The status of the calendar has been the subject of feverish speculation at Sandown amid expectations the Victorian venue would be dropped in favour of Queensland Raceway.
However, Speedcafe has learnt the RACE Board is on the brink of committing to expanding the calendar from 12 to 13 rounds and handing Sandown a new November date.
RACE chairman Barclay Nettelfold declared in March that he planned to grow the calendar beyond the oft-criticised 12 rounds next season.
That’s proven easier said than done as Supercars must pay its teams more money to add an event but will receive no extra funding under its TV broadcast deal.
With teams resistant to compromising their position, it appears RACE will rally the required multi-million dollar funding as part of its commitment to grow the sport.
While the plan is yet to be signed off by the Board and could still meet a late hurdle, it will likely be done within the next fortnight ahead of a calendar release at the Bathurst 1000.
“Discussions are ongoing regarding the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship calendar,” a Supercars spokesperson told Speedcafe.
The push to accomodate Sandown comes despite it being the only Supercars event that does not currently receive government funding.
Victoria’s cash-strapped government already invests heavily in the Australian Formula 1 and MotoGP Grands Prix at Albert Park and Phillip Island respectively.
Supercars plans to start its 2025 season at Sydney Motorsport Park, which is set to take over the Round 1 slot from the Bathurst 500 event implemented as a stop-gap this year.
Albert Park and New Zealand’s new-for-2024 Taupo fixture will follow ahead of Symmons Plains, Wanneroo, Hidden Valley, and Townsville.
Queensland Raceway’s inclusion on the calendar for the first time since 2019 will coincide with the completion of new garages at the Tony Quinn-owned venue.
It will host the championship in August before visits to The Bend (which returns after a single-year absence), Bathurst, the Gold Coast, Sandown and Adelaide.
Although formats have not been locked in, The Bend is guaranteed a 500km endurance race, leaving Sandown to run to a single-driver, sprint event.
Supercars is known to remain keen on reinstating an Enduro Cup, although whether that extends to a third event beyond The Bend and Bathurst remains to be seen.
This weekend’s Sandown 500 celebrates 60 years since the first running of the Sandown endurance race.
The Sandown 500 has a patchy history over recent decades, with Supercars moving the 500km format to different circuits and cancelling it entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The medium-term future of the Sandown venue itself remains under question, with owners the Melbourne Racing Club long touted to be weighing up selling the land for housing.
Sandown Raceway is located in the suburb of Springvale, 25km south-east of Melbourne’s city centre.
Discussion about this post