Start your engines: SA braces for bumper VAILO Adelaide 500

With an exclusive Kindig Custom Car Show, BMX athletes chasing Olympic Qualification points, a family zone and an epic concert series featuring superstar Robbie Williams, this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500 is set to be bigger and better than ever.

The VAILO Adelaide 500 is Australia’s largest domestic ticketed motorsport event, and is world-renowned for its excellent racing and event atmosphere. 2023 will be the 24th time the cars make their way around the 3.219km Adelaide Street Circuit, and will be the first time the event decides a Supercars Championship (Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki leads Triple Eight’s Shane van Gisbergen by 131 points).

The on-track excitement is just half of it – the VAILO Adelaide 500 features four days of attractions, concerts, and world-class hospitality. We’re talking a superslide and racing simulators in the HomeStart Family Zone; appearances from American custom car masters and TV personalities Dave Kindig and Kevin Schiele (plus Dave’s iconic 1957 Chevrolet Corvette); jaw-dropping Airtime FMX stunts and a Hot Wheels Display in the TrAction Zone; an outstanding concert line-up (let Robbie Williams entertain you); free rides including on the Golden North Ferris Wheel and the maii Pedal Circuit; and endless bars and food offerings.

It’s win-win for SA

Over its 20-plus years (and 11 years before that as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship), the Adelaide 500 has made an enormous contribution to the South Australian economy.

The 2022 VAILO Adelaide 500 generated a record $51.85 million benefit, which was a 34.3 per cent increase on the most recent event in 2020 (which generated $38 million), and also significantly higher than the previous all-time record of $45 million in 2019. More than 12,000 people travelled to South Australia from interstate for the event, with an estimated 96,671 visitor nights in South Australia as a result.

“From a tourism perspective, this event is really special because it’s so unique,” says SA Motor Sport Board member and hotelier Anna Hurley. “To attract people from interstate you have to offer an event they can’t see in their hometown, and the VAILO Adelaide 500 is exactly that.”

Not only is it unique in terms of motor racing, “it’s unique in scale and diversity of events,” says Anna. Plus, it’s family-friendly: “We have so many families drive over and they love it.”

Anna Hurley, SA Motor Sport Board member and hotelier.

“These events are critical for the hospitality industry to thrive,” says Anna, who is also Chief Executive of the Marion Hotel and works for Hurley Hotel Group, which manages nine hotels and almost 300 accommodation rooms across the state.

“Events like these lead to more development, which means SA can attract bigger events.”

“All of the hotels I manage are suburban or regional, and there is absolutely a benefit to Greater Adelaide,” she says. “Visitors often drive here for the event, so there is a positive knock-on effect to the outer suburbs as well, not just the city.”

Championship decider

For the first time, this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500 will be a Championship Decider, with the Repco Supercars Championship set to conclude at the world-famous Adelaide Street Circuit. For driver and proud South Australian Todd Hazelwood – who was born into a family of motorsport fans and grew up watching the Supercars on weekends – that makes this year’s event extra special.

2023 Supercars Championship, Round 4, Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania, Australia. World Copyright: Daniel Kalisz Photographer

“I was destined from birth; we used to go to the Adelaide 500 together and watch our heroes at the time race around the circuits, and from a young age there was nothing I wanted to do more,” he says.

“I didn’t realise how big an event it was until I started travelling and racing.

“Having the finale of our Championship in Adelaide is close to the heart for me – I would love to finish the year on a high and get a great result in front of a home crowd.”

It’s not just South Aussie drivers that love the VAILO Adelaide 500, says Todd. “This event is world-class.”

“The actual course is really challenging and demanding, and is arguably one of the most challenging tracks we go to.

“There’s no room for error – one mistake and you’re in a concrete wall. You can pay the ultimate price but it really does offer a risk-versus-reward scenario, which makes it spectacular from a fan’s point of view.”

For Todd, what happens off the track is just as special as what happens on it. “If you look at the other circuits, there is no other state that can offer or accommodate this sort of city circuit,” he says.

“Even if you look at the Grand Prix, the atmosphere is nowhere near what Adelaide has. Adelaide is big enough to accommodate a world-class event, but not too big that it can’t accommodate it at all.”

And the atmosphere is only getting better. “They keep stepping it up with external attractions, like the Hot Rods and BMX jumps and stunts, spectacular concerts and nightlife, and inclusions to make it more family friendly,” says Todd.

“You can love motorsport and watch the action, but if you don’t you’re guaranteed to find something else.”

10 on- and off-track attractions not to miss at this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500: