What's new in 2025: Sudden-death solo driver Sandown round

Supercars.com is highlighting some key on- and off-track changes coming in 2025, continuing with a big calendar move for a beloved venue.

It seems fitting that a crucial round of the brand-new Finals series for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship should be staged in footy heartland.

With the pre-Bathurst enduro shifting to Tailem Bend, the Sandown 500 remains on the Supercars calendar for 2025, but moves to become one of the most important events this season.

Sandown remains a 500km event, but shifts to becoming two 250km races on Saturday and Sunday, similar to the format used in Adelaide for the majority of it's events dating back to 1999.

Whilst co-drivers and the strategic elements of a 500km enduro might be gone from Sandown, the jeopardy of the Finals gives the Sandown weekend a whole new dynamic and importance in 2025.

Sandown's solo Supercars history

Since the Supercars era began in 1997, Sandown has been a fixture on the calendar in both enduro and sprint formats.

Sandown hosted sprint events every year until 2003, even hosting the final round of the championship in 2001 and 2002, before going back to the traditional 500km enduro.

Sprint racing returned to Sandown in 2008 as the 500 returned to the nearby Phillip Island, and sprint racing remained a regular fixture at the suburban Melbourne circuit until the enduro returned in 2012.

Sandown was due to hold a sprint round in 2020 before being cancelled due to the COVID pandemic, but returned in 2021 and 2022 as sprint rounds before returning to the enduro format in 2023.

A return to being the penultimate event

Sandown has hosted the penultimate round of the Supercars Championship on three occasions, having last done so 14 years ago, and on each occasion there has been a surprise race winner.

The first time Sandown hosted the penultimate round of the championship was in 2000, when the sprint round was nestled in between the two enduros at the Queensland 500 and the Bathurst 1000.

Paul Radisich claimed the round win for Dick Johnson Racing, however the weekend was perhaps more notable for the performance of privateer Steve Ellery, who claimed his maiden race win and second for the round.

The iconic 2010 championship battle also saw it's penultimate round held at Sandown that year, with James Courtney, Jamie Whincup, and Mark Winterbottom all locked in battle.

However, Paul Dumbrell would play spoiler on Saturday, beating good mate and future Bathurst-winning co-driver Whincup home to claim his first career win. On Sunday, Courtney would claim a vital win in his championship charge, with Whincup and Winterbottom following him home.

The heavens opened on the Saturday of the 2011 event, with Rick Kelly claiming victory and Todd Kelly running home third behind Courtney in a banner day for Kelly Racing.

Whincup bounced back from a tough Saturday to claim the win on Sunday, as he marched on towards his third championship victory, and the start of a championship four-peat.

Why it's so important

To use footy finals vernacular, the two 250km legs of the Sandown 500 will be the preliminary finals of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship.

After the 10 Finals drivers will be whittled down to seven at the Gold Coast 500, the four drivers who will battle it out at the VAILO Adelaide 500 will be decided at Sandown.

Mistakes both on- and off-track will be punished for any of those drivers who are in contention for the championship, with any DNF having disastrous consequences.

As witnessed at last year's 500km enduro, the Sandown circuit has a habit of producing drama, and that could only be amplified by drivers attempting to race their way into the final four.

A further element that will be one to watch is the automatic berth into the final four that any of the seven remaining Finals drivers who win a race will receive.

For those drivers who enter Sandown ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh, will they feel a need to go for victory, or will they be confident in jumping ahead of any of the top four on points alone?

The answer to all of these questions will only be answered in time. What we do know is that the 2025 Sandown 500 will set the stage for an epic Grand Final in Adelaide.

Tickets for the season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.