Supercars Race Format at The Bend

FORMAT OF THE AIRTOUCH 500 AT THE BEND

QUALIFYING

Supercars will be on track several times across Friday and Saturday of the event as drivers and co-drivers take to the 4.95km international circuit for valuable practice sessions.

Qualifying on Saturday features a Top 10 Shootout for the first time for Supercars at The Bend.

In the pits with Shell V-Power Racing Team

The popular qualifying method among fans and drivers alike is held after the main qualifying session and only features the 10 drivers who set the fastest lap times. Each driver takes to the circuit one by one to set a lap time that determines their race start position. The excitement of who will take pole position is palpable as each driver competes their lap.

CO-DRIVERS

All primary Supercars drivers will be paired with a co-driver for the AirTouch 500, bringing some old favourite drivers back to The Bend as well as emerging talent. Former Supercar drivers and South Australians Scott Pye, Tim Slade and Todd Hazelwood are among the co-drivers, as are former series champions Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Garth Tander.

Todd Hazelwood

SA’s Brad Vaughan and Kobe Stewart are among the emerging talent to co-drive. Three teams are also fielding a wildcard entry, which is an additional racecar with its own two drivers, expanding the usual 24-car field to 27. Former champion and seven-time Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes is among the drivers of wildcard entries.

500KM OF RACING

Never before has Supercars raced for so long at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park. Previous Supercars events have involved sprint races of 100km each, so racing for 500km on the Sunday afternoon will test the drivers as much as the race cars. Each car’s capacity to mechanically survive the 18 corners of the long race track will be tested, while tyres will be pushed to their limits.

Team engineers have limited history of data about how race cars will behave under these circumstances, while enduro strategy has never been tested at this venue. Drivers, meanwhile, will have to stay focused for longer, and many co-drivers having never completed laps at the circuit in a Supercar before.

AIRTOUCH 500 SUPPORT CATEGORIES

Supercars is not the only category to feature on track, with support categories set to thrill fans between their sessions. Leading the undercard is the 2025 FIA TCR World Tour - the official World Championship for touring car racing – which is hosting one of its nine rounds staged across the world at The Bend. It brings more than 20 teams and 200 competitors from overseas to attend the event. The factory-backed drivers in TCR-spec cars from such brands as Hyundai, Honda, Audi, Lynk & Co and Cupra compete against local challengers, creating an “Australia against the World” scenario.

TCR Australia at The Bend in 2024

Local drivers including 2024 Australian Formula 4 champion Ryan MacMillan, 17, who is aiming for an international racing career. “Being a World tour, it’s very big to be coming to South Australia and The Bend, so I can’t wait,” he says. “The Bend’s always been good to me (when I’ve raced there previously) so hopefully a podium or win would be great.”

The popular Touring Car Masters and Porsche Carrera Cup support categories will also be on track to excite race fans.