Police Praise Racegoers Good Behaviour both On and Off the Track

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Out of the more than 192,000 spectators who piled into Newcastle's CBD over the past three days, police say they only made four arrests.

Operation Boote was set up from Friday through until yesterday to ensure the safety and security of everyone including spectators and drivers throughout the event.

Newcastle City Local Area Command was assisted by other police units including the Dog Unit, Bicycle Unit, Police Transport Command and the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command. 

"Four incidents over three days with that amount of people coming into the city is still very very pleasing," said Operation Boote Commander Assistant Commissioner Max Mitchell.

"Having walked the ground, going out amongst the crowd myself with senior police, the crowd was exceptional."

Among the arrests was a 33-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a security guard on the Shortland Esplanade yesterday afternoon. He was taken to Newcastle Police Station, charged and released, but as he was leaving it's alleged he didn't go quietly, becoming aggressive towards police. He was arrested again and in the end charged with two counts of assault and resisting police.

He was refused bail in the end and appears in Newcastle Local Court today.

Another incident involved a man and a woman, both aged 35, who were arrested after an alleged fight on a footpath at King Street on Saturday. They were charged with affray, granted conditional bail and face Newcastle Local Court on December 12. 

The fourth arrest was a 30-year-old man on Saturday night after he allegedly assaulted a 44-year-old woman at Foreshore Park. No charges have been laid as yet.

Officers were kept busy on roads outside the precinct

On the roads officers conducted more than 5580 random breath tests, handing out 300 infringement notices for speeding offences and charged 13 drivers with drink-driving.

One motorbike rider was arrested and charged after he was allegedly caught doing 157km/h on Main Road Shortland which is a 90km/h zone. The 29-year-old was arrested and charged after a short pursuit and faces court on Thursday after being granted conditional bail.

Assistant Commissioner Mitchell said it was a learning opportunity for everyone involved and there were areas to be improved upon including more police on the ground during concerts and better management of people leaving the precinct on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

"Look I think to be honest it was a real learning opportunity for not only police but all agencies involved in this event. I believe that our planning has gone exceptionally well, probably better than I had first hoped."

"However I must say for people to become annoyed with having to wait at various checkpoints or whether they're waiting for public transport, I think when you're managing something with so many people, I think when you take a step back and look at the bigger picture Transport NSW did a fantastic job," said Assistant Commissioner Mitchell.

Novocastrian Aaren Russell Speechless after Newcastle 500

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Aaren Russell was absolutely speechless after the final race at the Newcastle 500.

The Novocastrian driver came across the line in 19th position in the final race yesterday after a weekend of ups and downs.

At 26-years-old, Russell said he just wanted to make Newcastle proud after he crashed out in Saturday's race and failed to finish.

"I actually shed a couple of tears in the car. I just felt like the weight of Newcastle was on me and I felt like I just let everyone down so to be able to do this today in this car with this team, they've got such a small budget so to race up there with some of  the big boys today is just, I don't know I can't describe it!"

"I'm buggered. I'm absolutely shattered."

Russell had a couple of close calls during the 250km race between other drivers on the track, but he had other problems as well with his cool suit not working properly through much of the race.The suit is meant to keep drivers cool at 2 degrees celcius, but Russell's suit was only getting down to around 12 to 15 degrees celsius.

"I was bloody hot all race. The drink bottle failed a little bit towards the middle stint so it was all going on."

Image Supplied.

Drivers appeared to use Saturday's race to try figure out what they would and wouldn't be able to do on the new street circuit. Russell said that made yesterday's race much easier.

"I think yesterday was a bit of a great unknown so today we all knew kind of where the spots were where you could pass and what wasn't on. I had a few bloody hairy moments with some other cars that I thought were going to shove me into a wall so maybe I drove a little conservative."

"I'm really happy with the times. We were so consistent in the first part of the race and we even got the lead in that first stint so that's pretty cool."

"Everyone has been so supportive and it just means the absolute world to me so I'm kind of on top of the moon. I tried to cross the track at the end there to jump in the harbour but they wouldn't let me cross the track so that'll have to wait for another day."

"I'm just really happy to finish the event. I'm pumped."

Whincup Claims Supercars Championship Crown in Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Jamie Whincup has scored his seventh Supercars title at the inaugural Newcastle 500.

The stage was set for Scott McLaughlin to take out a win today but after a trio of penalties throughout the 250km race he came undone.

The final lap was almost absolute carnage with McLaughlin squeezing Craig Lowndes into Turn 2 in a battle for 11th position. Needing 11th place to win the Championship, McLaughlin held the place but was then handed a penalty for reckless driving and ended up finishing in 18th.

Whincup took the win with 21 points ahead of McLaughlin in the Championship.

"I crossed the line and I thought I was second and I asked the guys and girls 'what's going on? Fill me in!' And then I just heard screaming down the radio so I though alright this is looking good!"

"Unbelievable."

"In any sport you never say die. It's not over until the far lady sings as they say so we knew we had a chance but your gut feel says it's a long shot. I was pretty gutted last night thinking how unlucky, what did we do to deserve yesterday. But clearly that got turned around today." 

Shane van Gisbergen crossed the line in third followed by David Reynolds.

Drivers kept the pace all race with only two safety cars needed in this afternoon's race; one for James Courtney after crashing into a wall and another for debris on the track.

Whincup has no doubt this race was one of the toughest of the year.

"It's been an unbelievable battle with some unbelievably good competition and for it to come down to the last lap, the dying moments, the last ten seconds of the year, this one is right up there," said Whincup.

2017 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup. Image Robert Rouse

Thousands Race Through the Gates for Day One of the Newcastle 500

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It's only day one and it looks like the Newcastle 500 is going to be a big hit with racegoers.

Thousands poured through the gates today to watch the V8 Supercars hit the track for their first practice runs ahead of the Supercars Championship decider on the weekend.

The first 40 minute practice got underway at midday with 2017 Championship contender and six-time champion Jamie Whincup bringing home the fastest lap time at just over 1 minute 10.15 seconds.

Not far behind him was Scott Pye, Shane Van Gisbergen, Michael Caruso and in fifth place Tim Slade.

The other big contender for the 2017 Championship title Scott McLaughlin came in at 7th with a time of 1 minute 11.06 seconds.

McLaughlin fought back in Practice 2 though, he came out on top with the fastest time of 1 minute 09.59 seconds just ahead of Whincup who finished the practice in second place with a time of 1 minute 10.02 seconds.

Todd Kelly came along in third, followed by Scott Pye, Fabian Coulthard, Tim Slade and David Reynolds in sixth.

There was only one small incident during the first practice with Mark Winterbottom locking up on the first turn heading down onto the escape road, he made a turn left to rejoin the track.

The Toyota 86 series cars, Aussie Race Cars, V8 Utes and Dunlop Super2 Series also hit the track today.

The Toyota 86's are out in practice once again! #Newcastle500 pic.twitter.com/KgbTNX0zos

— 2NURFM News (@2NURFMNews) November 24, 2017

Meanwhile, it's all hands on deck from Newcastle City Council's perspective for this weekend.

Council has rostered on 120 extra staff to cover the weekend with extra staff including rangers, food inspectors, waste collection crews, parks crews, lifeguards, parking officers and communication officers.

Speaking of waste collection, an extra 600 waste bins have been placed throughout the surrounding areas of the race precinct which will be emptied twice a daily from today until Sunday to cater for the extra people moving in and around the city. Supercars Australia will be looking after waste collection within the precinct.

Road crews will be on deck to respond to any issues with council-managed roads and lifeguards will be stationed at all of the beaches including Newcastle Beach and Nobbys Beach.

Image @HunterHappenings Twitter

Frosty Trading the Track for the Surf Ahead of the Newcastle 500

BY JESSICA ROUSE

2015 Supercars Champion Mark Winterbottom hit the sand in Stockton this morning, racing suit and all, with local surf life-saving kids.

With just three days until the Newcastle 500, drivers are getting keen to take a spin on the track for the first time in their Supercars.

Mark Winterbottom on Stockton Beach this morning.

Mark Winterbottom said it's really quite exhilarating coming to a new track and particularly to Newcastle.

"I think the race is going to be fantastic, you know we've got one of the best backdrops, one of the best tracks, the elevation, it's got everything that a circuit needs. It's a championship decider, it'll be the first ever to win on the track, and your motivation is through the roof," said Mark.

The race has come under some scrutiny from local residents in the East End who just last night held an impromptu rally against the race. They chanted songs and chalked slogans and peace symbols on the tarmac on Scott Street.

Mark said from his perspective, the support far outweighs the nay-sayers.

"Some are concerned about environmental issues and then they go and vandalise their own city. I don't really understand that, that's sort of going against everything they stand for. It is what it is. We'll race anywhere but this city I think really seeing the turn out they've had, the ticket sales, it's the start of something big."

From tomorrow teams and equipment start rolling into the CBD to set up.

The 2.6 kilometre track will be the decider for the championship with 30 points separating Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin. Scott does have some ground to make up and will have to finish several places in front of his rival to take out the 2017 Supercars title.

Mark said even though he's not in contention for the championship, he can't wait to get out on the track.

'We'll race anywhere but we come to towns that get behind it and Newcastle is so important for us, it's such a big region, such a big following and to see kids that haven't see our race firsthand will get that taste on the weekend for the first time and that's what its about, they're excited. They treat you like a rockstar but you're just a normal person!"

Not the First Place You'd expect to Find the Knights...

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It's not the first place you'd find the Newcastle Knights, but this morning they took a walk around the Newcastle 500 Supercars track.

Knights players Jamie Buhrer and Nathan Ross were joined by V8 Supercar greats Scott McLaughlin, Jason Bright and Novocastrian driver Aaren Russell to take a walk around the track and offer advice on what the drivers should do while they're staying in Newcastle.

There's just 10 days to go until the inaugural Newcastle 500 and the drivers arrived today to find the track nearing its completion.

Supercar Drivers and Newcastle Knights walk the track.

"It's crazy, I've now walked it three times properly and each time it just progresses so much, it's quite crazy to think how much they can do in a couple of weeks so I know all of these other guys saw it back in July and there was nothing here and now there's this massive amount of infrastructure that the town has built," said Novocastrian driver Aaren Russell.

"It's going to be a crazy racetrack but I'm looking forward to it."

The drivers all agree the track has a little bit of everything when it comes to scenery.

"There's not many places you can go and you get kind of like a San Francisco feeling through Watt Street and then also have the harbour and the beach as well so I think these guys and myself as well, we're just keen to get here and the scene is set , you've got two guys who are fighting for the championship and its going to come down to this race at Newcastle," said Aaren.

Supercars driver Jason Bright says they expect 50 per cent of the crowd to be first time supercar event attendees and they hope they develop a love for the sport from what will be a great race.

"That's the beauty of street races like this. We basically bring the racing to the people, when we're having races out in the country or at a permanent circuit you rely on the pure motorsport fan to come and watch our races whereas at events like this we come into the city and it's a big event for the city," said Jason Bright.

Aaren Russell, Scott McLaghlin, Jamie Buhrer, Jason Bright and Nathan Ross.

Newcastle 500 Transport Strategy Should make Travel a Breeze

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The transport plan for how thousands of people will be getting around during the Supercars Newcastle 500 event has finally been released.

There will be an integrated ticketing option with 300 additional buses and 90 more train services scheduled for the three-day event.

Park and ride services will be located not only from McDonald Jones Stadium to the Honeysuckle precinct, but also added across Newcastle Harbour at Stockton for the ferry service.

There will be two ferries running which can carry 200 passengers and crew each. The ferries will be running every 5 to 10 minutes.

Newcastle 500 Event Manager Kurt Sakzewski says the plan will easily enable 150,000 commuters to get in and out.

"We want to make sure all of those people can get in and out of the event in an easy manner and that's why we've introduced this integrated ticketing option so people will be able to come in whether it's via bus, ferry, train, in coming from Sydney and the outer regions,"

Event Manager Kurt Sakzewski.

"They'll be coming into Newcastle here, they'll be delivered to the gate and after the even, they'll take the same routes home as well," said Kurt Sakzewski.

The ticket you've purchased to get into the event itself will give you free public transport whatever it may be.

"The great thing about the integrated ticket is it doesn't matter what version of public transport that you want to take, you can get on a bus, get on a ferry, get on a train, you just show your event ticket and it just gives you access all of the way through for no extra cost," said Kurt Sakzewski.

Revitalising Newcastle Program Director Michael Cassel says they've tried to prepare for anything.

"We will have a command centre running throughout the three days to the event. That command centre will include everyone from police, event organisers, Keolis Downer, and people from NSW Transport so we'll be able to monitor what's going on and we'll be able to make changes as we move throughout the day and the night."

Event organisers have planned for people coming into the city from every possible way and they say this year will be a very good test to see how well they've planned.

"We can assess how it actually works after year one but we also keep an eye on where our ticket sales are from as well so gives us a little heads up but really it will be after the event itself that we will know the exact details and obviously in year two we will apply that to the plan," said Kurt Sakzewski.

Kurt admits it will be interesting to see how well people will be moved in and out of city on the Friday and Saturday nights but they've been working with police and every other transport agency to ensure everyone gets out in a timely manner.

The biggest piece of advice the organisers have is to catch public transport. Don't drive.

"We really want to encourage people to take public transport. All major events government use public transport to ferry people in and out and that would be the most efficient and least disruptive way to get in and out of the event," said Michael Cassel.

"This Government Needs to Get their Act Together": Newcastle MP on Transport Strategy

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp is demanding the government get their act together with a transport strategy for the Newcastle 500.

The Supercars race is only four weeks away and the government is yet to release a plan for how 150,000 visitors, as well as residents, will be travelling around the city.

Tim Crakanthorp said Newcastle is already dealing with a terrible transport system, so the sooner a plan is put together the better.

"Keolis Downer has a terrible record of running the buses in the city since they've taken over we're got nothing but problems. The drivers haven't been being paid properly, we've got superannuation issues, we've got school children being left on the side of the road. it's an absolute disgrace."

Keolis Downer will be faced with a myriad of challenges.

Hunter Street is closed for light rail construction forcing traffic along King Street, Wharf Road will be closed from Argyle Street during the race and racegoers who use the train service will be jumping off at the new Wickham interchange and travelling the remaining distance on a bus, by foot or on a bike.

Tim Crakanthorp said if people come and they can't get around, they may not ever come back to visit again.

"If they come here and its gridlock, I don't think they'll be coming back so we really need this government to get their act together, get this plan, work with Keolis Downer who have a terrible record at this point, and make sure the people of Newcastle can be confident that their beautiful city will be on display and people can actually see the race,"

"Now this minister needs to get very organised for this race because at the moment it's looking pretty damn difficult and I would say that this government needs to come out very quickly with a very good plan with Keolis Downer," said Tim Crakanthorp.

James Warburton Steps Down

BY TYLER FARDELL


It's come as a surprise to everyone this morning, the CEO of Virgin Supercars Australia James Warburton announced he will step down following the end of the current Supercar championship series.

The final race is the Newcastle 500, set for the 24th of next month.

Mr Warburton has been in the top spot for four and a half years and said in a statement this morning it is with a heavy heart that he resigns.

"It is with a heavy heart, I advise the 2017 season will be my last as CEO of the Virgin Supercars Australia championship", he said.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to work with such inspiring people within the supercars family and to lead a sport of which I have been a fan of since I was five".

During his tenure as CEO, Mr Warburton orchestrated a landmark television deal with Channel Ten and Foxsports, as well as a plethora of sponsorship and government deals.

There's been no word of Mr Warburton's replacement or what his next move will be, but he still remains as passionate about the sport as ever.

"In 2018, your number 1 fan will be sitting opposite pit lane, finally in shorts and a t-shirt, with his family, cold beer in the hand cheering you all".

James Warburton
Photo source: The Daily Telegraph

Newcastle Almost Ready for Supercars

BY TYLER FARDELL


Newcastle residents, start your engines!

We're just one month out from the Newcastle 500 supercars race and work to get the city 'race ready' is in the final stretch.

Come Monday, around 600 workers will begin work on erecting concrete barriers, grandstands and other temporary structures.

They’ll be working for an estimated 39 days right up until Friday the 24th of November.

Event manager Kurt Sakzewski says residents shouldn’t worry about the construction as it will not hang around for long.

“All this construction is only temporary and will be removed shortly after the race”, he said. “So we’re talking about the barrier blocks around the whole track, as well as the grandstands, bridges and other facilities”.

Next week will also see the re-opening of Watt Street to motorists, with the circuit now almost completely resurfaced. However, there’s no date as to when Shortland Esplanade will re-open to the public.

When the road re-opens, event organisers and police are aware it may attract many motorists who believe they are professional racers and decide to set the fastest lap time.

Kurt Sakzewski says any hoons will be caught.

“There will be a heavy police presence as well as CCTV cameras watching the track”.

“Any amateur racers will find the police are pretty quick themselves”.

Lots of construction could mean lots of disruption

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The next six months will prove pivotal in Newcastle's infrastructure works with construction not only starting on the race track for the Newcastle 500 on Wharf Road, but work on Bathers Way is still ongoing.

The main focus of construction on Wharf Road from today is work on what will be the pits. For the next six months the major works will be disruptive to residents, but after this year it will take only a few weeks to set up the event instead of months of preparation for the track this year.

Major construction work is still underway on the Shortland Esplanade as part of the Bathers Way project in a bid to revitalise the section of coastline, and will see more pedestrian access, the installation of new street lighting, reconstruction fo the retaining wall on the corner of Watt and Church Street, and two-way traffic returned to the section between Watt and Ocean Streets.

Lord Mayor of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes says the works will be completed by November just when thousands of visitors descend on the city for the race.

"It is a big undertaking in the next six months and there will be disruptions and at the same time we're also still delivering really important components of the Bathers Way that actually doesn't have anything to do with Supercars but it's the time that we're delivering."

With two major projects underway at the same time, there is sure to be some form of disruption, and council say residents have all been given a significant amount of notification and also detailed maps of the changes in and around their streets for both supercars work and council's work in the city.

"Supercars are starting their works projects six months out and it's a pretty tight time frame to deliver not only the work they need to do for Supercars, but we've been quite opportunistic and making sure we're delivering a lot of renewal projects and upgrades to other services and infrastructure in the city at the same time so it is a big undertaking into the next six months and there will be disruptions," said Nuatali Nelmes. 

"Every other year, once this work is done there, will be much shorter few weeks of bump in and bump out for the event. So the disruption, and I've said this since we announced that we were bringing supercars to Newcastle, the majority of the disruption will be this year."

V8 Supercars set to roar into Newcastle

BY TYLER FARDELL

Newcastle is set to be the new home of the season ending Supercar championship race next year when it takes over from the Sydney Olympic Park circuit.

Premier Mike Baird made the announcement today alongside champion race drivers Mark Winterbottom, Chaz Mostert and James Courtney.

From left to right; James Courtney, Mike Baird, James Warburton, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert

"The Hunter has thousands of Supercar fans who now have an event to call their own," he said.

"The Coates Hire 500 Newcastle will be the first Supercars race ever held in Newcastle and is another major event secured for regional NSW".

The exact route is yet to be decided but the preferred course includes a loop past Horseshoe and Nobby's beach, climbing past Fort Scratchley and into the East end through Pacific, Telford and Watt streets.

Aerial view of the proposed track