An extra Supercars race has been scheduled for 4:20pm on the Friday of the bp Adelaide Grand Final, treating fans to three races over three days.
While fans have been able to watch Supercars on track during Friday practice and/or qualifying sessions every year since the Adelaide event began in 1999, the category has never before held a race on that day of the round.
The Friday race adds even more action to the bp Adelaide Grand Final, where the Supercars Championship battle is set to go down to the wire and be decided during the weekend.
THE NEW FRIDAY RACE
At 100km in length, the Friday race will be the shortest ever held at the Adelaide Street Circuit – but it may be the most entertaining.
The tight racetrack always creates interesting racing but drivers will have just 32 laps to gain the lead or as many positions as possible.
It means they may not be as likely to wait for the right time to make their passing moves as they can be in the traditionally longer, 78-lap races.
This may lead to more passes; or it may lead to more passes failing, which creates tension on the track at the least, and race-defining damage to race cars at the most.
The Friday race will also include just one compulsory pit stop for drivers, rather than the two traditionally seen in longer races, so strategy may come into play, as teams can have different thoughts on the optimum point of the race to change tyres.
Teams have also traditionally had two days and nights to contemplate and determine the best race set-up for their race cars at an Adelaide event, so an earlier race also may mean the pressure is on engineers to create a fast race car from the outset.
The race will also ensure fans can see Supercars on track three times during the Friday – first at 10:30am for a half-hour practice session, then at 12:40pm for a half-hour qualifying session, before the one-hour race at 4:20pm.
THE BIG RISKS
Friday has been one of the most action-packed days of the Adelaide race weekend in recent years because Supercars drivers have pushed the limits as well as suffered the consequences of the smallest mistakes during qualifying.
With only a couple of practice sessions under their belts, it can be easy for drivers to make a mistake as they push to set the fastest lap time possible and start the race from the front of the grid.
It was never more evident than in 2024, when three separate incidents occurred within 30 seconds at the notorious Turn 8 during Friday afternoon qualifying that changed the course of the race weekend for many drivers.
Richie Stanaway was the first driver to crash into the Turn 8 barriers after a bad entry into the high-speed corner, and while he was able to drive his race car back to the pits, he was later found to be suffering from concussion and ruled out of all the weekend’s racing.
Cameron Hill was the next driver to slide sideways into the Turn 8 wall, then Reynolds did the same, and both their cars came together as one mangled wreck on Brabham Straight.
Crews at both teams were able to repair the cars overnight to race the rest of the weekend, but the incident still compromised their results, as neither finished a race in the top 10.
The crashes caused the qualifying session to end early and most other Supercars drivers were yet to record a good lap time, significantly affecting the starting positions for many in the first race.
With this year’s qualifying to be held at lunchtime on Friday, three hours before the 100km race, no driver will want to make a mistake that leads to a damaged car – nor may they want others to, either.
If cars are damaged in any way during qualifying, teams will be racing against the clock to repair them within a few hours.
If a car is damaged in the race, regardless of whether it can be repaired for Saturday and Sunday’s longer races, it may affect a driver’s chance of securing the championship.
THE BIG REWARDS
For the four Supercars championship contenders, the Friday race will be crucial to getting a head start in the standings to be the one holding the 2025 season trophy aloft to the Pit Straight Grandstand crowd on Sunday afternoon.
Under the new Supercars Finals system, which makes the Adelaide event Supercars’ Grand Final, four drivers will be eligible to race for the championship across the weekend’s three races.
At the start of the event, they will be allocated 5050, 5030, 5015 or 5000 championship points, based on their results at the previous round.
The driver who has accrued the most points after the three Adelaide races will be declared the 2025 season champion.
There are 50 championship points available for the winner of Friday’s race, with points allocated on a sliding scale to the other drivers depending on their race results.
While a win or a good result on Friday won’t seal the championship for any of those four drivers, the closeness of the points contest will mean they will be fighting on track to finish as high as they can and get as many points as they can early in the weekend.
For all 24 drivers, however, there is extra incentive to win the Friday race, as a new $50,000 prize is on offer to the one who passes the chequered flag first.
The South Australian Motorsport Board and Mega Rewards have teamed up to provide the cash reward.
Witnessing who that winning driver will be is something that no race fan will want to miss and the best way to see it will be at the bp Adelaide Grand Final on Friday.
OTHER FRIDAY ATTRACTIONS
The Friday on-track action kicks off at 8:25am with Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying before Battery World Aussie Racing Cars take to the track for their first race.
The Dunlop Series and Trico Trans Am categories will also be on track before Supercars qualifying begins at 12:40pm.
Off-track highlights include the start of the Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Grand Final event, which is the fifth and final round of the 2025 Supercross championship season.
The best national and international supercross riders in the premier classes will take to the purpose-built track, located in front of the Heritage Grandstand, for practice and qualifying during Friday.
From 5:45pm, after the Supercars Friday race concludes, the final night of racing begins at the NAPA Sprintcar Invitational at the NAPA Speedway circuit at CBC Oval.
This year’s event features more speedway racing than ever before in the Adelaide CBD with more than 40 invited open-wheel sprintcar drivers to send dirt flying on the 342m temporary speedway track.
To plan your day view the Friday race schedule.
Don’t miss the bp Adelaide Grand Final in Adelaide this 27-30 November. General Admission, Grandstand and AC/DC Concert Premium Viewing Zones on sale now via Ticketmaster.
Speedcafe has a paid partnership with the bp Adelaide Grand Final.
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