The date of the 2024 running of the iconic Sandown 500 has been moved forward a week, Supercars has revealed.
The 50th edition of the Sandown 500 and 60th anniversary of the first race held in 1964 was originally scheduled to take place on September 20-22 2024.
But now the first enduro of the season has been brought forward a week and will now take place from September 13-15.
In doing so, it also better spreads the pre and post-race intervals with Sandown now falling neatly four weeks after the preceding Tasmanian round and four weeks before the Great Race.
It also means the 161-lap race avoids clashes with the AFL finals, with only the semi finals taking place on the Friday and Saturday nights, but retains its traditional September window as the stepping stone to the Bathurst 1000.
“The Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) has recently advised Supercars that Sandown cannot meet the operational needs of a Supercars event at the date originally announced as part of the 2024 calendar,” read a Supercars statement.
“Supercars while working with the MRC have agreed to bring the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Sandown 500 forward a week to September 13-15.
“The date change provides the greatest opportunity for Supercars to deliver the best possible event that showcases the rich history of the Sandown 500.”
Revised 2024 Supercars calendar
Round 1 – February 23-25: Bathurst 500 (Dunlop Series)
Round 2 – March 21-24: Melbourne SuperSprint
Round 3 – April 19-21: Taupo Super400
Round 4 – May 17-19: Perth SuperSprint (Dunlop Series)
Round 5 – June 14-16: Darwin Triple Crown
Round 6 – July 5-7: Townsville 500 (Dunlop Series)
Round 7 – July 19-21: Sydney SuperNight
Round 8 – August 16-18: Tasmania SuperSprint
Round 9 – September 13-15: Sandown 500 (Dunlop Series)
Round 10 – October 10-13: Bathurst 1000 (Dunlop Series)
Round 11 – October 25-27: Gold Coast 500
Round 12 – November 14-17: Adelaide 500 (Dunlop Series)
Image by Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography
There’s lots more loaded into a bumper edition of AUTO ACTION magazine, on sale at newsagents and available digitally here.
