Our Top 10 recommendations at this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500

The Supercars has the Top Ten Shootout for the 10 best drivers at the VAILO Adelaide 500 which is a highlight for race fans – but there is so much more to the event than just the racing.

 

This list of the Top 10 Highlights counts down some of the experiences that fans should not miss, whether they are attending one day or all four.

 

10. ATTRACTIONS

 

There is never a dull moment at the VAILO Adelaide 500. Whether it is static car displays, watching motorcycle performers fly through the air or wandering the stalls, there is something to see and do at every corner of the circuit.

 

Learn something new at the ADF display or the Motorsport Hub.

 

When there is nothing of interest happening on track, there is something to look at off-track, and the best part is that participating in most activities is free.

 

It includes free rides on the Golden North Ferris Wheel as the icecream maker celebrates its 100^th anniversary. Golden North is shouting free rides for all ticketholders and you’ll get a very unique view of the race cars racing around the circuit from the ferris wheel.

 

9. SOMETHING FOR YOUNG AND OLD

 

Children aged 12 and under receive free admission with a paying adult, which is a great reason to make a day at the VAILO Adelaide 500 a family day out.

 

Children have been well-catered for with free rides and activities in the HomeStart Family Zone, including a giant slide and bouncy castles. They also have their own chance to get behind the wheel and race each other in pedal cars at the maii Pedal Circuit.

 

For the adults, there are many bars and food precincts located around the track for family and friends to catch up no matter what tickles your taste buds, including some shared hospitality experiences such as the Garden Bar enabling you to take your day out to the next level.

 

The event is also a food truck lover’s paradise. Grab an acai bowl from Oakberry as you walk into the track at Gate 1; fill up on Mac & Cheese, some Moorish Bites and Moi An Viet Street Food during the day; then grab a Senor Taco at the concert oval for dinner. Food trucks will be scattered around the circuit, ensuring there’s something tasty at every turn.

 

8. AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JET FLYOVER

 

The new generation Australian Defence Force Jet – the F-35A lightning II – will take to the skies above the streets of Adelaide for the official pre-race flyovers.

 

An ADF jet traditionally does flying passes over the circuit in the half hour or so before the race begins on both Saturday and Sunday, but it is the first time this fifth-generation stealth sonic will have the honour of putting on the show.

 

Make sure you remember when the flyovers will occur though, or the first roar will shock you out of your skin. It is also fun if you don’t tell your friends it is happening and then watch them jump with surprise.

 

7. TURN 8

 

This corner of the circuit is likely the most talked about corner of any race track in Australia and you don’t have to know much about motorsport to appreciate Turn 8.

 

The Supercars reach speeds of up to 251km/h as they approach this corner – and some support category race cars can go even faster – so it takes just one minor slip-up from the driver for their car to go crashing into the wall.

 

To stand inside Turn 8 and watch any of the race cars tear through it should be on the to-do list of any VAILO Adelaide 500 ticketholder to get a true appreciation of how close drivers come to losing control at this spot, lap after lap.

 

6. PIT LANE WALK/PADDOCK PASS

 

Buying a ticket into the Pit Paddock or for a Pit Lane Walk provides an exclusive up-close look at the Supercars teams in action as they prepare and repair the race cars for the weekend.

 

Pit Paddock access enables you to wander behind the pits of each team all day and watch the teams at work, and possibly meet a driver as they make their way between the pits and the team transporters that also serve as their offices.

 

A Pit Lane Walk enables you to take a walk along the front of the pits during one of the five sessions held over the four days, which provides fantastic photo opportunities of all the cars.

 

Any general admission or grandstand ticketholder can purchase one of these passes, although get in quick as some availability has already sold out.

 

5. SIX SUPPORT CATEGORIES

 

Six support categories will take to the circuit each day, the highest number at the event since 2019 and the highest at any Supercars event all year.

 

The categories feature a variety of race vehicles – from the open-wheeled grunt of the S5000 Australian Drivers Championship to the flair of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS; the symmetry of the one-make Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup to the historic Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters; the fun of the V8 SuperUtes to the classic Holden/Ford battle of the Dunlop Super2 Series.

 

With the on-track supports starting at 8am or soon after and running through until well after 4pm, motorsport lovers will be in racing heaven.

 

4. MEET THE DRIVERS

 

Supercars is renowned as being one of the best sports in Australia in terms of fans getting to meet and interact with their sporting heroes, whether it is to grab a selfie or an autograph and have a chat about the racing.

 

Drivers will be circulating around the venue during the event, attending autograph sessions at their team merchandise outlets, meeting with sponsors and their guests in the hospitality suites or hanging out at the back of the pits. You may even pass them and get to say Hi as they cross the track in one of the overpasses.

 

If you can’t wait until the event starts to meet the drivers or get their autograph, there are several opportunities during race week to catch them.

 

It includes the Drivers Parade and Rundle Mall Signing on Wednesday and the Hutt Street Pit Stop Party on Thursday.

 

3. KINDIG CUSTOM CAR SHOW

 

For the first time in Australia ever, American custom car masters and TV personalities Dave Kindig and Kevin Schiele are hosting their custom car show within the VAILO Adelaide 500 precinct.

 

It will be a car display unlike any other seen at the Adelaide event, featuring more than 50 of Australia’s highest quality custom-built cars and a couple of Kindig’s own. More than 50 other immaculate vehicles will be on display for the Show n’ Shine.

 

If you’re a fan of the TV personalities, you also will have the exclusive opportunity to attend a public Q&A session with the duo and obtain autographs.

 

2. CONCERTS

 

The music is more important to many fans than the motorsport and there are three big nights of after-race concerts scheduled.

 

As soon as the on-track noise concludes for the day, the Concert Oval will take over to entertain crowds long into the night.

 

There is no bigger entertainer to take to the stage than superstar Robbie Williams, who headlines the Sunday concert series, although Saturday’s headline act Icehouse and Friday’s mobile disco DJs Carl Cox and Eric Powell will be putting on sets that are just as powerful.

 

The headliners will be joined by more than 10 other international and Australian artists and the concerts are free for ticketholders to attend.

 

1. SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP

 

The top reason to attend the VAILO Adelaide 500 is, of course, the reason why the event is held – the final round of the Supercars championship.

 

There will be 25 V8-powered Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros battling it out on track, reaching speeds of up to 251km/h over two 250km races.

 

Being the last round of the season, the drivers will be even more determined to be faster than their competitors and pass them in the corners, which will be sure to bring truth to the phrase that “rubbing is racing”.

 

In 2023, the drivers champion will be decided on the streets of Adelaide. There are two drivers who can win it – Coca Cola Racing by Erebus’ Brodie Kostecki and Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen.

 

Kostecki is 131 points ahead of van Gisbergen but there is a maximum of 300 points available across the weekend’s two races – and with the concrete walls of the street circuit race track known to be a car killer if one bad move is made – there are no guarantees as to who will get to clutch the trophy, so be there to see it.

 

The VAILO Adelaide 500 will be held November 23-26, 2023.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketek with general admission free for kids 12 and under with a paying adult.