Sandown 500 set to return in 2023

Sandown will be back for at least one more year – and could host a revived pre-Bathurst endurance race.
 
In the latest PARKED UP PLUS podcast, Supercars supremo Shane Howard reveals a return to Sandown is locked in for next year.
 
Howard also tells presenter Mark Fogarty that he wants the Sandown 500 restored as the traditional Bathurst 1000 warm-up in September.

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Following the weekend’s successful Sandown SuperSprint, which attracted a healthy crowd, Supercars is in talks with the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC), owner of the combined horse and car racing complex in suburban Springvale, for a multi-year renewal.

Sandown’s future for motor racing is uncertain beyond 2023 as the MRC pushes to sell the site for residential redevelopment.
 
It is probably safe for at least a few more years, prompting leading drivers to call for the return of the Sandown 500 as the traditional Bathurst endurance race prelim.
 
The latest PARKED UP PLUS also reveals how – and why – sacked Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is set to take over as chair of the Supercars Commission.
 
Following his banishment from F1 over his handling of the controversial finish of last year’s F1 world championship, Masi has been laying low in Sydney, his hometown.

He is poised to re-emerge as the head of Supercars’ rule-recommending group following the settlement of his departure from the FIA.

Masi’s impending appointment is amid controversy – not about his qualifications, but because popular V8 commentator Neil Crompton was dumped to make way for him.

Supercars claimed Crompton stepped down as interim chair of the Supercars Commission, but it became clear at Sandown over the weekend that he was forced out of the position.
 
As well, PARKED UP PLUS discloses how close former Supercars champion and dual Bathurst 1000 co-winner Rick Kelly was to a co-driver comeback in this year’s Great Race.
 
Plus, DJR co-owner Ryan Story explains how the takeover by a baseball team will secure the Ford squad’s long-term future.
 
All the latest motor racing news that matters is on PARKED UP PLUS, presented by ‘Motorsport Journalist Of The Year’ Mark Fogarty, still leading the news agenda after 50 years.