The 2024 season-opening Bathurst 500 will be the first of 12 rounds at 11 different venues on the 2024 Supercars calendar confirmed today.
But Tailem Bend won’t be among them, with the South Australian racing circuit dropped for next season, reportedly to keep the calendar at a cost-effective 12 races.
The circuit, which opened just five years ago, has agreement to return in 2025 as an endurance race.
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“Following discussions with management at the Bend, both parties have agreed that the best outcome is to focus on 2025, where the South Australian venue will host an endurance event for the first time,” Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.
“The circuit has produced incredible moments on track since 2018 and is well suited for Supercars endurance racing.
“We’re all excited to see what happens on track when endurance racing debuts at the Bend in 2025.”
The season will run from 23 February and end on 17 November with the Adelaide 500.
Mount Panorama was drafted in as the season opener to replace the Newcastle 500 after disagreements between the state government, the council and local residents over the value of the race prevented a new contract being signed for 2024.
The series is contractually bound to start the season in New South Wales. With Mount Panorama already set up for the Supercars-managed Bathurst 12 Hour on 16–18 February, the newly reinstated Bathurst 500 has been conveniently tacked on for the following weekend to form a 10-day motorsport festival in the NSW Central Tablelands.
The series will travel from Bathurst to Melbourne one month later for the Australian Grand Prix, where the sport will continue with the four-day format used this year to squeeze into the jam-packed weekend schedule.
However, the four-race arrangement is unlikely to feature compulsory pit stops, with the Supercars paddock expected to be relegated from pit lane to the Albert Park infield next year to make room for F1-backed junior categories Formula 2 and Formula 3, which will return Down Under next season.
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The Supercars will then return to New Zealand for the first time in two seasons, with Taupō International Motorsport Park replacing the defunct Pukekohe Park Raceway, which closed its doors to motorsport earlier this year.
“We cannot wait to begin a new chapter of racing in New Zealand in April,” Howard said. “Our debut at Taupō will be one of the highlights of the year and already teams are planning their own celebrations for our trip across the Tasman.”
Races in Perth, Darwin, Townsville and Sydney follow, with Tasmania swapped from May to August to ensure the series races in every state and territory bar Canberra.
“2024 is already shaping up as one of the biggest in our sport’s history,” Howard said. “Next year we will see a new crop of drivers taking to some of the toughest circuits to race on in the world, with all states and the Northern Territory once again represented on the calendar, maintaining our national footprint.”
The two-round endurance series continues next season with the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in September and October.
Sandown will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Australian Touring Car Championship endurance race held at the Melbourne circuit.
As is the case this season, the Gold Coast 500 and Adelaide 500 will end the campaign in October and November.
Other than Newcastle and Tailem Bend, former Supercars stalwarts Queensland Raceway and Winton Motor Raceway remain notable absences from the schedule.
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The 2024 campaign will feature revised formats, with sprint rounds in Perth, Darwin and Tasmania now comprising two races, with one apiece on Saturday and Sunday.
The races will be longer, however, at around 60 minutes each, addressing disquiet among some sections of the sport about the lack of strategy and tactics in the majority of races.
The Sydney SuperNight and Taupō Super400 will both comprise two 200-kilometre races, with refuelling mandatory for both.
The 500-kilometre rounds will be run to the same format as this season, with top-10 shootouts used to decide pole position.
Supercars 2024 calendar
1. Bathurst 500 — Mount Panorama Circuit (23–25 February)
2. Melbourne SuperSprint — Albert Park Circuit (23–24 March)
3. Taupō Super400 — Taupō International Motorsport Park (19–21 April)
4. Perth SuperSprint — Wanneroo Raceway (17–19 May)
5. Darwin Triple Crown — Hidden Valley Raceway (14–16 June)
6. Townsville 500 — Reid Park Street Circuit (5–7 July)
7. Sydney SuperNight — Sydney Motorsport Park (19–21 July)
8. Tasmania SuperSprint — Symmons Plains Raceway (16–18 August)
9. Sandown 500 — Sandown Raceway (20–22 September)
10. Bathurst 1000 — Mount Panorama Circuit (10–13 October)
11. Gold Coast 500 — Surfers Paradise Street Circuit (25–27 October)
12. Adelaide 500 — Adelaide Street Track (14–17 November)