The Ryco Enduro Cup doesn't only present the opportunity for drivers to add their names to the rich history of the Repco Bathurst 1000, but it also is the last chance for drivers to seal their place in the Repco Supercars Finals Series.
The focus on the Finals battle has surrounded the top 10 drivers in points across the whole season, with the likes of Will Brown and Chaz Mostert fighting their way back in after slow starts to the season, whilst the all-important 10th position has ebbed and flowed all year.
However, the Ryco Enduro Cup could provide a major twist, given the primary driver who scores the most points gains automatic entry to the Finals, and 25 bonus points, as Broc Feeney gained for winning the Sprint Cup.
Last year's remarkable Bathurst 1000 proved that the battle for Finals truly isn't over for any of the 24 full-time drivers until the chequered flag falls, even if history suggests otherwise.
Up against history
The Supercars Enduro Cup has been contested a total of eight times, between 2013 and 2019 over three events, and the revive 2025 edition held over two events.
Over the entire history of the Enduro Cup, no driver lower than seventh in points entering enduro season has gone on to win, Garth Tander setting the bar in 2015 with the Holden Racing Team.
So needless to say history would be made, but you only have to look back 12 months to see that it is absolutely possible.
Year | Driver | Co-driver | Pos. pre-enduro |
|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Craig Lowndes | Warren Luff | 4th |
2014 | Jamie Whincup | Paul Dumbrell | 1st |
2015 | Garth Tander | Warren Luff | 7th |
2016 | Shane van Gisbergen | Alex Premat | 2nd |
2017 | Chaz Mostert | Steve Owen | 5th |
2018 | Craig Lowndes | Steven Richards | 4th |
2019 | Jamie Whincup | Craig Lowndes | 5th |
2025 | Matt Payne | Garth Tander | 2nd |
The precedence
However, with just two events making up the revived Enduro Cup, it's easier for teams to come alive and make a run at the trophy. No one proved that more so than Cooper Murray and Erebus Motorsport last year.
In his rookie season, Murray entered the Enduro Cup 23rd in points, and last of the drivers who had contested every round of the Repco Sprint Cup.
Rookie co-driver Jobe Stewart propelled the pairing to a fine seventh at The Bend, before they nearly pulled off one of the great Bathurst upsets.
Though they finished fourth after leading late, they Murray/Stewart combination was a superb second in the Ryco Enduro Cup standings, only behind Bathurst winners Matt Payne and Garth Tander.
They weren't the only car deep in the championship standings to figure in the final Enduro Cup reckoning, David Reynolds vaulting to fourth alongside Lee Holdsworth after finishing second at Bathurst.
The championship implications
Should someone from outside the top 10 go one better than Murray's heroics from 12 months ago, it will have massive ramifications on the make up of the Finals Series.
In simple terms, the driver 10th in points after Bathurst would no longer progress through to the post-season, with Sprint Cup winner Feeney to go through with the eight drivers best placed in points, who will be anywhere between first and ninth.
This is why only Broc Feeney and Matt Payne are absolute certainties for the Finals following Ipswich, whilst the likes of Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters, and Kai Allen haven't quite put their Finals hopes beyond all doubt.
The see-sawing battle for 10th waged all year between James Golding and Jack Le Brocq would therefore be for nought, and there are plenty of dark horse combinations who are outside the top 10 as it stands.
The likes of Thomas Randle/Reuben Goodall (12th), Andre Heimgartner/Bryce Fullwood (13th), Jayden Ojeda/David Russell (14th), Reynolds/James Courtney (15th), and Murray/Lochie Dalton (22nd) could all be considered threats with a strong car underneath them.
