Now a six hour for the proddies

The V8 Supercar Championship has such prominence on the local motor sporting landscape that it is tough work for other categories to get a look in.

The Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, which has a portfolio that includes production cars, Formula Three, sports sedans, vees, Porsche Cup Challenge, V8 touring cars, occasionally Aussie Racing Cars, and others - is doing the best of the rest.

It has announced a new hallmark production car event for 2010 to complement the Bathurst 12-Hour showroom showdown, a reasonably authentic performance and durability test of cars that you and I can buy.

The Australian Six Hour at Eastern Creek Raceway in mid July gives entrants (and manufacturers) a further good reason to go racing. While none seem keen to join Ford and Holden on the V8 supercar grid, perhaps a more affordable, and more consumer relevant, series has appeal.

After the stand-alone Bathurst 12 Hour in February, the series' fifth season calendar launches into a compact, nine-round championship with a race every month between March and October across five states and at eight circuits.

Racegoers seem to relish a varietal Sunday race programme of six or seven different categories.