Some of Australia’s most popular motor racing championships from the PROCAR Champ Series will be shown on the national Nine Network from April
An agreement confirmed today between the Nine Network and AVE Pty Ltd, which produces the PROCAR Champ Series shows, will see all eight rounds of the series broadcast on Australia’s number one television network.
PROCAR Australia Chairman and Chief Executive Ross Palmer welcomed the deal, which will include the Australian Nations Cup Championship, Australian GT Performance Championship and V8 BRutes Series.
From April, each category will feature in its own one-hour programme for every round on Saturday afternoons.
“This a great move for our competitors and sponsors, as well as PROCAR itself,” Mr Palmer said.
“The PROCAR Champ Series has been gaining popularity rapidly over the past couple of seasons, thanks not only to the racing itself but also to the high quality of the productions from AVE.
“Moving to the number one network in the country – one with an unrivalled reputation for its sports coverage – can only accelerate our growth.”
Channel Nine viewers will be treated to some exciting highlights in the 2004 season, including the debut of Peter Brock and his son James in their own Holden Monaro team in Nations Cup, Australia’s most diverse field of touring cars in the GT Performance series and the always-spectacular V8 BRute racing utes.
Mr Palmer said the other major categories of the PROCAR Champ Series, the Australian Production Car Championship and Australian Formula 3 Championship, would be covered on Australia’s longest running motorsport television programme Speedweek, which appears on SBS television.
The PROCAR Champ Series opens at the Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide on 18-21 March and also will visit New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania over the following seven months.
Mr Palmer announced all five categories also would be shown in a regular Thursday timeslot on the Fox Sports cable network, alongside the Inside Speed programme, which is produced by AVE.
International broadcast arrangements would be announced shortly, he said.
Television rights for PROCAR’s annual Bathurst 24-Hour race are to be negotiated separately.
“After only two years, the Bathurst 24-Hour has developed to the stage where it is a unique entity on its own and we expect to open negotiations shortly with potential broadcasters for the 2004 event on 19- 21 November,” Mr Palmer said.
