The 2026 Supercars season is ramping up in Sydney, with pre-season testing underway at Sydney Motorsport Park ahead of this weekend’s DUNLOP Sydney 500.
Supercars completed a morning test session at SMSP yesterday, and the early running set a clear benchmark. 2024 Repco Supercars Champion Will Brown, driving the No. 888 Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang, topped the opening session ahead of reigning Repco Bathurst 1000 winner Matt Payne in the No. 19 Penrite Ford Mustang.
Canberra rookie Zach Bates was third in the No. 10 Bendix Chevrolet Camaro, making an immediate impression as the field began building towards the first race meeting of the year.
Behind the top three, there was plenty happening across the timesheets. James Golding ended the session fourth in the No. 7 CoolDrive Ford Mustang after surviving a “wild airborne moment” in his first session with Blanchard Racing Team. Penrith rookie Jayden Ojeda rounded out the top five in the No. 31 Mr. Umami Chevrolet Camaro.
While the front of the order was dominated by Ford Mustangs and a Chevrolet Camaro, it was a quieter day for the five new Toyota GR Supras. The Toyotas spent the session focusing on shakedown runs as they build towards their race debut on Friday night.
Reigning champion Chaz Mostert finished the day as the lead Toyota runner, ending the session 16th in the No. 1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota GR Supra. Andre Heimgartner, in the No. 8 R&J Batteries entry, managed to turn 20 laps in the final two hours after “electrical gremlins” affected the first half of the day.
Across the broader field, Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney logged the most track time, completing 89 laps in the No. 88 Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang. With the season opener now days away, those laps are valuable currency, particularly as teams and drivers try to sharpen race setups and settle into new combinations.
The test schedule continues tonight, with all 24 cars returning to the full 3.9km Gardner Circuit for Session 2 of the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day. The evening hit-out is set for 5:30pm to 9:30pm AEDT, giving teams another block of running under lights before the racing begins.
After that, attention turns fully to the DUNLOP Sydney 500, which opens the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship this weekend, February 20 to 22. Supercars will race on each day of the three-day event, with Friday night’s running marking the start of the competitive season.
