Supercars returns to The Bend for the first time since 2023 this weekend. Image: InSyde Media
The South Australian venue was set to host a 500-kilometre race back in 2020 only for the global pandemic to intervene.
Five years on, it will finally get its chance in the pre-Bathurst 1000 limelight as it hosts the traditional 500-kay warm-up to the Great Race.
Supercars will enjoy three days of track action starting with a trio of half-hour practice sessions on Friday. Practice 1 and Practice 3 are for all drivers, while co-drivers are limited to the second session.
There are two more practice sessions on Saturday before qualifying and a Top 10 Shootout to determine the grid.
After a 20-minute warm-up on Sunday morning the inaugural AirTouch 500 at The Bend will kick off at 1:45pm local time.
As for the co-driver line-ups, just eight remain intact from last year, including the Bathurst-winning Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood combination that has moved from Erebus to Dick Johnson Racing.
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Triple Eight has an unchanged line-up across both cars while other combos continuing are Matt Payne/Garth Tander, Andre Heimgartner/Declan Fraser, Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys, James Golding/David Russell and James Courtney/Jack Perkins.
There are some high-profile changes, including Mark Winterbottom’s return to the Tickford Racing fold to partner Cam Waters, which has seen James Moffat move across the garage to Thomas Randle’s Mustang.
Nick Percat and Tim Slade now form an all-South Aussie line-up for Matt Stone Racing while there is change at Walkinshaw Andretti United too, Jayden Ojeda joining to partner Ryan Wood while Fabian Coulthard shifts back to Chaz Mostert’s car.
When is The Bend 500?
The ninth round of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship takes place at The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia on September 12-14.
Where is The Bend Motorsport Park?
The Bend Motorsport Park (commercially Shell V-Power Motorsport Park) is about 100km south-east of Adelaide, with a drive from the city CBD to Tailem Bend taking about one hour and 15 minutes.
The Bend 500 Supercars sessions (ACST)
Friday, August 12
Practice 1 – 11:10am (30 mins)
Practice 2 – 1:30pm (30 mins)
Practice 3 – 3:55pm (30 mins)
Saturday, August 13
Practice 4 – 9:50am (30 mins)
Practice 5 – 12:00pm (30 mins)
Qualifying – 3:05pm (20 mins)
Top 10 Shootout – 4:50pm
Sunday, August 14
Warm-up – 9:30am (20 mins)
Race – 1:45pm (102 laps)
How does qualifying work?
The grid for the 2025 The Bend 500 will be set across two sessions.
Positions 11-27 will be set by a 20-minute qualifying session, with the 10 fastest cars from that session progressing to the Top 10 Shootout. That single-lap dash will then set the first five rows of the grid.
Who is co-driving with who at The Bend
Num
Driver
Co-driver
Team
1
Will Brown
Scott Pye
Triple Eight Race Engineering
2
Ryan Wood
Jayden Ojeda
Walkinshaw Andretti United
3
Aaron Cameron
Zak Best
Blanchard Racing Team
4
Cameron Hill
Cameron McLeod
Matt Stone Racing
5
Rylan Gray (R)
Lochie Dalton (R)
Tickford Racing
6
Cam Waters
Mark Winterbottom
Tickford Racing
7
James Courtney
Jack Perkins
Blanchard Racing Team
8
Andre Heimgartner
Declan Fraser
Brad Jones Racing
9
Jack Le Brocq
Jarrod Hughes (R)
Erebus Motorsport
10
Nick Percat
Tim Slade
Matt Stone Racing
12
Jaxon Evans
Jack Smith
Brad Jones Racing
14
Bryce Fullwood
Brad Vaughan
Brad Jones Racing
17
Will Davison
Tony D’Alberto
Dick Johnson Racing
18
Anton De Pasquale
Harri Jones (R)
Team 18
19
Matt Payne
Garth Tander
Grove Racing
20
David Reynolds
Lee Holdsworth
Team 18
25
Chaz Mostert
Fabian Coulthard
Walkinshaw Andretti United
26
Kai Allen
Dale Wood
Grove Racing
31
James Golding
David Russell
PremiAir Racing
35
Cameron Crick
Aaron Seton
Matt Stone Racing
38
Brodie Kostecki
Todd Hazelwood
Dick Johnson Racing
55
Thomas Randle
James Moffat
Tickford Racing
62
Richie Stanaway
Nash Morris (R)
PremiAir Racing
88
Broc Feeney
Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering
96
Macauley Jones
Jordan Boys
Brad Jones Racing
99
Cooper Murray
Jobe Stewart (R)
Erebus Motorsport
888
Craig Lowndes
Zach Bates (R)
Triple Eight Race Engineering
How to watch The Bend 500 on TV
Live coverage of the Supercars The Bend 500 will be live on Foxtel and Kayo across all three days. There is no live free-to-air coverage of The Bend 500.
How to live stream Supercars The Bend 500
The Bend 500 will be broadcast live on subscription streaming services Foxtel Go and Kayo Sports from Friday through to Sunday.
Viewers outside of Australia and New Zealand can watch via Supercars’ own SuperView service.
Viewers in New Zealand can watch via Sky Sports Now and Sky Go.
The Bend 500 broadcast start times (ACST)
Friday, August 12
Foxtel/Kayo – 11:00am
Saturday, August 13
Foxtel/Kayo – 8:30am
Sunday, August 14
Foxtel/Kayo – 7:30am
Will there be live updates from The Bend 500?
Speedcafe will provide real-time, live updates from every session of The Bend 500 thanks to Mobil 1.
The Bend 500 ticket details
Tickets for The Bend 500 are available via The Bend Motorsport Park or Supercars. See their official websites for more details.
The Bend 500 weather forecast
The forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology for the Tailem Bend area is for a maximum of 17 degrees and a 30 percent chance of rain on Friday, a maximum of 20 degrees and a 10 percent chance of rain on Saturday and a maximum of 23 degrees and a 10 percent chance of rain on Sunday.
What are the support categories for The Bend 500?
Supercars will headline the bill with support from FIA TCR World Tour, Aussie Racing Cars, Touring Car Masters, Trans Am, and Carrera Cup.
2025 Airtouch 500 at The Bend track schedule (all times local/ACST)
Friday, September 12
Start
Finish
Category
Duration (h:mm)
Session
9:00
9:20
Aussie Racing Cars
0:20
Practice
9:30
9:50
Touring Car Masters
0:20
Practice
10:00
10:20
Trans Am
0:20
Practice 1
10:30
10:55
Porsche Carrera Cup
0:25
Practice 1
11:10
11:40
Supercars
0:30
Practice 1 (all Drivers)
11:55
12:15
Aussie Racing Cars
0:20
Qualifying
12:25
12:45
Trans Am
0:20
Practice 2
12:55
13:15
Touring Car Masters
0:20
Qualifying
13:30
14:00
Supercars
0:30
Practice 2 (Additional Drivers)
14:15
14:35
Aussie Racing Cars
1 lap after 14:33
Race 1
14:45
15:05
Trans Am
0:20
Qualifying
15:15
15:40
Porsche Carrera Cup
0:25
Practice 2
15:55
16:25
Supercars
0:30
Practice 3 (all Drivers)
Saturday, September 13
Start
Finish
Category
Duration (h:mm)
Session
7:15
7:45
FIA TCR World Tour
0:30
Free Practice 1
8:30
8:50
Trans Am
1 lap after 8:48
Race 1
9:00
9:20
FIA TCR World Tour
0:20
Qualifying Part 1
9:25
9:35
FIA TCR World Tour
0:10
Qualifying Part 2
9:50
10:30
Supercars
0:40
Practice 4 (additional Drivers)
10:45
11:15
Porsche Carrera Cup
0:30
Qualifying
11:25
11:45
Touring Car Masters
1 lap after 11:43
Trophy Race
12:00
12:40
Supercars
0:40
Practice 5 (All Drivers)
12:55
13:15
Trans Am
1 lap after 13:13
Race 2
13:25
13:45
Aussie Racing Cars
1 lap after 13:43
Race 2
14:10
14:45
FIA TCR World Tour
1 lap after 14:43
Race 1
15:05
15:25
Supercars
0:20
Qualifying
15:40
16:05
Porsche Carrera Cup
1 lap after 16:03
Race 1
16:15
16:35
Touring Car Masters
1 lap after 16:33
Race 1
16:50
17:30
Supercars
0:40
Top Ten Shootout
Sunday, September 14
Start
Finish
Category
Duration (h:mm)
Session
7:35
7:55
Touring Car Masters
1 lap after 7:53
Race 2
8:05
8:25
Aussie Racing Cars
1 lap after 8:23
Race 3
8:35
9:20
Porsche Carrera Cup
1 lap after 9:18
Race 2
9:30
9:50
Supercars
0:20
Warm-up
10:00
10:20
Touring Car Masters
1 lap after 10:18
Race 3
10:30
10:50
Aussie Racing Cars
1 lap after 10:48
Race 4
11:00
11:20
Trans Am
1 lap after 11:18
Race 3
11:50
12:25
FIA TCR World Tour
1 lap after 12:25
Race 2
12:35
13:00
Porsche Carrera Cup
1 lap after 12:58
Race 3
13:45
Supercars
102 laps or 1 lap after 17:18
Race 26 – 500km