What's new in 2025: Revamped race weekend formats
In the lead-up to the new season, Supercars.com is highlighting some key on- and off-track changes coming in 2025, starting with new-look race weekend formats.
There will be more on-track action in the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship, which will feature more racing kilometres, more race starts and new-look race weekend formats.
The 2025 season will take place over 34 races across 13 rounds in Australia and New Zealand, starting in Sydney in February and ending in Adelaide in November.
There is a new season format, with the 2025 season to be split into three distinct parts, culminating in a Finals Series to crown the 2025 champion.
The first eight rounds of the season will constitute the Sprint Cup, before the return of the Enduro Cup. Then, the top 10 drivers will battle for the crown in the Finals Series.
How drivers get there will be vastly different in 2025, with the 13 rounds to feature some new-look formats. Click here to view the full format, pit stop and tyre tables.
How much racing is there?
The 34 races will see drivers complete 6675km of racing, which is up 1200km from 2024.
The Repco Bathurst 1000 will follow The Bend 500, which are the two endurance races this year. So, that leaves 5175km of racing at the remaining 11 rounds.
There will be eight three-race rounds, one four-race round at the Grand Prix, and two two-race rounds at the Gold Coast and Sandown, which feature in the Finals.
Introducing the Super440, Friday racing, and new-look events
The Super400 and previous SuperSprint format are replaced by the new Super440 format at the Taupō Super440, Tasmania Super440, Perth Super440, Darwin Triple Crown, and Ipswich Super440.
The new Super440 format features two 120km sprint races on Saturday and a 200km refuelling race on Sunday. The Saturday sprint races at these events will be split between the new-for-2025 Dunlop Soft tyre and Dunlop Super Soft tyre, adding to the challenge of these events.
The SuperSprint format with four sprint races with no pit stops will remain, however, at the Melbourne SuperSprint at Albert Park.
The season-opening Sydney 500 and Townsville 500 in July will feature three races; there is a 100km sprint race on Friday, followed by 200km refuelling races on Saturday and Sunday.
The Penrite Oil Sandown 500 becomes a single-driver event with two 250km races, with this format also remaining in place for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
The Grand Final in Adelaide, meanwhile, will see the two traditional 250km races joined by a Friday afternoon 100km sprint race at the VAILO Adelaide Grand Final.
What does qualifying look like?
There will be 16 Top Ten Shootouts in 2025. However, there will be three qualifying formats used to set the grid for the 34 races.
Format 1
Melbourne, The Bend, and Bathurst will use Format 1, where pole will be decided by a single qualifying session, though it will only be provisional at the enduros, where a Top Ten Shootout will follow.
Format 2
Format 2 is a new two-part knockout qualifying format, where the top 10 drivers from the 10-minute Part 1 go through to an eight-minute all-in session in Part 2 to decide pole.
Format 2 will be used for the first race at Sydney, and the Saturday races at Taupō, Tasmania, Perth, Darwin, Townsville, Ipswich, and the first race in Adelaide.
At the Super440 events, Saturday qualifying session will also be split across the Soft and Super Soft tyre matching the corresponding race compound.
Format 3
Format 3 is a slightly tweaked three-part knockout qualifying, which will see six cars knocked out in Part 1, eight cars in Part 2, and then a Top Ten Shootout making up Part 3.
Format 3 will be used at Races 2 and 3 in Sydney; on Sunday in Taupō, Tasmania, Perth, Darwin, Townsville, and Ipswich, at both races on the Gold Coast and at Sandown; and on Saturday and Sunday in Adelaide.
How much practice is there?
Outside of the enduros, all practice sessions in the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will be held on Friday, save for a Thursday practice session in Adelaide.
There will be less practice in 2025, with 30-minute practice sessions will be the new standard for practice next year, save for the season opener in Sydney that will only have one 30-minute session.
As usual, the enduros will feature longer practice sessions, with some sessions dedicated additional driver only session.
What about pit stops?
At every race outside of the enduros, and the Grand Prix, teams will be mandated to change a minimum of two tyres at each compulsory pit stop.
The shorter 100km or 120km sprint races will feature one compulsory pit stop, whilst the longer 200km or 250km races will feature two mandatory pit stops.
All four sprint races in Melbourne will be flag-to-flag sprint races with no compulsory pit stops, whilst the two enduros have no pit stop requirements, leaving teams free to dictate their own strategies.
Tickets for the season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.
