Thrifty Newcastle 500 Community Fun Day locked in

Supercars will be holding a Community Fun Day in Newcastle on Saturday 18 February.

The event will give fans from the Hunter a preview of what is to come at the 2023 season-opening Thrifty Newcastle 500.

The free event, which will be held three weeks ahead of Supercars' first ever race of the Gen3 era, will be held at Newcastle’s Civic Park from 10:00 to 2:00pm.

There will be exclusive ticketing and prize giveaways including a hot lap at the event in a 2023 championship Supercar, car displays, live entertainment, face painting and jumping castles for the kids.

Drivers will meet with fans and sign autographs between 10:15am and 12:15pm.

Fans will have the opportunity to meet with leading drivers including Mark Winterbottom, who in 2023 will rack up his 600th career Supercars race, and Bathurst winner Nick Percat.

Also in attendance will be the sport’s newest faces, rookies Declan Fraser, Matt Payne and Cameron Hill.

Fraser, Payne and Hill will all make their full-time debuts on the streets of Newcastle in their new team colours.

Other fan favourites include Todd Hazelwood, Will Brown, Jack Le Brocq, Bryce Fullwood and James Golding.

"We are thrilled to be bringing the excitement of Supercars back to the community of Newcastle," said Supercars CEO Shane Howard.

"The Community Fun Day is a great way for fans to get a taste of what's to come at the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

“Bus services, trains and local ferries will all be able to drop fans from across Newcastle and the Hunter Region within walking proximity to Civic Park.

“All of the details of how to get to Community Fun Day are on Supercars.com and we urge anyone planning on attending to visit the website to see which service would suit them best.

“We want as many fans as possible to come along and enjoy themselves in Newcastle’s CBD and catch a glimpse of what is to come at Supercars opening event of the Chevrolet Camaro vs Ford Mustang era."

Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, the official charity partner of the 2023 event, will also be cooking a sausage sizzle for fans on the day.

Triple M will be broadcasting live between 10:00am and 1:00pm.

The Thrifty Newcastle 500 is proudly supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

The Community Fun Day is free to attend and open to fans of all ages. For more information, please visit Supercars.com.