Legend calls for ‘open minds’ after iconic event ‘blown up’

Exclusive: Former Supercars champion and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander has urged fans to have an “open mind” about the all-new Adelaide street circuit.

The announcement MotoGP would move to the former F1 grand prix track from its long-term home on Phillip Island came alongside news the Adelaide venue would undergo wholesale changes.

While the track was shortened ahead of Supercars’ maiden event in 1999, it has more or less remained the same in the 40 years since the first F1 event in 1985.

But as a requirement for hosting motorcycle racing, the concrete walls that line the circuit and make it one of the most unforgiving on the calendar – only rivalling Bathurst – will be moved back behind extensive gravel run-offs.

MotoGP earlier this week released a video of what the venue would look like. The reaction from fans was a mixed bag of excitement and anger – particularly from Aussies.

The Supercars and MotoGP events are expected to be held a fortnight apart in November-December next year. Several changes, including the realignment of the concrete walls to be closer to the track, will be made between the two events.

Tander acknowledged the event will have a "very different" feel about it, but also pointed to the uproar from fans when Supercars first raced on the old F1 track in 1999.

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Where the grand prix track continued up East Tce through a left-right chicane, before turning right onto Rundle Rd, the Supercars track turned right onto Bartels Rd, and rejoined the F1 track at the Princes Hwy.

“Obviously, it’s going to look and feel very different to the Adelaide we know because it has to – it’s going to be a MotoGP track, and you can’t have concrete barriers on the edge of the racetrack like (Supercars) do,” he told nine.com.au.

"I'm really open-minded. One thing the Adelaide event has always been is an innovator. It's never been one for standing on its own laurels, and clearly this is a big shift.

“The South Australian Motorsport Board have got the runs on the board for doing pretty special things – they did it with the grand prix way back in the mid-80s, and they did it when we went back with Supercars.”

One of the biggest gripes from fans is the loss of the iconic turn eight sweeper, where the Supercars track rejoins the original F1 circuit.

While the profile of the corner could in theory be rebuilt at the Rundle Rd-Princes Hwy intersection, track renderings suggest it would be difficult given the tight turnaround between the two events.

The circuit rebuild has also faced significant opposition from Adelaide locals, particularly after it was revealed an estimated 300 trees would be removed to facilitate the track changes. The SA Government has pledged to replant several seedlings for every tree removed.

Tander suggested his biggest concern about the new track is its raceability – basically how entertaining a race the layout will make. The old layout made for some of the best racing on the Supercars calendar.

“One of the great things about Bathurst, the track’s changed once in its entirety, and it arguably made the track even cooler – safer and cooler,” he said.

“Adelaide has always been innovative and dynamic and moving with the times. I think they’ll deliver something special for MotoGP, and then I’m really open-minded about what it’s going to be mean for Supercars. We all love that track for Supercars racing, and I hope that we have really cool racing there as well.”

Supercars’ season-ending Adelaide Grand Final – the final race meeting on the old layout – will be held from November 26-29.