Changes are in the works for next year’s Supercars sprint race formats.

Amid the wait for the 2025 calendar, expected to be announced before next week’s Repco Bathurst 1000, revised weekend racing schedules are a big topic.

Most fans and teams want fewer practice sessions and more racing at sprint race events.

A return to the traditional format of a race on Saturdays and two on Sundays is on the cards, plus the possibility of ‘sudden death’ qualifying.

Other variations to provide more meaningful Supercars track action are also in play.

In the latest Road To Bathurst podcast, Supercars general manager of motor sport Tim Edwards comments on possible sprint race format changes.

Edwards also looks ahead to engine tuning changes as Ford teams call for more grunt at Mount Panorama.

Recent transient dyno testing data from the USA will be co-related with last-minute track testing to determine if the Ford and GM V8s need fine tuning for equalisation at Bathurst.

Ford star Cam Waters maintains that the Mustangs need a bit more oomph to be truly competitive at The Mountain.

After three podiums in the past four years, Waters is desperately seeking a breakthrough win.

In an open exchange with host Mark Fogarty, Waters also confirms his long-term commitment to Supercars as he seeks more NASCAR opportunities.

It’s all in the latest Road To Bathurst podcast, powered by VACC Automotive Apprenticeships.

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Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley has told Mark Fogarty on the Road To Bathurst podcast that the Australian arm of the Japanese manufacturer will put the full might of its marketing prowess behind its Supercars program.

Toyota recently announced that it would enter the Supercars Championship in 2026 and the company already has ideas and plans to leverage its involvement in the sport, and that will start with the unveiling of a full-scale mock-up model of the Supercars Supra at this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 in just a few weeks time.

“You can bet we will,” Hanley enthused when asked if Toyota will back its Supercars program with a full marketing campaign.

“We showed our dealer network [at Toyota’s recent dealer convention] on the Gold Coast what we had planned. We had 800-plus of our dealers in one room and we had it on the big screen and when we started up our V8 engine on the audio I can tell you that room rumbled,” Hanley said.

“We are excited. Our dealer network is excited and you will see the might of Toyota marketing in the next few years. We have a lot of great ideas.”

Toyota has announced Walkinshaw Andretti United as its homologation team, but Hanley told RTB that there would be at least four Supras on the Supercars grid in 2026, if not more. He said negotiations with a second, and possibly a third, Supercars team would be completed by June 2025.

In the full-extended interview with Foges on RTB, Hanley also discusses Hybrid and other future proofing options for Supercars.

Click the on the link above for the full interview.

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This week in the Road To Bathurst podcast, it’s still all about Toyota entering Supercars in 2026.

The announcement that the world’s biggest car-maker is taking on Ford and GM in Australia continues to reverberate.

It’s the biggest news in Australian motor sport history.

Toyota will join in ’26 with at least four GR Supras developed by former Holden factory team, Walkinshaw Andretti United. This mock-up design by Nick Moss is what the WAU Supra could look like.

In the latest ‘Road To Bathurst’ podcast, more new details of Toyota’s entry are revealed.

Host Mark Fogarty grills Toyota Australia marketing boss Sean Hanley and WAU boss Ryan Walkinshaw about how it all came about.

Foges gets the big answers.

Hanley exclusively reveals the tight timeline for last week’s announcement, while Walkinshaw explains the shift from Ford to Toyota.

It’s all in the latest ‘Road To Bathurst’ podcast, powered by VACC Automotvie Apprenticeships.

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Toyota Australia is set to shake up the Repco Supercars Championship when it enters Australia’s premier motorsport category in 2026 with its GR Supra.

Toyota will field a minimum of four GEN3 GR Supras. Two will be run by Toyota’s homologation team partner Walkinshaw Andretti United with Supercars drivers Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood behind the wheel.

The brand’s entry into the Supercars Championship significantly extends its commitment to supporting Australian motorsport that already includes its one-make grassroots Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia (TGRA) Scholarship Series and GR CUP, and the TGRA Rally Team alongside Neal Bates Motorsport, that currently leads the Australian Rally Championship.

Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said Toyota’s participation in Supercars was a dream come true that would provide both a showcase for its GR performance cars and an extended career opportunity for talented drivers and the design and engineering crews that support them.

“At Toyota, we have been toying with the idea of competing in Supercars for more than 20 years and now with the right car, the right team, and a very strong partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship, the time is definitely right,” Mr Hanley said.

“This is truly an historic moment!

“Our GR brand and performance cars were built on the knowledge that we gain from participating in top-level motorsport and our entry into the Supercars Championship will cement that connection and give us the opportunity to showcase Toyota Gazoo Racing excitement to a wide audience of passionate fans,” Mr Hanley said.

Repco Supercars Championship CEO Shane Howard said he welcomed Toyota’s announcement that would bring a new level of competition to Australia’s premier motorsport category.

“This is a landmark moment for Supercars, solidifying an iconic global automotive brand on our grid from 2026,” Howard said.

“It’s a testament to the immense popularity and international appeal of our sport that a powerhouse like Toyota has chosen to join our grid.”

As a team that brings together support from some of the biggest names in global motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has a long and successful history in Supercars with seven Bathurst 1000 wins, six Drivers Championships, and 191 Championship race wins.

Team directors Ryan Walkinshaw, Zak Brown and Michael Andretti said they were thrilled to partner with Toyota as its homologation team and build on the growing partnership.

“To announce our future with Toyota Australia, as it enters the Supercars Championship from 2026, is a fantastic honour and privilege for everyone at Walkinshaw Andretti United,” WAU Director Ryan Walkinshaw said.

Zak Brown, Director of WAU and CEO of United Autosports added: “Today is a huge day for Walkinshaw Andretti United and for Supercars, and we are delighted to be partnering with Toyota Australia as it enters the sport in 2026.

“To have a third OEM enter into Supercars shows the strength of the sport now and into the future, and it’s going to be pretty special to see all three manufacturers battle it out.”

The GR Supra will use Toyota’s 2UR-GSE all-aluminium, quad-cam V8 that has featured in a range of performance production cars, as well as the 2019 Dakar-winning HiLux, as its baseline engine.

Toyota is committed to racing in the Supercars Championship for five years.

Further details on the racecar will be announced in due course.

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Will Brown has beaten Triple Eight Race Engineering teammate Broc Feeney to victory in the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, with the championship leader and Scott Pye scoring their first Supercars endurance race victories.

The points leader beat Feeney, who won the 2023 race with Jamie Whincup, by half a second, in a Sandown endurance event that ran time certain to 154 laps and featured five safety car periods.

It marked Brown’s first win since New Zealand in April, while Pye claimed just his second career win and first since Albert Park in 2018. It was Triple Eight Race Engineering’s ninth win in the Sandown 500 endurance race.

Brown will head to the Repco Bathurst 1000 with a 189-point lead over Chaz Mostert with Feeney 222 points behind.

James Golding/David Russell delivered a maiden Supercars podium for PremiAir Nulon Racing. Matt Payne/Garth Tander finished fourth ahead of Triple Eight wildcard Cooper Murray/Craig Lowndes, with Cameron Waters/James Moffat sixth.

Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth came home seventh, with the championship contender surviving an early-race spin for Holdsworth to limit the damage to Brown in the title fight.

“Those last laps were nerve wracking, I thought don’t put a foot wrong, because Broc’s going to be there and I know he’ll pounce, but it was awesome,” said Brown.

“I’m just so stoked to get this, a win here at Sandown, the first round of the enduros, it’s a bloody good way to start it, so thanks to all the guys and girls at Red Bull Ampol Racing.”

The Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood and Richie Stanaway/Dale Wood entries were the only retirements from the race, with a record-equalling 20 cars finishing on the lead lap.

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at Mount Panorama for the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 10 to 13.

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Celebrated Supercars star Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom has spoken out about his recent dumping by Team 18.

The out of contract Winterbottom was the loser in a massive driver shuffle that saw reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki move from Erebus to Dick Johnson Racing and Anton De Pasquale named as Frosty’s replacement at Team 18 for the 2025 season, with debutant Cooper Murray filling the empty seat at Erebus.

“I didn’t expect it. That wasn’t the communication,” Winterbottom told Mark Fogarty in the “Road To Bathurst, powered by VACC Automotive Apprenticeships” (listen below).

“Teams make decisions and they just have to stick by them. That is their call. It wasn’t what was discussed, but they have made the decision and that is that.

“You come home and tell your family. Motorsport is funny. You think you know the script but it’s more of a soap opera than any TV show that you watch.

“The decision has been made. We have four rounds to go and I’m going to try to enjoy those four rounds and do the best job that I can… try and finish off the year strong. That is all I can do.”

And while Winterbottom will be in demand as a gun co-driver, he’s not ready to give up continuing as a full-time driver.

“I’m still pretty fresh and I think I am driving well. I have a lot to offer and I am hungry. I don’t have a point to prove, but f*ck I have a point to prove… I know in a good car I will get the results!

“Sometimes what you want and what you get are two different things. This year I have had two podiums. The team has only had two podiums and I have had them both… and their only win. I always wear the team hat and I think I would have been higher up in the points if I didn’t take a few risks. I’m not ready to give up yet!”

Frosty’s an outside candidate to join PremiAir, with both Tim Slade and James Golding at risk.

Third-generation driver Cameron McLeod is also a hot tip to join Peter Xiberras’s ambitious Nulon Racing outfit.

Foges also discusses the latest on the 2025 Supercars calendar, the bleak future of Sandown Raceway, the potential return of the much-loved Enduro Cup, Kostecki’s big pay day and he lifts the lid on a Supercars tyres controversy.

All this and much more in the first episode of the Road To Bathurst podcast.

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Tickford Racing has confirmed that James Moffat and Tyler Everingham will rejoin the team as co-drivers for the 2024 Supercars endurance events.

Moffat returns to Tickford Racing to partner with Cameron Waters, having scored two Bathurst podiums together.

Everingham will team up with Thomas Randle for the 2024 enduros. After joining the team for the endurance events last season, Everingham switches entries to partner with Randle.

“We’re thrilled to have James and Tyler with us for the 2024 endurance races,” said Tickford Racing CEO Simon Brookhouse.

“James brings experience that is crucial in these events, while Tyler’s speed and determination are fantastic additions to the team. We’re confident they’ll be highly competitive at Sandown and Bathurst.”

Moffat said: “It’s always an exciting time of the year, and I’m really happy to be back with Tickford Racing. Looking forward to teaming up with Cam and the crew.”

Everingham said: “I’m excited to be back with Tickford for the enduros, and I can’t wait to team up with Thomas and work with Chris (Stuckey) again.”

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