2026 Supercars Season Preview & Big Prediction - Calendar, Format Changes and Championship Contenders

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Wed 11 Feb 2026 10:50

Jeremy Darke 11 Feb 2026

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2026 season features 14 rounds, most races since expansion.
Matt Payne is a key contender with a strong Penrite line-up.
Triple Eight switches to Ford; Toyota debuts with the GR Supra.
Who wins the 2026 Supercars Championship?

2026 Supercars Season Preview. (Photo by Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

2026 Repco Supercars Championship Preview

The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship arrives with a fresh chapter of competition, storylines, and evolutions that promise one of the most intriguing seasons in recent memory.

2026 Repco Supercars Championship Preview
2026 Supercars Winner Prediction - Why it is Matt Payne's year
Calendar and Format: A Landmark Season
Silly Season and Grid Evolution
Car Changes
Driver Movement
FAQs 2026 Supercars Season

A blend of expanded race formats, a revised calendar, significant team changes and rising talent set the scene for a year that could rewrite expectations, from sprint battles to the high-stakes Finals Series in Adelaide.

2026 Supercars Winner Prediction - Why it is Matt Payne's year

Matt Payne shapes as a genuine championship contender in 2026 thanks to stability, maturity and the strength of Grove Racing around him.

Remaining alongside Kai Allen in an unchanged Penrite Racing line-up gives the team valuable continuity in a season built around the Sprint Cup, Enduro Cup and high-pressure Finals Series. Payne has already shown he can run deep into a title fight, and in a format where points reset late in the year, consistency and composure are crucial.

If he builds early momentum and stays within striking distance heading into the endurance rounds, Payne has the pace and racecraft to turn opportunity into a maiden Supercars crown.

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Calendar and Format: A Landmark Season

Supercars has unveiled a 14-round championship for 2026, featuring 37 individual races, the most since the current era’s expansion. The season begins on February 20–22 with the Sydney 500 at Sydney Motorsport Park and wraps up with the bp Adelaide Grand Final, a spectacle poised to crown the champion in late November.

The racing structure introduced in 2025, combining the Repco Sprint Cup, Ryco Enduro Cup and the Repco Finals Series, returns with renewed emphasis. Teams contest nine Sprint Cup rounds to determine early momentum, shift into the endurance phase at The Bend and Bathurst, and then launch into Finals at the Gold Coast, Sandown and Adelaide. Crucially, points reset at each Finals round, putting a premium on performance when it matters most.

Sprint rounds include traditional fan favorites like Melbourne and Townsville, alongside Supercars’ first double-header in New Zealand with visits to Taupō International Raceway and Ruapuna Raceway in Christchurch, an historic expansion for the series.

The Enduro Cup retains its iconic status. After The Bend’s 500-kilometre tussle, Mount Panorama’s Bathurst 1000 still the marquee event on the Supercars calendar will once again shape championship momentum heading into the Finals.

Silly Season and Grid Evolution

The 2026 grid arrives with several compelling changes that reshape the championship’s competitive landscape. While several top teams maintain their line-ups, the big headlines are about cars and rookies.

Car Changes

Triple Eight Race Engineering switches from Chevrolet to Ford Mustangs and even expands to three cars thanks to the acquisition of the SCT Logistics license.

Walkinshaw Andretti United and Brad Jones Racing will debut the Toyota GR Supra in competition — marking Toyota’s first season in Supercars after an 18-month development project.

Driver Movement

The driving roster is stable at the front with Red Bull Ampol’s Broc Feeney and Will Brown, Penrite’s Matt Payne and Kai Allen, Walkinshaw’s Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, Tickford’s Cam Waters and Thomas Randle, and Team 18’s Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds all return.

However, change at the margins adds intrigue with three drivers retiring from full-time competition James Courtney, Will Davison and Nick Percat.

Five rookies break into the championship this season as Rylan Gray, Zach Bates, Jobe Stewart, Jayden Ojeda and Jackson Walls all join the grid as the largest newcomers’ cohort since 2018.

Midfield swaps include Cameron Hill (to BJR Toyota), James Golding (to Blanchard Ford) and Jack Le Brocq (returning to MSR).

These changes reflect a blend of continuity and fresh faces that could shake up not just the points but race-to-race dynamics.

FAQs 2026 Supercars Season

How many rounds are in the 2026 Supercars Championship?

The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship features 14 rounds across Australia and New Zealand, including a double-header in New Zealand and the bp Adelaide Grand Final that will decide the champion.

How does the Supercars Finals Series work in 2026?

The season is split into the Sprint Cup, Enduro Cup and Finals Series. After the endurance rounds, the top drivers progress into the Finals, where points reset at each round — Gold Coast, Sandown and Adelaide, meaning strong late-season form is crucial to winning the championship.

Who are the main championship contenders in 2026?

Leading contenders include Broc Feeney, Matt Payne, Cam Waters, Anton De Pasquale and Ryan Wood. With Toyota entering the grid and Triple Eight switching to Ford, multiple teams are expected to challenge for race wins and the title.