The Bend now key to 2024 Supercars calendar

Whether or not The Bend is on the 2024 Supercars calendar will determine how a complicated pre-enduro period falls into place.

While most of the key elements of next year’s season have now been announced or can reliably be inferred, intrigue still surrounds the period after the NTI Townsville 500 up to the Sandown 500.

The key unknowns right now concern when Sydney Motorsport Park, Symmons Plains, and – to a lesser extent – Sandown fall, and when/if The Bend is part of that mix.

They will unfold at some point between Sunday, July 7 and Thursday, October 10, those dates being the conclusion of the NTI Townsville 500 weekend and (likely) start of practice at the Repco Bathurst 1000, respectively.

Ordinarily, that would leave 13 weekends to fit in the aforementioned three to four events but next year’s calendar is complicated by the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which run from July 26-August 11.

As previously reported by Speedcafe, Supercars has ‘blacked out’ the Olympic period because personnel who would otherwise be part of its television unit will be unavailable due to commitments in Paris.

Broadly speaking, there now appears to be three possible calendar scenarios, depending on whether Sydney is held before or after the Olympic Games, and whether or not The Bend – which would make for a total of 13 events rather than the minimum 12 – is held at all.

Sydney’s probable dates are either July 21 or August 18, the former of which is a slightly tight but not unmanageable turnaround given the long haul back from Townsville.

If it is indeed the former, then that opens up August 18 for The Bend.

While the South Australian circuit has not enjoyed significant ‘date equity’ on the Supercars calendar since it opened in 2018, mid-August is its most common time of year for hosting the championship.

If The Bend is part of the season, then Symmons Plains would presumably fall on the weekend of Sunday, September 1.

Multiple sources have tipped a ‘late-August’ date for the Tasmania SuperSprint, which is consistent with holding the event on August 31-September 1.

If that is the case, then the Sandown 500 would likely be held on the weekend of Sunday, September 22, before the Great Race on October 13, matching the turnaround time between this year’s enduros (September 17 to October 8) and leaving teams three weeks (Sunday to Sunday) from the pre-Sandown event to that first enduro of the year.

If The Bend is not on the calendar, then precise dates become more difficult to predict.

Should Sydney stay on July 21, then running Symmons Plains on August 18 and Sandown on September 15 spreads the racing out as evenly as possible.

If Sydney ends up back on August 18, then presumably Symmons Plains does take September 1 and Sandown, September 22.

Now, though, most other elements are known.

Supercars has confirmed pre-season testing on February 5 for the Sunshine State-based teams at Queensland Raceway and February 7 for their southern counterparts at Winton.

The Supercars component of the Bathurst SuperFest will take place on February 23-25 (the weekend after the Bathurst 12 Hour), and the championship would then head to Albert Park for its as yet not officially confirmed role as a support category for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on March 21-24.

Taupo is locked in for April 19-21, meaning the Wanneroo event likely falls on May 19 given Hidden Valley is again to be held just after the King’s Birthday, specifically on the weekend of Sunday, June 16.

As noted above, after Townsville, the field will head to Sydney, potentially The Bend, then Symmons Plains and Sandown.

The Bathurst 1000 will run from October 10-13 given New South Wales’ Labour Day public holiday is October 7 in 2024, and hence the National Rugby League Grand Final will inevitably be played on October 6.

The Gold Coast 500 is confirmed for October 25-27 while the Adelaide 500 is the contracted season finale, and sources indicate its date next year will be the weekend of Sunday, November 24.

That matches this year’s Vailo Adelaide 500, the only event remaining in the 2023 season, which unfolds on November 23-26.

2024 Supercars calendar scenarios