By Callum L in Cars — 09 Oct 2026

Bathurst 1000 2026: Toyota's Supra Debut, the Parity Row and How to Watch

Five Toyota Supras make their Mount Panorama debut while Ford and Chevrolet argue over parity. Here's what to watch at Bathurst, and how to tune in free.

Toyota's GR Supra Supercar in testing trim. Image: Supercars

The Bathurst 1000 2026 starts on Sunday 11th Oct 26 with a first for Toyota: five GR Supras lining up at Mount Panorama for the first time, in a field that has spent the past month arguing about whether the three makes are really evenly matched.

Race day is the finish line of a long week. Practice starts on Thursday 8th, and the 161 laps (1000km) begin at 11:30am AEDT on Sunday. Here is what is worth watching, and how to watch it.

Toyota's Supra gets its first crack at the mountain

Toyota joined the Supercars grid this season, with the GR Supra run by Walkinshaw TWG Racing and Brad Jones Racing. Bathurst is the race Toyota's Gazoo Racing arm has been pointing at since the program was announced, and the brand has said it is in this for five years and wants to win the Great Race. A debut win would be a huge result, but it would also be a big ask. For a deeper look at the car itself, our earlier piece on the GR Supra Supercar covers how it was built.

A Toyota GR Supra Supercar crossing the finish line at The Bend 500 ahead of the Bathurst 1000 2026 — A Supra crosses the line at The Bend 500, where Toyota finished 1-3. Image: Supercars

The case for Toyota is its form going in. The Bend 500 was the first endurance test for the new car, and the Supras answered the biggest question about it: all five finished the 500km without a mechanical failure, and Toyota took a 1-3 result. That mattered because the early season was rough on the engines, including a retirement at Queensland Raceway, and a revised engine specification only arrived for recent rounds. Mount Panorama is a much harder race, with a long climb that punishes anything fragile, so the Supra's real test is still ahead.

The drivers sound cautious but not shy. Chaz Mostert, who leads the Toyota effort, says the team takes plenty of confidence from The Bend without getting carried away. Fabian Coulthard, who shared the winning Supra at The Bend, says he sees no reason a car can't win on its first visit to the mountain.

The parity row, in plain English

Supercars runs three different cars (the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Toyota Supra) and tweaks them so none has an unfair edge. That balancing act, known as parity, has been the loudest story of the build-up.

A Chevrolet Camaro leading two Ford Mustangs during a 2026 Supercars round — A Camaro leads a pair of Mustangs during a 2026 round. Image: Supercars

Chevrolet has been the focus. The Camaro was given a wider front undertray tunnel before The Bend and later had its rear wing angle trimmed after practice showed Camaros leading the timing sheets. Ford teams objected formally, arguing the front undertray change pushed the car outside the agreed parity limits. Triple Eight, now racing Mustangs after years with Chevrolet, has been among the loudest voices.

Triple Eight Race Engineering Red Bull Ampol Racing Ford Mustang Supercar — Triple Eight's Red Bull Ampol Racing Mustang, as revealed in 2025. Image: Supercars

The latest ruling came after The Bend, Supercars approved a revised centre of gravity tolerance for all three makes. Only the Camaro was able to reduce the ballast sitting on its roll cage. The Mustang and Supra are untouched, and the Supra avoided the extra ballast some had expected it to pick up.

The numbers explain the noise. Ford has won 23 races this season, while Chevrolet has won only twice, so a Camaro victory on Sunday would still count as an upset. Either way, expect the parity argument to continue on pit lane right up to the start.

Weather and a stack of winless veterans

Celebrations after the 2025 Bathurst 1000 won by Matt Payne and Garth Tander — Celebrations after the 2025 Bathurst 1000, won by Matt Payne and Garth Tander. Image: Supercars

Last year's race was won in the rain by Matt Payne and Garth Tander, and weather is the wildcard again. Tander has since retired from driving and moved into full-time commentary, so the winning pairing will not be back together. Forecasts for the mountain have been shifting day to day.

The human story to follow is the group of veterans still chasing a first Bathurst win. James Courtney is on his 21st attempt, Coulthard is making his 23rd start, and David Russell is on his 17th. Any of them winning would be the kind of result Bathurst does best.

How to watch the Bathurst 1000 2026

Free-to-air coverage is on Seven and 7plus from Friday to Sunday, and Foxtel and Kayo show all four days. Race day coverage starts at 7:00am AEDT on both Seven and the pay platforms. The full broadcast guide is on the Supercars site, and all times below are AEDT.

At a glance

Thursday 08/10: practice 1 at 1:30pm, practice 2 at 3:45pm
Friday 09/10: qualifying at 4:10pm
Saturday 10/10: Top Ten Shootout at 5:05pm
Sunday 11/10: warm-up at 8:30am, race at 11:30am (161 laps, 1000km)
Watch: Seven and 7plus (free), Foxtel and Kayo (all four days)
Field: 11 Mustangs, nine Camaros and five Supras

Verdict: Toyota's reliability is the story to watch. If the Supras finish, they are a genuine threat, and if the engines let them down, the parity argument stops mattering for them.