Supercars confirms 2026 Bathurst 1000 start time
Earlier start time of 11:30am AEDT locked in for 2026 race
2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 to take place on October 8-11
Supercars has confirmed an earlier start time of 11:30am AEDT for the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000.
The full track schedule for The Great Race was revealed on Wednesday morning, confirming that the start time will shift 15 minutes earlier year-on-year.
Race 30 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship, the Bathurst 1000 will be the final round of the Ryco Enduro Cup, and is also the last chance for drivers to lock themselves into the Repco Supercars Finals Series.
Bathurst is unique in being the only race of the season that doesn't feature a time certain cut-off, as proven last year when the race concluded in rapidly fading light and visibility just shy of 6:40pm local time.
Daylight Savings begins at 2am on Sunday, October 4, the weekend prior to event weekend. The sun will rise on race day at 6:26am, and will set at 7:11pm, with last light to follow at 7:36pm.
2026 Repco Bathurst 1000: Race start time
Sunday October 11
Local start times by state/territory
State/s | Time | Time zone |
|---|---|---|
NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS | 11:30am | AEDT |
QLD | 10:30am | AEST |
SA, NT | 11:00am | ACDT |
WA | 8:30am | AWST |
NZ | 1:30pm | NZDT |
The Repco Bathurst 1000 returns to a more familiar start time of 11:30am, after starting at 11:45am for the first time in the event's history last year.
An 11:30am start has become something of a modern tradition for the 1000, starting with the 2019 and 2020 editions, before returning to the time from 2022 to 2024.
The 2021 race, held in December amid a heavily COVID-disrupted season, remains the latest Bathurst start at 12:15pm.
10am remains the longest-standing start time between 1979 and 2006, before shifting to 10:30am between 2007 and 2015, and 11:15am from 2016 to 2018, as race durations continued to shrink.
2026 Repco Bathurst 1000: Supercars session times
All times AEDT
Thursday October 8
Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
13:30-14:30 | Supercars | Practice 1 (All Drivers) |
15:45-16:45 | Supercars | Practice 2 (Additional Drivers) |
Friday October 9
Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
10:05-11:05 | Supercars | Practice 3 (All Drivers) |
13:15-14:15 | Supercars | Practice 4 (All Drivers) |
16:15-16:55 | Supercars | Qualifying |
Saturday October 10
Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
10:05-11:05 | Supercars | Practice 5 (Additional Drivers) |
13:10-14:10 | Supercars | Practice 6 (All Drivers) |
17:05-17:50 | Supercars | Top Ten Shootout |
Sunday October 11
Time | Category | Session |
|---|---|---|
8:30-8:50 | Supercars | Warm Up |
11:30 | Supercars | Race 30 (161 laps) |
