'That’s blown me away': Intrigue over Darwin night race

News of Supercars night racing in Darwin from 2027 has been met with excitement, with Kai Allen admitting he was "blown away" to hear of the concept.

A decade after plans first surfaced of night racing at Hidden Valley Raceway, it was confirmed Wednesday that the 2027 Darwin Triple Crown will host night and twilight action.

Hidden Valley will become the fifth circuit to host a championship night race, after Sydney Motorsport Park, Wanneroo Raceway, Yas Marina Circuit and Calder Park Raceway.

From 2027, the opening race of the weekend will be held under lights on the Friday night. That will be followed by a Saturday twilight race and a Sunday daytime race.

When informed of the plans, Penrite Racing driver Allen said: “That's so sick.

"Darwin would be the perfect spot for a night race, especially with the heat and everything. It'll spice things up, and the racing can be actually quite cool and quite fast. That’s blown me away a little bit. I'm keen for that.”

Bathurst champion Matt Payne agreed, suggesting it's a win for both drivers and fans given the heat.

"It's definitely got the atmosphere for it. Any time the category wants to do a night race, I'm all for it. I love racing at night. The Sydney one is awesome for us," Payne said.

“[Darwin night racing] would be awesome for the sport and be cool for the fans. It’d be cool to have the sunset and everything at Darwin.”

Six-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander joked on MotorRacing 360 that the news could encourage him to put the helmet back on, saying: "I was very fortunate to race at the first race here at Hidden Valley in 1998, and year on year, the facility continues to get better and better and better.

"Every time we come up here, the track looks pristine, and there's always something new out there. So now to go night racing, it's almost like I wanna go get a license again and have a crack at doing this.

"If there was any race that we go to throughout our calendar that we should be doing a night race at, it's Hidden Valley."

The three-day format being introduced to Darwin this weekend will return next year, with racing locked in on all three days.

A similar format was used in Christchurch last month, with a single practice session followed by Boost Mobile Qualifying and a race. A Friday race day also kicked off the 2026 season in Sydney.

"We saw it with Christchurch, it was really cool doing the race on the same day that we get there for the first laps,” Allen added.

"I think it just adds a bit of unknown and sort of gets the field a bit mixed up. We don't have the two practices to tune the car. We've got one to go really hard, and it's really who's rolled out best out of the truck.”

Track action for the 2026 betr Darwin Triple Crown commences on Friday.