The series is in the second year of a single endurance race with two riders, the Bathurst 1000, a measure first taken in response to the global health crisis in 2020.
Endurance races have been scaled back after a seven-year stint of an official Enduro Cup held at the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600 events.
Traditionally, there were at least two long-distance races before the Enduro Cup was even launched. Sandown has been the most prolific host of a Bathurst warm-up with a history that dates back to the 1970s.
While cutting down to a single endurance race was originally seen as a response to the pandemic and a way to cut costs, there are no guarantees that the Enduro Cup will return.
There is currently no clear direction for the future of endurance racing. Supercars COO Shane Howard explains that the door won’t close on more events, but on cool short-term expansion plans as well.
“Look, I think it’s one step at a time,” said Howard. “As always, we will propose opportunities and ideas. And through the [Supercars] Commission and the [Supercars] Blackboard.
“It just comes down to what’s happening. I’m not saying this is frozen [at one enduro], that’s for sure. Any such opportunity would be considered. “
There are pros and cons to restoring an Enduro trophy.
The biggest winners of a multi-lap series are professional drivers without a full-time Supercars seat. The Enduro Cup creates an additional level of employment. Established co-drivers could usually achieve up to six-figure amounts for the three races, whereby their business was usually connected with the tasks of the driving and test day.
These races have traditionally also been a stepping stone for beginners looking to get into supercars. Switching to a single race on a track as treacherous as Mount Panorama makes hiring young, inexperienced drivers more of a gamble.
On the other hand, the endurance races are expensive for teams due to the passenger wages and increased operating costs.
The question also arises of where future endurance events should take place.
Sandown was slated to be replaced by The Bend as the 500-kilometer Bathurst advance run in 2020 before the schedule was heavily revised due to the pandemic.
As for the Gold Coast, the move to the season finale should be permanent, which would rule out a race with two drivers.
In the meantime, two-day SuperSprint lap schedules seem to stick around here.
According to Howard, the more compact schedule was well received by the teams, while promising TV numbers early in the season suggest it was well received by the audience as well.
“I think the two-day events are working well,” he said.
“It certainly helps the teams, the teams can arrive a little later. In a condensed two-day program, there is actually more supercars action in a two-day program than in three. I think it works well for the fans.” also.
“I think it works fine. Ours [TV] Reviews are great. The proof is in the pudding that the TV works really well. “
One change in the work for the upcoming events at The Bend and Winton is to run support categories on Friday.
“I think that’s going to happen at The Bend, and I know Winton is going to see it,” said Howard. “It’s great because you can get your training sessions out of the way and then go into qualifying and the race.
“The two days of racing have many advantages.”
