I RECKON something pretty special happened last night at Accor Stadium in Sydney.

An engaged crowd, sitting in the comfort of a stadium with all the accompanying benefits that come with, watching motorsport and passionately cheering for their favourite drivers – in this case, the Aussie teams as they took on the world’s best in the Race of Champions Nations Cup.

For someone that spends most of their life locked away in a commentary box at massive, spread out circuit racing facilities where unless it’s Adelaide or Bathurst atmosphere can be hard to find, it was something of a culture shock.

Against a sold-out AFL opener at the SCG and an NRL game down the M5 in Campbelltown, the crowd wasn’t huge, perhaps twelve to fifteen thousand, but they were seriously vocal.

It differed even from the Speedway; while sharing the same contained, intimate atmosphere as dirt track racing there’s no Speedway in Australia that can come close to matching the impressive sight nor facilities of a proper, pukka, major sporting colosseum like Sydney’s Olympic one, even if it wasn’t full.

And it was contagious, too. Two gents we bumped into at the local watering hole post event told us they went into the night uncommitted about returning for night two – but that the Friday night show had them hooked and as such, they were planning a return this evening.

The energy that coursed through the stadium when Toby Price pipped Louis Sharp by 0.024 in the Group stage to advance Team Australia Off Road to the semi’s was every bit as convincing as the roars that responded to a Glenn Maxwell six at the ‘G over summer.

Stadium Motorsport isn’t a new concept and nor is it foreign to these parts, but the RoC concept is unique and special in the breathtaking relentlessness of it all, as well as how engaged you become.

Live sport, especially those in stadiums, feeds off the atmosphere at the game and I woke up this morning craving more and more of what was produced last night. It was like a drug and I get why those that do Footy and Cricket and NRL week in, week out, remain at it for so long.

We don’t get enough of that in our game.

The four-minute breaks between group stages, semi’s and other finals – designed to allow both domestic and international TV broadcasters to take commercial breaks – fly past. They allow you to catch your breath, but they don’t allow the excitement to diminish.

Think of it as a change of over in a Big Bash game.

Every race had meaning, every race had consequences every race was contested at 120%. It’s events like this that prove the Supercars are on the right track with their finals system we’ll see for the first time later this year.

There was much to like on Friday night and the added benefit that the Aussie’s did such a good job helped the cause by only further engaging a naturally parochial crowd, who joined in the rollercoaster of knockout, elimination sport.

Having national pride on the line as a team in motorsport is a rare thing and it’s incredible to see the response. Hello, International Olympic Committee?

In fact, my first thought after last night’s National battle was that would be a perfect format template for introducing motorsport to the Games every four years.

There’s showmanship, sure, but last night the ridiculous ability of world-class champions was on full display at all times and the driving talents of Victor Martins, Will Brown, Brodie Kostecki and Sebastien Loeb were ultimately what got their respective nations through to the finals.

And just like in the games, it was a mighty performance from the young Frenchman who eclipsed our Will for Gold.

Tonight, Saturday, it becomes head to head competition with each driver fighting for their own glory and I can’t wait.

There will still be the parochialism and national pride – if it’s an Australian versus a Pom or Kiwi in the final, watch out – but fans of the individuals can back their own driver too.

And then if you’re just a motorsport fan in general, you’ll sit back and enjoy the fact that at some point there’s a very good chance nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb will go head to head with four-time World Champion Seb Vettel in identical cars and conditions and where else in the world can that happen?

Reason enough, I think, to be there or to tune in.

I can’t wait for tonight; it’s the most engaging, refreshing, fan-focused form of motorsport I’ve seen in years. And I hope this is the start of a long-term RoC relationship with Australia. I feel like it needed this introduction; word of mouth (I’ll be one of them) will make a potential second year even bigger and better.

Tickets are still available tonight, but if you’re not in Sydney Channel 10 will have all the action.