Adelaide Motorsport Festival monthly newsletter - December 2023

Valtteri Bottas is back in 2024

Finnish Formula 1 race winner Valtteri Bottas will return to the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in 2024, attending the event on Sunday March 17.

Bottas will once again take part in on-track demonstrations and meet the fans in the event’s Grand Marquee, with the cars he will drive being confirmed at a later date.

Bottas says: “I loved the Adelaide Motorsport Festival last year, so I’m definitely coming back in March and I’ll be driving some really crazy cars, including some rally cars, legendary Aussie muscle cars and maybe some surprises. So I can’t wait to see you there.”

The Finn starred at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival, driving an Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car and the 2016 Bathurst 1000-winning Holden VF Commodore V8 Supercar. He also became an inaugural member of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival Ambassadors’ Club.

Bottas will head to Adelaide following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the second round of the 2024 Formula 1 world championship, with the Adelaide Motorsport Festival held on March 16 and 17, the week before the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. ??

The Finn has made more than 220 grand prix starts with 10 wins (including the 2019 Australian Grand Prix), 67 podiums and 20 pole positions, driving for Williams, AMG Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo Sauber over the course of his Formula 1 career.

Adelaide Grand Prix-winning Benetton back in Adelaide

The Benetton B190 Ford that won the 1990 Adelaide Grand Prix will return to Adelaide 34 years later at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on March 16 and 17.

It will be the Benetton B190’s first appearance at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival; the second Formula 1 car announced for the event in addition to the 2000 Benetton B200.

Three-time Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet won back-to-back races in the Benetton B190 at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix and Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, finishing third in the drivers’ world championship with the team third in the constructors’ championship.

The Benetton B190 was designed by Rory Byrne in collaboration with John Barnard, powered by a Ford V8 engine that produces 650 horsepower at 13,000 RPM.

The Benetton B190 features the distinct ‘United Colours of Benetton’ livery, with a green base and red, blue and yellow sections.

MotoGP bike part of motorbike category

An Aprilia MotoGP bike is the latest addition to the enhanced motorbike category at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on March 16 to 17, to be ridden by MotoGP race winner Chris Vermeulen.

The Team Aspar Aprilia ART GP13 grand prix bike was ridden by future MotoGP winner Aleix Espargarò in the 2013 grand prix season, scoring eight top-10 finishes and 11th in the MotoGP championship standings. The 1000cc four-stroke Aprilia produces 230 horsepower with a top speed of over 330km/h.

Australian motorcycle racer Vermeulen rode in MotoGP between 2005 and 2012, winning the 2007 French Grand Prix at Le Mans and finishing on the podium seven times. He joins fellow premier class motorbike grand prix winner Kevin Magee at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival, with Magee riding a 1992 Yamaha YZR 500cc two-stroke grand prix motorbike.

Other grand prix bikes, Superbikes and riders will be confirmed in the coming months, with the motorbike category running twice on each day of the event in an expanded offering.

PremiAir Hire Bathurst winners' category

The 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival will feature a category of original Bathurst 500/1000-winning cars at the event on March 16 and 17, to be known as the PremiAir Hire Bathurst winners’ category.??

The category will be new to the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, celebrating the recent 60th?anniversary of the Bathurst 500/1000 and featuring winning cars from various eras of the event.??

PremiAir Hire is a quality hire, sales and service company, while PremiAir Racing competes in the National Drag Racing Championship and the Repco Supercars Championship. The team is owned by Peter Xiberras, the managing director of PremiAir Hire, a two-time Australian Top Fuel Champion with the PremiAir Hire Top Fuel Dragster, who is also an Adelaide Motorsport Festival ambassador.

The already announced Nissan Skyline GT-R R32s that won the Bathurst 1000 in 1991 and 1992 will be part of the PremiAir Bathurst winners’ category, with more Bathurst winners being announced in the coming weeks.

"The Adelaide Motorsport Festival is a really exciting and unique event on the Australian motorsport landscape and I am proud that PremiAir Hire can play a part in supporting yet another exciting new initiative they are introducing for 2024," said Xiberras.

"The PremiAir Hire Bathurst winners’ category will bring together some truly amazing race cars. For instance, the Nissan Skyline GT-R R32s that won the Bathurst 1000 in 1991 and 1992 will be there, and there are more Bathurst winners set to join in the fun, with specifics to be announced in the coming weeks.

"This category a great way to celebrate the recent 60th anniversary of the Bathurst 500/1000 and I can’t wait to see these amazing race cars on track come March."

The Bathurst 500 was first held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in 1963, switching to 1000 kilometres in 1973 and becoming Australia’s most popular motor race over the decades.

Bathurst winners that have appeared at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in previous years include the 2016 Holden VF Commodore, driven by Valtteri Bottas in 2023, and the 1985 Jaguar XJ-S.

Ticket options

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival will be held in Victoria Park on March 16 and 17 in 2024, the week before the Australian Grand Prix.

Tickets to the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival are selling quickly, with ticket-holders taking advantage of early-bird prices in the first release of tickets across single day and weekend passes.

CLICK HERE?to purchase tickets.

Tickets on sale include to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Garden, a trackside offering featuring a beer garden, food and drink and more. A single-day ticket to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Garden is $275, for entry into the event and the garden, with a food and drink package, arcade games, car displays and more.

The Oval Hotel at Adelaide Oval is the preferred accommodation partner of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.?

CLICK HERE?for an exclusive accommodation rate for the duration of the event.

Premium parking is available at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival. It's on sale as an add-on to an event ticket, with the gated and staffed area being within the event space so you can gain express entry and showcase your car.?

Expressions of interest open

Opportunities to be involved in the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival for entrants, volunteers/officials, exhibitors, food trucks and sponsors are all open

CLICK HERE for entrant expressions of interest.

CLICK HERE?for exhibitor expressions of interest.

CLICK HERE for officials/volunteers registrations.

Sponsorship packages of all levels are available. Get in front of a diverse audience or be part of trackside hospitality.

Contact?[email protected]?for exhibitor queries.

Contact?[email protected]?for sponsorship opportunities.

Sensational tie in the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally

Oscar Matthews/Naomi Tillet and Matthew Selley/Hamish McKendrick couldn't be separated in the overall standings and share winners' honours in the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally.?

After three days and 29 stages, the pair of Mitsubishi Lancers were equal in the overall results. After Selley/McKendrick (car #702) led on the first day, Matthews/Tillet (car #715) took the lead on the second day only for the two entries to tie at the end of the third day.?Jack Monkhouse and Neill Woolley took third overall in their Datsun 180B SSS, while also taking honours in the Classic Competition category and Heritage Trophy.?

Nigel Joyce and Justin Perkins in their Subaru WRX were the winners of the Challenge Category, while Chris Oldaker and David Greaves in their Renault Megane took the honours in the TSD category.?

More than 300 cars took part in the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally, which included the Gouger Street Party on the Saturday night and the first Strathalbyn Town Stage on the Sunday.?The Strathalbyn Town Stage saw a massive crowd?in attendance as Strathalbyn turned out in big numbers for a lunch stop and town stage of the event, with South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mullighan MP joining the thousands of people in the heart of Strathalbyn.

CLICK HERE for the results of the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally.

2024 Shannons Adelaide Rally dates and pre-entry

The dates for the 2024 Shannons Adelaide Rally will be November 28 to December 1.

For just $10 you can secure your place in the 2024 Shannons Adelaide Rally and receive information in advance and the ability to swap categories, cars and such pre-event without penalty.

Pre-entrants are prioritised on a first come first served basis when securing category places. All we need is your name and category and email.

CLICK HERE for 2024 Shannons Adelaide Rally pre-entry registration.

Adelaide Motorsport Festival contacts:

Tim Possingham?

CEO

[email protected]

Shaun Bennetts?

General Manager?

[email protected]

Adrian Musolino

Media Manager

[email protected]