Australia will have some of the world’s best sportscar drivers visit them in 2020, in their primary machinery.
The Asian Le Mans Series has announced that the Australian track The Bend Motorsport Park near Adelaide, will be hosting a round for the upcoming 2019/20 season.
Australia was last visited by ACO race cars, which are cars like LMP2 and LMP3 cars, back in Year 2000, where the American Le Mans Series held their season finale in Adelaide, at the Race of a Thousand Years event. That race was run on 31 December 2000, and was a one-time-only event from the ALMS, who then went on to race in North America only onwards.
The Bend, as the track is often called, is the latest permanent motor racing circuit in Australia, having its inaugural race on 13 January 2018.
Even though the Adelaide will name will ring a bell for many in motorsport, it has absolutely nothing to do with the street circuit that was used by Formula 1 and the ALMS. This track is located about 100 kilometres outside Adelaide, in an open landscape, and is actually the second longest track in the world with 7,7 kilometres of tarmac – only surpassed by the legendary Nürburgring, and about 700 metres longer than Spa Francorchamps, that most people know as well.
The track is built to the latest safety standards and is a Grade 2 FIA track, plus build to the purpose of holding MotoGP amongst the two-wheeled sport.
The Asian Le Mans Series will announce their 2019/20 calender in the near future, where it will be revealed if the numbers of races will expand to 5, or one of the current events will drop out.
Update – CEO of Asian Le Mans Series, Cyrille Taesch Wahlen has confirmed that only 4 races will be on the 2019/20 calendar, while 5 races are planned for the 2020/21 season.