More racing in revolutionary Supercars season
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 9 October 2024
Not only will there be a new Finals Series, but more racing is coming with the formats also shaking up in a revamped 2025 Supercars Championship.
Next year for the first time in the 65-year history of Supercars/Australian Touring Car Championship, the champion will be determined in a new Finals.
The 10-driver Finals Series will be staged across three events at Gold Coast, Sandown and the Grand Final Adelaide where the final four will face a showdown for the title.
Not only do fans have a new, revolutionary championship structure to look forward to in 2025, but also more racing.
Across 13 rounds there will be 10 additional races and 1200 further racing kilometres in 2025 compared to the current 2024 season.
This is mainly due to a completely revised format for race weekends with almost every event aside from the famous Bathurst 1000 getting a makeover.
The season will be split into three segments, Sprint Cup, Enduro Cup and Finals.
The 2025 season will start with a Friday night affair at Sydney Motorsport Park dubbed the Sydney 500.
A 100km sprint on Friday evening will open the year before a longer Saturday night 200km race.
The same distance will be held in a Sunday afternoon finale, ensuring the February season opener will be a busy one.
The annual trip to the Australian Grand Prix retains its rapid-fire nature of sprints with four dashes sprinkled across each day of the Formula 1 weekend.
There will also be more racing at Albert Park in 2025 with three 105km races rather than just the two seen this year.
The new Sprint format named the Super440 will make its first appearance when Supercars return to New Zealand and Taupo Motorsport Park.
In similar fashion to 2014, a pair of 120km sprints are held on Saturday before a longer 200km affair takes centre stage on Sunday.
The first Saturday sprint will be run on the Soft tyre and the second on the new SuperSoft compound.
In Qualifying the Saturday sprints will be determined by a two-part format where the 14 slowest are knocked out before the remaining 10 fight for pole over eight minutes.
But for Sunday’s longer 200km race, a top 10 shootout will be staged with part 1 trimming the field from 24 to 18 and part 2 determining who makes the one lap dash.
The Super440 format will feature a total of five times at Taupo, Symmons Plains, Wanneroo, Hidden Valley and Ipswich.
For the fourth time in the event’s history and first since 2021, Townsville will host three races once again.
In a major first for the Queensland street race, it will stage a Friday night affair that will be a 100km dash before the traditional pair of 200km races are held across the weekend.
The iconic 500km September enduro and Bathurst 1000 will retain the same formats that made them famous and both be run on the Soft tyre.
However, for the first time the pre-Bathurst enduro will be held in South Australia with The Bend 500.
The September classic has been moved from Sandown after the 60th anniversary of the Sandown 500.
However, the Sandown 500 will still be referred to on the Supercars calendar, albeit as a single-driver event.
A pair of 250km races will take place at both Gold Coast and Sandown where the heat will be on with the inaugural Supercars finals in full swing.
Both events mirror each other with a top 10 shootout leading into a 250km race each day, but Saturday will be on the SuperSoft and Sunday on the Soft.
All of this reaches a crescendo on the streets of South Australia’s capital, which is no longer known as the Adelaide 500.
Now called the VAILO Adelaide Grand Final, a 100km race will be held on the Friday evening, before the familiar 250km classics on Saturday and Sunday, seeing the event stage three races for the first time since 2016.
In addition to all the racing, two test days have been confirmed in 2025.
The all in pre-season test will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on Wednesday, February 19, two days before the season opener.
A pre Enduro Cup test will also take place at Queensland Raceway on Monday, August 11, the day after round 8 held at the same circuit.
Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography
READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.
Recent Stories
array (
0 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 11,
'name' => 'Latest News',
'slug' => 'latest-news',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 11,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 16507,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 11,
'category_count' => 16507,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'Latest News',
'category_nicename' => 'latest-news',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
1 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 38,
'name' => 'Supercars',
'slug' => 'supercars',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 38,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 5523,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 38,
'category_count' => 5523,
'category_description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
'cat_name' => 'Supercars',
'category_nicename' => 'supercars',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
2 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 2029,
'name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
'slug' => 'email',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 2029,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 2031,
'count' => 7065,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2029,
'category_count' => 7065,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
'category_nicename' => 'email',
'category_parent' => 2031,
)),
3 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 2031,
'name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
'slug' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 2031,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 6420,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2031,
'category_count' => 6420,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
)
