Supercars, which promotes the Bathurst 12 Hour, announced on Friday that the GT endurance event will be pushed back two weeks to February 13-15.
That has occurred to avoid a clash with the Asian Le Mans Series, which hosts GT3 competitors that Bathurst would like to attract.
However, the move leaves just two spare weekends between the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in which to fit the Supercars season-opener.
That almost guarantees a February 20-22 kick-off for the Supercars Championship – the same weekend Round 1 was held this year.
Supercars is yet to confirm a location for the event, although it’s expected to remain at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2026 ahead of the planned debut of the Perth street race in ’27.
This year’s Sydney opener was hailed a major success by Supercars, with strong TV weekend ratings and attendance despite a lowkey start on the Friday.
There will be major interest in next year’s event thanks to the debut of the Toyota Supra and Triple Eight’s switch from GM to Ford.
Whether Supercars will again install a pre-season test on the Wednesday of race week is currently unclear.
Having the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Supercars opener on consecutive weekends will put a strain on Supercars staff rostered to both.
As revealed this morning, Supercars intends to maintain full control of the 12 Hour next year, despite suggestions the SRO Motorsports Group would take an increased operational role.
The two events last took place on back-to-back weekends in 2024, when the Supercars season began at Mount Panorama.
Last year Grove Racing was the only Supercars team to tackle the 12 Hour, while a handful of drivers and crew members took part with other outfits.
Supercars squads are again expected to have a lengthy break next year following Albert Park while the cars and equipment are sea freighted to New Zealand.
Racing in NZ will take place across the April 10-12 (Taupo) and April 15-17 (Ruapuna) weekends.
Supercars hopes to expand its calendar to 14 rounds with the inclusion of Ruapuna, pending ongoing negotiations with its teams over how it will be funded.
Queensland Raceway is most likely to fall off the schedule if a deal with the teams is not reached.
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