Supercars Championship 2026: The Bend 500 Preview
The Enduro Cup series begins this weekend in Adelaide’s well-known Tailem Bend, located in South Australia. In 2026, the endurance season is sure to bring excitement and insight into what’s to come at Bathurst and Sandown in the near future.
The Championship battle only heightens ahead of Finals as the endurance season takes hold of the paddock. The Sprint Cup title came to an end during Round 9 at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, with Broc Feeney clinching the title after an impressive weekend ahead of Matthew Payne.
The next five rounds will be a certain thrill to watch as the Championship heats up even more, as teams use this weekend to get ready for the always chaotic Repco Bathurst 1000 from October 8-11.
As it stands, the Drivers’ Championship standings see Feeney ahead of Payne by just 30 points; Brodie Kostecki is chasing the pair behind by 229 points. The battle for third is alive and well - another fight for fans to stay in tune with. Cameron Waters remains 255 points behind Feeney, but only 26 points. In fifth is young gun Kai Allen, sitting on 314 points behind Feeney.
As compared to the previous season, the latest championship battle is far from over - what looked to be Feeney’s title was snatched by Chaz Mostert at the last race of the year, even with the strong results the Gold Coast resident obtained throughout the season in 2025.
This year, only The Bend and Bathurst will be part of the Enduro Cup, with the remaining three races on the Gold Coast, Sandown, and Adelaide each part of the Finals. This layout brings pressure to the best-performing Australian racing drivers and their teams.
Five practice sessions will be split between main drivers and co-drivers over the weekend, with one single Boost Mobile Qualifying session finalised by a Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout on Saturday afternoon.
A brake session will be implemented, seeing teams access 20-minutes of untimed practice to familiarise themselves and bed in the newly manufactured batch of brakes that have been issued to each team. This session will take place Friday morning.
The Bend is notorious for action, but unlike other races earlier in the season, this weekend will feature one singular race on Sunday - Race 29 of the championship.
The sole race of the weekend will be a long-running 147-lap race, running for a distance of 500 km. The length of the race can be gruelling for both drivers and engineering teams. A single warm-up session will take place at 10:15 AEST (01:15 BST) on Sunday morning between support race action.
The last known lap record is held by Supercars Champion Kostecki - he completed a lap time of 1:49.4822 on the 3.41 km (2.11 mi) permanent circuit.
Fans can expect shorter lap times, faster race rhythm and more overtaking opportunities all through the 12-turn track layout. A newly formed shift to the west circuit that is significantly shorter than the traditional layout; this will bring fans more action than ever before seen at The Bend.
The Tailem Bend will provide a unique chance for the Chevrolet Camaro camps to explore technical adjustments after Supercars implement aerodynamic updates for the exposed parity evaluations.
In 2025, it was Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood who won the inaugural 500 at The Bend, both racing in the No. 17 Dick Johnson Racing Shell V Power Mustang. The duo scripted a success story while a disaster weekend unfolded for Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup.
Practice 1 (all drivers) begins Friday 11th September at 11:55 AEST (02:15 BST); Practice 2 (additional drivers) begins at 14:15 AEST (05:15 BST). All drivers will receive a 30-minute practice session to acclimatise to their car, the perfect start to the Enduro weekend.
Timings for The Bend 500:
Friday September 11
Brake session - 08:45 - 09:05 AEST (23:45 - 00:05 BST (previous day))
Practice 1 - 11:55 - 12:25 AEST (02:55 - 03:25 BST)
Practice 2 (Additional drivers) - 14:15 - 14:45 AEST (05:15 - 05:45 BST)
Practice 3 - 16:10 - 16:40 (07:10 - 07:40)
Saturday, September 12
Practice 4 (Additional Drivers) - 10:20 - 11:00 AEST (01:20 - 02:00 BST)
Practice 5 - 12:30 - 13:10 AEST (03:30 - 04:10 BST)
Qualifying (Round 29) - 15:15 - 15:45 AEST (06:15 - 06:45 BST)
Top Ten Shootout (Round 29) - 17:30 - 18:00 AEST (08:30 - 09:00 BST)
Sunday, September 13
Warm-up - 10:45 - 11:05 AEST (01:45 - 02:05 BST)Race 29 (147 laps) - 14:15 AEST
Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
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