V8 Supercars Inaugural Round Hidden Valley NT 1998

19 July 1998

Chief Minister Shane Stone was the architect of the V8 Supercar round held at Hidden Valley Raceway. The first event was staged 17 to 19 July 1998. Shane Stone had no background or prior interest in motorsports but with the encouragement of then Chairman of Shell Dr Roland Williams CBE the Chief Minister was persuaded to embrace the V8 Supercars as a signature event on the Northern Territory sporting calendar. The initial reaction of CAMS following the events surrounding the Cannon Ball Run in May 1994 was negative. With the support of the Chairman V8 Supercars Tony Cochrane, racing legend Dick Johnston and the Shell Company the first Hidden Valley round was an enormous success and became a template for a round in Adelaide following the loss of the Grand Prix to Melbourne. Shane Stone appointed his predecessor Marshall Perron as first Chairman of NT Events; Paul Cattermole was the first Executive Director. Between them, they delivered a world-class round that continues to grow with Hidden Valley today hosting numerous motorsports-related events. What was once a dust bowl has been transformed into a first-class facility supported by both sides of the political aisle. Russell Ingal won the first race at Hidden Valley in 1998 (Holden VS Commodore) (Perkins Engineering / Castrol Perkins Racing). Interviewed by the NT News 15 June 2017: “You start to forget about those numbers as the years tick on, but one thing that remains is Hidden Valley’s status as a racetrack. It’s been one of the real success stories of the Supercars when you look at it. You’ve got Sandown and Winton that have been around forever, but with permanent tracks like Darwin ticking past the 20-year mark, the word iconic starts to get used’’.



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