The Pitcher Partners-backed endurance event will take place in late May, almost two months earlier than previously.

The event will at the second round of the Motor Racing Australia series and will also feature an endurance race for Series X3 NSW (Hyundai Excels). The season kicks off at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 5 on the Druitt (north) circuit with the opening round – the first race meeting of the year in Australia.

It will be the fifth year for the 77-lap 300km enduro event on SMP’s Gardiner GP circuit. Is the showcase of MRA season and will take place on the night of Saturday May 18. It was first held in 2019 and was won by Todd Herring and Andy Harris in a Mazda MX5 by less than a second over David Loftus and Phil Armour (Mazda RX8).

There was no 2020 race due to Covid, but it has been a mainstay of MRA since. Herring notched a second win in 2021, in a lone hand drive before Dylan Thomas and Cody Brewczynski shared a Mitsubishi EVO 9 to the narrowest win (0.31s) in 2022, courtesy of a late Safety Car.

Brothers Benny and Jimmy Tran have always been among the quickest entries in their Hondas, but Benny opted to go solo last year and took his Integra to the biggest winning margin of 49.4s. There were 34 finishes in the multi class event with 14 DNFs.

MRA’s third, fourth and fifth outings on June 16, July 27 and September 15 respectively will be all be on the GP layout. There is provision for another round, at One Raceway with a date announced when the circuit, formerly known as Wakefield Park, reopens.

The SMP events will feature MRA regular categories, MX5 Cup and Series X3 NSW at all rounds. Super TT will compete over four rounds, as will Alfa Romeo Racing. APRA Pulsars are slated for three rounds, Clubmans for two and MG Racing for one.