THE start of the final Supercars race of the Sandown 500 weekend has been delayed due to a “massive” oil clean-up operation.
Race 31 of the 2026 Supercars season was slated to get underway at 3:20pm AEST, but is expected to get underway after a 20-minute delay at 3:40pm.
An engine blown by a competitor in the final Touring Car Masters support race laid a significant trail of oil around more than half of the Sandown circuit, from halfway down the back straight into pitlane.
Despite an extensive clean-up effort, the condition of the circuit prompted the following support race – the final race of the V8 SuperUtes season – to be abandoned.
Efforts to remove the oil-dry powder from the circuit continued in lieu of the V8 SuperUtes race, and into the time window for Supercars’ pre-race procedure.
“I haven’t seen a clean-up like this before; it’s massive,” Mark Skaife said of the result of the “engine explosion” in the broadcast.
Pit exit remained closed past 2:55pm, which was the time the field was scheduled to head out onto the circuit.
The cars eventually headed out at 3:05pm, although circuit conditions remained sketchy.
“It was actually quite loose; I had a moment at the last corner on the out-lap, which isn’t the best,” polesitter Broc Feeney told the broadcast.
“I spoke to (driving standards advisor Craig Baird) and a few of the guys about it and they’re coming up with what to do.”
The 81-lap race is also originally scheduled to trigger a time-certain finish 1 lap after 5:13pm AEST.
While this time has often been changed due to delayed starts at other events, a complication exists at Sandown.
Council regulations prohibit race engines being run at the circuit past 6pm AEDT.