The stage is set for the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 with the Supercars field preparing to tackle 1000 kilometres around Mount Panorama in the 66th running of The Great Race.

Both the Ryco Enduro Cup and Championship Finals picture will be on the line with plenty at stake when the lights go green on Sunday.

Fresh from a landmark result at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard head to Bathurst as the Enduro Cup leaders.

The pair delivered Toyota a stunning victory in its first Supercars enduro, taking their Mobil 1 Optus Toyota GR Supra to victory from 11th on the grid in a race dominated by rain, safety cars and changing conditions.

Toyota also secured a 1-3 finish, with Ryan Wood and Jaxon Evans completing the podium.

The result has put the new Toyota package firmly in the spotlight heading to the Mountain, with Mostert and Coulthard now the combination to beat for the Enduro Cup.

Mostert also arrives with plenty of confidence as the reigning Supercars Champion, although his eighth-place finish in the championship standings means he will need a strong Bathurst result to maximise his Finals position.

Mostert is one of eight drivers already locked into the 2026 Finals, alongside championship leader Broc Feeney, Matt Payne, Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters, Kai Allen, Anton De Pasquale and Will Brown.

Feeney leads Payne by 30 points heading into Bathurst, while Kostecki, Waters and Allen remain closely grouped behind.

For Payne, Bathurst provides the opportunity to cap another strong season and defend his Great Race crown.

The 24-year-old Aucklander and Garth Tander produced one of the most memorable Bathurst victories in recent history last year, charging from 18th on the grid to win a dramatic, rain-affected race.

Payne and Tander’s achievement was officially recognised this week, with their names immortalised on the Bathurst 1000 winners’ plaque on Victors’ Walk.

Tander has since retired from his Supercars co-driving duties, with two-time Bathurst winner Will Davison now joining Payne in the Penrite Ford Mustang.

The Payne/Davison combination finished sixth at The Bend after Payne was penalised following a late-race clash, but the pair remain major contenders for both the Enduro Cup and the Great Race itself.

Behind the locked-in Finals contenders, Bathurst also represents a final opportunity for those still fighting to secure their place in the championship decider.

Ryan Wood sits just outside the top eight, while James Golding, Jack Le Brocq and Thomas Randle are among those needing a strong result at the Mountain to keep their Finals hopes alive.

Another driver chasing a long-awaited Bathurst breakthrough is James Courtney. The four-time podium finisher has come agonisingly close to victory, finishing second in 2007 and third in 2006, 2008 and 2019.

Paired with 2017 winner David Reynolds for Team 18, Courtney will be determined to finally complete the one glaring omission from his decorated career.

Cam Waters is also searching for his first Bathurst win. The Tickford driver will make his 14th Great Race start alongside Mark Winterbottom, having twice finished runner-up in 2020 and 2021.

The Waters/Winterbottom combination was among the front-running contenders last year before changing conditions caught them out, with Winterbottom sliding into the Forrest’s Elbow barriers on slick tyres as the rain intensified.

Adding another layer of history is Craig Lowndes, who will make his 33rd Bathurst appearance and move beyond Peter Brock for the second-most starts in Great Race history. The seven-time winner returns with Team 18 alongside rookie Bayley Hall. It is also Lowndes’ first Bathurst 1000 since 2004 that he has not campaigned alongside Triple Eight Race Engineering, opting to partner with the Chevrolet-aligned Team 18 for 2026.

The 2026 event also marks 20 years since the emotion-charged 2006 Bathurst 1000, the first since the passing of nine-time Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock a month prior, where Lowndes claimed a fitting win alongside Jamie Whincup.

The weekend begins with practice on Thursday, followed by Boost Mobile Qualifying on Friday and the Top Ten Shootout on Saturday.

Then, on Sunday, the field will tackle 1000 kilometres around Mount Panorama, with the Enduro Cup, Finals picture and the Peter Brock Trophy all up for grabs.

Live television coverage will be across Fox Sports on Foxtel and streaming on Kayo Sports, with live free-to-air coverage across Seven and streaming on 7plus. Radio coverage also includes Mark Skaife headlining SEN’s radio coverage across Australia.

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Schedule

Thursday 8 October

1:30pm – 2:30pm: Practice 1 (All Drivers)

3:45pm – 4:45pm: Practice 2 (Additional Drivers)

Friday 9 October

10:05am – 11:05am: Practice 3 (All Drivers)

1:15pm – 2:15pm: Practice 4 (All Drivers)

4:10pm – 5:10pm: Boost Mobile Qualifying (Race 30)

Saturday 10 October

10:05am – 11:05am: Practice 5 (Additional Drivers)

1:10pm – 2:10pm: Practice 6 (All Drivers)

5:05pm – 5:50pm: Boost Mobile TTSO (Race 30)

Sunday 13 September

11:30am: Race 30 (161 laps)

All times are in AEDT

View the full event schedule

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Support Categories

DUNLOP Super2 Series

Touring Car Masters

Tyrepower V8 SuperUte Series

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia GR CUP

Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia Championship

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Entry List (including co-drivers)

Erebus Motorsport

#9 Chevrolet Camaro – Jobe Stewart/Jarrod Hughes

#99 Chevrolet Camaro – Cooper Murray/Lochie Dalton

Walkinshaw TWG Racing

#2 Toyota GR Supra – Ryan Wood/Jaxon Evans

#1 Toyota GR Supra – Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard

Blanchard Racing Team

#3 Ford Mustang GT – Aaron Cameron/Zak Best

#7 Ford Mustang GT – James Golding/Richie Stanaway

Matt Stone Racing

#4 Chevrolet Camaro – Jack Le Brocq/Harri Jones

#10 Chevrolet Camaro – Zach Bates/Aaron Seton

Tickford Racing

#6 Ford Mustang GT – Cameron Waters/Mark Winterbottom

#55 Ford Mustang GT – Thomas Randle/Reuben Goodall

Dick Johnson Racing

#17 Ford Mustang GT – Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood

#38 Ford Mustang GT – Rylan Gray/Tony D’Alberto

Brad Jones Racing

#8 Toyota GR Supra – Andre Heimgartner/Bryce Fullwood

#14 Toyota GR Supra – Cameron Hill/Brad Vaughan

#96 Toyota GR Supra – Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys

Team 18

#18 Chevrolet Camaro – Anton De Pasquale/Lee Holdsworth

#20 Chevrolet Camaro – David Reynolds/James Courtney

Supercheap Auto Racing

#15 Chevrolet Camaro – Bayley Hall/Craig Lowndes

Grove Racing

#19 Ford Mustang GT – Matthew Payne/Will Davison

#26 Ford Mustang GT – Kai Allen/Tim Slade

PremiAir Racing

#31 Chevrolet Camaro – Jayden Ojeda/David Russell

#777 Chevrolet Camaro – Declan Fraser/Nash Morris

Triple Eight Race Engineering

#888 Ford Mustang GT – Will Brown/Scott Pye

#88 Ford Mustang GT – Broc Feeney/Nick Percat

SCT Motorsport

#11 Ford Mustang GT – Jackson Walls/Jack Perkins

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Top 10 Standings

1. Matthew Payne – 2275 points
2. Broc Feeney – 2155 points (Sprint Cup winner)
3. Kai Allen – 2069 points
4. Brodie Kostecki – 1971 points
5. Cam Waters – 1962 points
6. Anton De Pasquale – 1879 points
7. Will Brown – 1870 points
8. Chaz Mostert – 1713 points
9. Ryan Wood – 1594 points
10. Jack Le Brocq – 1313 points