V8 Supercars Australia Championship (1997)V8 Supercar events are held in all states of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain. V8 Supercars have drawn crowds of over 250,000 spectators. The 2007 season was held over 14 race weekends on various purpose-built racetracks and street circuits in the aforementioned countries. Race formats range from sprint races, where three 120 km races are held over a weekend, or endurance races such as Bathurst which is run over a 1000 km race distance, and Phillip Island which is run over 500 km. The V8 Supercars themselves are loosely based on either the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore. Although they bear some resemblance to the production models outwardly, they are highly modified to suit the motorsport application. They are are strictly governed in all aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing. Because of this, entire fields of 29 drivers are separated by just one second over qualifying laps at some events. Historically, the Falcon and Commodore are the two most popular passenger cars on the Australian market. Rivalry between the two makes is a major aspect of the sport's appeal.
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