Image: Russell Colvin.

Clipsal 500 organisers will add an EnduroX competition to the weekend’s schedule of events when the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship Series commences in Adelaide, South Australia, on 3-6 March.

The EnduroX event will be headlined by Australian off-road icon and Dakar Rally factory KTM racer Toby Price, alongside the United States’ reigning national champion Mike Brown.

Price, winner of five Australian Off-Road Championships prior to his newfound rally career, launched the new attraction in Sydney yesterday with the help of V8 Supercars driver Lee Holdsworth.

Price is no stranger to the atmosphere of the Clipsal 500, having raced behind the wheel of Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks earlier this year in their spectacular debut. Price said
he was excited about competing on both two and four wheels at this year’s event.

“As enduro riders, many of the athletes who’ll be competing have never had a chance to compete at an event of this scale before, so it’s really exciting,” he commented. “Coming to Adelaide for the Clipsal 500 is always special because there’s always so much happening. EnduroX is a really exciting and action packed form of racing which is still quite new to Australia. It’s going to blow people’s minds.”

South Australia’s tourism minister Leon Bignell said following confirmation American off-road racing legend Robby Gordon will bring his Stadium Super Trucks back to Adelaide, the 2016 Clipsal 500 Adelaide was also set to host the biggest EnduroX crowd ever seen in Australia and will be the only Australian event on the calendar for next year.

“The Clipsal 500 Adelaide offers so much more than just car racing and the bar continues to be raised every year,” Bignell explained. “The Clipsal 500 EnduroX track will be a fan favourite, allowing spectators to be up close to the action, as riders battle it out over man made obstacles.

“The track will incorporate 140 tonnes of dirt, 14 tonnes of sand, 50 tonnes of rock, 710 metres of logs, five tonnes of tyres and approximately 100 hay bales. This year the Stadium Super Trucks took the event by storm and now the Clipsal 500 in 2016 will have this heart-stopping first.”

The Clipsal 500 EnduroX will also include the likes of Tye Simmonds, Glenn Kearney, Lachie Stanford, Jacob Smith, Mitch Harper and Peter Boyle in the 11-rider field. EnduroX can be seen exclusively across all four days of the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

Riders will also vie for the inaugural Adelaide EnduroX Cup in a special feature-packed Saturday twilight championship event prior to Saturday night’s concerts.

Tickets to the Saturday Night EnduroX Cup can be purchased separately and include access to the EnduroX, Saturday night concerts and remaining Clipsal 500 on track race activities. Saturday night tickets are available through Ticketmaster from Monday, 1 November.