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The Canberra 400 was a
V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
event on the Canberra Street Circuit in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
,
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The race only had a short life, running from 2000 to 2002 over the Queen's Birthday holiday weekend in June.


Background

The inaugural race, titled the GMC 400 for sponsorship reasons, was staged in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
for the first time in 2000. This came after what was then known as the
Shell Championship Series The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
and its governing body AVESCO offered
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
a five-year opportunity to stage a round of the
V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
. In the initial stages, the race was known as the National Capital 100. The race was to be run inside the
Parliamentary Triangle The National Triangle, also known as the Parliamentary Triangle, is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The Triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitution Avenues. Buildin ...
which created some debate in the media about the appropriateness of the event for Canberra in general, and for the zone in particular. In 1999 the then Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory,
Kate Carnell Anne Katherine Carnell (née Knowlman; born 30 May 1955) is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000. Early life and ...
put forward the idea to the ACT Legislative Assembly based on the success of the Adelaide 500. The Assembly voted to stage the event, with the only opposition coming from the Greens Party who believed that the race would create both air and noise pollution. The Assembly voted to appropriate A$4.5million in capital works and A$2.5million for recurrent expenditure over five years to operate the event. This included the creation and removal of the concrete barriers that lined the circuit. Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation (CTEC) were given the responsibility of delivering the GMC 400 on time and within budget.


History

The inaugural race in 2000 saw Greg Murphy win for Gibson Motorsport. His team-mate
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards (race driver), Jim Ri ...
would eventually win the round, despite not winning any of the three races. The event introduced a full reverse grid race to the category for the first time, with the results of race 1 being reversed to form the grid for race 2. The inaugural reverse grid race on Saturday was won by Todd Kelly, his first race win in the series, and the first for the Holden Young Lions team. Craig Lowndes won the double-points Sunday race ahead of his teammate Mark Skaife. 2001 saw Steven Johnson for Dick Johnson Racing take his first ever round win. The final running of the event in 2002 was won by Mark Skaife - the designer of the track layout itself. The round win was Skaife's fifth round win out of five to start the 2002 season.


Circuit

The layout, which was inside the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra, was notable for passing several major landmarks in the city. This included both the current Parliament House and Old Parliament House, the
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
and the Treasury Building. The layout was designed by Mark Skaife. The outright lap record for the Canberra Street Circuit was set on 10 June 2000 when Simon Wills drove his Reynard 94D Formula Holden around the 3.9 km track in 1:39.5409. The V8 Supercars lap record was set by Craig Lowndes in 2001, a 1:43.8397.


Format

The Canberra 400 was run over three days, from Friday to Sunday. Friday started out with two 45 minute practice sessions for the
V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
. Later, the cars took to the track for Qualifying, which consisted of two sessions, the lower 50% and the upper 50%. Drivers were split into two groups which were determined by times from both practice sessions earlier in the day. The best times from both sessions were added together. The top 15 would go into the Top 15 Shootout, while 16th place onwards would start Race 1 in those positions. Saturday saw the Top 15 Shootout in which the top 15 cars from Qualifying would do one 'hot lap' of the circuit. Later in the day, cars would grid up for the 25 lap (100 km) Race 1. During this race the cars must make a compulsory tyre stop between Laps 2 and 20. Pitstops during the races in Canberra were usually somewhat of a procession, in that most if not all cars came in at the same time, usually on lap 3. This would result in a crowded pitlane where the possibility of an accident occurring was very high. The cause of most cars coming in so early was the safety car. During these races if the safety car was brought onto the track, the pitlane would close. This meant that cars would not be able to enter to make a pitstop. Drivers were worried that a safety car would appear sometime during the race and if they had not made a pitstop yet, they would drop to the back of the drivers who had made a pitstop. CAMS and AVESCO realised that this could cause an accident, so for the 2001 race, they changed the pitlane speed limit from 60 km/h to 40 km/h and introduced an electronic speed limiter to all cars. Sunday morning saw the 25 lap (100 km) Race 2 and the first 'reverse grid' ever to be used in V8 Supercar racing. A reverse grid means the car that finished in first place in Race 1 would start last in Race 2 and the car that finished last in Race 1 would start first in Race 2. Those cars that Did Not Finish (DNF) start from the rear of grid. The introduction of the reverse grid was to create overtaking from faster cars at the back to slower cars at the front, which would be entertaining to the viewers. The problem with a reverse grid, especially on a street circuit is the high possibility of cars getting damaged from fast cars trying to overtake slow cars. Race 2 saw the same tyre stop rules that were applied in Race 1. Race 3 was a 50 lap (200 km) and started late on Sunday afternoon. The grid for Race 3 was decided by adding the points awarded in Race 1 with the points awarded in Race 2. Race 3 not only had a tyre stop between laps 2 and 40, but also a fuel stop. This meant that all cars had to enter and stop in pitlane and have their cars filled up with petrol also between laps 2 and 40. The driver to have the most points at the end of the weekend is the winner of the Canberra 400.


Demise

The Canberra 400 only lasted 3 of its 5-year contract. Gary Humphries' Liberal Government was replaced in 2001 by Jon Stanhope's Labor Government. The new
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
allowed the race to run in 2002, but decided to pull the plug for the 2003 race. The main reason given for the cancellation of the contract was the amount of money being spent on the race.
Kate Carnell Anne Katherine Carnell (née Knowlman; born 30 May 1955) is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000. Early life and ...
's initial estimation on cost blew out as the years went on, and some Canberrans believed that this money was better spent elsewhere. The race was not making as much money as had been expected. A report by the Auditor General of the Australian Capital Territory in 2002 summarised that the benefits or the race were overstated and costs were underestimated. While the hotel industry experience a rise in bookings compared to a typical June, the crowd at the track dropped from 101,000 in 2000 to 89,000 in 2002. This was put down the time of year and the weather (Canberra in June can reach temperatures of lower than 5°C during the day). This view was supported by V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane who later conceded that the timing of the event, as requested by the ACT Government, was a mistake. There was talk about moving the race to a warmer part of the year, but it never materialised. Some businessmen in the
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
district of Tuggeranong even designed their own layout for the
V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
to run on around the Tuggeranong Town Centre, in an effort to boost business, but this also never eventuated. A proposal in 2021 suggested that a new circuit could be built at the
Exhibition Park in Canberra Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) is a 70 hectare showground and multi-building venue for exhibitions, conferences, and events located in the suburb of Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory, Lyneham (though commonly listed in the adjacent Mit ...
, which already hosts the Summernats car festival. Today there are still reminders of the V8's short history in Canberra with painted racing lines, including the starting grid, still visible on the narrow yet challenging roads they raced on. The starting grid in particular, located along Langford Crescent and in front of the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
building, was still in place up until 2017, when resurfacing works took place, removing the grid and the yellow track limit area.


Winners


Multiple winners


By manufacturer


Event names and sponsors

* 2000–01: GMC 400 * 2002: Stegbar 400


See also

* List of Australian Touring Car Championship races


References

{{coord, 35, 18, 9, S, 149, 7, 33, E, display=title Supercars Championship races Sports competitions in Canberra Recurring sporting events established in 2000