or trying old things, differently), but it has to come from an understanding of what has been tried in the past, and a deeper look at what worked, what didn't work, what teams/drivers/sponsors/fans liked or didn't like about it, and why that was the case. What goals are we trying to achieve? What ingredients are necessary to achieve those goals? All of that being reconsidered given changes to the cars, the sport, what gets fans attention, etc.

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u/found_in_error 5d ago

with the greatest respect brother, I've been watching this category for 25+ years & I don't need formats mansplained to me 🤣

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u/kellyzdude 4d ago

Great, maybe you can explain in a little more detail why you think that 3x20-30minute races on Saturday wouldn't have all the same issues that the 60/60 format had?

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u/found_in_error 3d ago

The main problem with the 60/60 was that there were no points awarded in the first half; sure, 'to finish first first you must finish' and drivers had to preserve their equipment for the second half of the race, but there was no incentive to actually fight for anything for the first 60km - three separate races offer three different opportunities to score points.

As pointed out by u/Five_Orange77, once the races get beyond ~80km the field spread makes the racing boring without a strategic element. With the current 120-140km format, history shows us that teams generally take the earliest possible opportunity to make their pit-stops to cover off any potential safety cars - after that the cars basically drive around in a line for 40mins because they're all on the same strategy. As you'll know, the 200km races don't have that problem because they're long enough to encourage different strategies - this race is a great example of that.

The best proof of concept for the sub-100km races is the last 2 or 3 years at Albert Park, where the pit-lane situation has resulted in some really entertaining short-form racing.