Gillette Supercar Challenge programme unveiled.

Lexmark Indy 300 general manager James O'Brien and AVESCO chairman Tony Cochrane have announced the race programme for the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge at the Lexmark Indy 300, which will see V8 Supercar fans treated to an extra race on the Sunday of the meeting in October.

The V8 Supercars will hit the track on Friday for two practice sessions of 35 minutes each, a 40-minute qualifying session, followed by the top ten shootout to be staged only 15 minutes after the completion of qualifying.

The Saturday programme will feature a Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge race of 140km, while a 'Super Sunday' programme has been formulated to create one of the most anticipated days for motorsport fans in 2005.

Race two of the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge will be 100km with a start time of approximately 11am. The Champ Car race will now commence an hour earlier at 1.15pm and feature the traditional 57 high speed laps. Then to round out the program, a new 100km race three of the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge will be staged at 3.45pm.

O'Brien said the changes to the programme provided an enhanced and more entertaining V8 Supercar presence at Indy.

"Thursday will be the opportunity for fans to meet their V8 heroes in person at autograph sessions, driver appearances and during pit walks," he said. "Friday will be the full package of practice and qualifying sessions, culminating with the top ten shootout. Fans will be able to leave the track knowing who is on pole position for the first race.

"Saturday features a 140km race, you could almost dub an endurance race given the rigourous nature of the 4.47km Surfers Paradise street circuit. Then Sunday is something special - a feature program that starts with race two of the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, followed by the 15th annual Champ Car race on the Gold Coast, and then concludes with a third V8 Supercar race over 100km."

O'Brien added that the changes were made to add to the overall entertainment for fans and to adhere to new V8 Supercar rules for 2005. One of those rules is that there will be only a 15-minute window between qualifying and the top ten shootout meaning teams will not be able to make major modifications to their cars in this time. This rule was introduced to make it fairer and reward all teams that make the shootout.

AVESCO chairman Cochrane said that V8 Supercar fans will benefit from this year's rule changes and the new race program at Indy.

"This year's Indy race program provides a complete V8 Supercar package for fans, and that is what we endeavoured with the modification of a few of our rules," he said. "Thursday is fan day, Friday sees a new one-day qualifying package, Saturday pits the V8 Supercars in an appetite-whetting 140km race, while Sunday's two V8 Supercar races really cements the day as something unique for fans."