The V8 Supercar Championship is to amend its schedule for the Surfers Paradise race weekend in an effort to fill the void left by A1GP's withdrawal from the Nikon SuperGP.

After much speculation, A1 bosses have finally confirmed that the single-seater series will be unable to fulfil its contractual obligations to compete in the event, leaving a big whole in the weekend's racing schedule.

Following talks with event organisers and the local government, V8 Supercar chief Tony Cochrane has confirmed that the series will now run four 150km races at Surfers Paradise instead of the two 200km races previously planned – providing fans with an extra 200km of V8 action.

“V8 Supercars will step up with four 150km races, in a joint celebration of Q150, which is the longest we have raced at this event and the longest distance we will race all year this year outside of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000,” he said. “I praise the strong initiative of the Queensland Government working with GCMEC and V8 Supercars in the past few days to develop the new race formats.

“I would also like to thank our V8 Supercar teams who will now need to do a huge amount of work to change their cars, engineering and race plans for the weekend. Without their support this would not have happened.

“Now we are ready to roll to give the people a cracking race weekend.”

Queensland sport minister Phil Reeves also welcomed the move taken by V8 Supercars to fill the space left by the A1GP withdrawal.

“I'd like to acknowledge the V8 Supercars for their ability and willingness to step up and ensure the Nikon SuperGP is a fantastic event,” he said. “The Nikon SuperGP is an iconic event and this change I believe can only enhance its reputation as one of the world's greatest motorsport events.

“I'm sure racing fans will not be disappointed and it will again be another great event. The Nikon SuperGP is much more than just racing, people come for the whole experience.”