Sydney Motorsport Park Supercars round

The Sydney 500 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Thrifty Sydney 500 ) is the current name for the annual motor racing event for Supercars , held at Sydney Motorsport Park in Eastern Creek , New South Wales . The event has been a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Championship , Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship—since 1992 .

Since 2018, this is the only active Supercars event held in metropolitan Sydney . [ 1 ] In 2020 , the event was held twice due to calendar changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In 2021 , it was held four times in four consecutive weekends, again due to the pandemic. [ 4 ]

1990s

Opened in 1990 as Eastern Creek Raceway, the circuit hosted non-championship events before its first official ATCC event in 1992, including the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 and the Winfield Triple Challenge . John Bowe won both races of the inaugural championship event, holding on in a close battle with Tony Longhurst in the first race. In 1994, Peter Brock scored the first race and round victories in the ATCC for the Holden Racing Team . The 1996 event was held on the shorter 'North' version of the c...

2000s

In the first race of the 2001 round , Greg Murphy was credited with a race win despite finishing third, after top two Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose were given post-race penalties for separate incidents. Murphy himself was then penalised for a jump start in the second race giving Skaife the race and round victory. [ 7 ] Ambrose ended the Holden Racing Team streak by winning in 2003, the first of two championship events the circuit would hold in 2003 and 2004, the second being the season finale . was...

In 2004's first round, Rick Kelly broke the record for the lowest starting position from which an ATCC or Supercars round had been won, winning from seventeenth on the grid in wet conditions. Lowndes and Garth Tander , who completed the podium, started sixteenth and fifteenth respectively in a very wet race. In 2004's finale, Ambrose claimed his second successive championship title in race shortened due to heavy rain. In 2005, Lowndes took the first Supercars race and round win for Triple Eight ...

2010s

After hosting the series' pre-season test day in 2011, the renamed Sydney Motorsport Park returned to the Supercars calendar in 2012 as a late addition. [ 9 ] As part of the renovation and name change, the layout was slightly changed, with the kink at turn 6 removed. The circuit was again removed from the calendar in 2013 before returning in 2014. The 2014 and 2015 events included rain-affected races, with the events won by Shane van Gisbergen and Chaz Mostert respectively. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] In the ...

2020s

As intended, the event was announced as part of the 2020 Supercars Championship, albeit retaining its previous August slot. [ 19 ] However, the event was then brought forward to June as the return race for the championship after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The event was run as a two-day daytime event run behind closed doors . [ 20 ] In addition to this, it was later announced the circuit will host a second event in 2020, as in 2003 and 2004. After the first of these was held,...

In 2021 , with the calendar again disrupted by the pandemic, four consecutive rounds at the circuit were held in October and November to reach the minimum contractual number of 12 events. [ 4 ] Anton de Pasquale was the standout driver over the month, with seven poles and five wins over the eleven scheduled races in the block. [ 24 ] Meanwhile, Will Brown won his first championship race, and David Reynolds was forced to miss the second and third events due to his request for a COVID-19 vaccinati...

In 2022 and 2025 , the event was the opening round of the championship. The 2025 event, the first with races over three days, was notable for Cameron Waters sweeping the event with three poles, three wins and three fastest laps. [ 28 ] This included a Saturday victory over Broc Feeney by 0.0308 seconds, the closest race finish since the 1983 Adelaide International Raceway round. [ 29 ]

References

1 Will Brown 88 Broc Feeney

2 Ryan Wood 25 Chaz Mostert

3 Aaron Cameron 7 James Courtney

4 Cameron Hill 10 Nick Percat

6 Cam Waters 55 Thomas Randle

Quick Facts

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Table 1

Year	Driver[6]	Team	Car	Report
1992	John Bowe	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	nan
1993	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing	Ford EB Falcon	nan
1994	Peter Brock	Holden Racing Team	Holden VP Commodore	Report
1995	Mark Skaife	Gibson Motorsport	Holden VR Commodore	nan
19961	Craig Lowndes	Holden Racing Team	Holden VR Commodore	nan
1997	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing	Ford EL Falcon	nan
1998	not held	not held	not held	not held
1999	Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Holden VT Commodore	Report
2000	Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Holden VT Commodore	nan
2001	Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Holden VX Commodore	Report

Table 2

Wins	Driver	Years
6	Mark Skaife	1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007
5	Shane van Gisbergen	2014, 2018, 2021-1, 2021-4, 2023
3	Marcos Ambrose	2003-1, 2003-2, 2004-2
3	Craig Lowndes	1996, 2005, 2012
3	Chaz Mostert	2015, 2022, 2024
2	Glenn Seton	1993, 1997
2	Scott McLaughlin	2020-1, 2020-2
2	Anton de Pasquale	2021-2, 2021-3

Table 3

Wins	Team
9	Walkinshaw Andretti United5
7	Dick Johnson Racing6
7	Triple Eight Race Engineering
3	Stone Brothers Racing
2	Glenn Seton Racing
2	Tickford Racing7

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F1ABY Commentary

Does the asphalt beneath these machines still hold the echoes of a thousand roaring engines, a phantom chorus of triumphs and near misses? The Sydney circuit, a modern stage, nonetheless breathes with the ambition of those who first carved its lines – a spirit forged in the fires of competitive spirit. Consider the lineage, the countless drivers who, in earlier eras, wrestled with similar turns, a relentless pursuit of speed and control. The weight of history settles upon each corner, a silent testament to the enduring allure of motorsport. One can almost smell the burning rubber, feel the vibration through the chassis – a potent memory of a passion that refuses to fade. This is more than just a race; it’s a conversation across generations.

The scent of high-octane fuel and burning rubber—a phantom echo of Fangio’s era—still clings to this circuit. Sydney Motorsport Park breathes with the spirit of battles fought and won, a lineage stretching back to the dawn of speed itself, a testament to a glorious, unyielding pursuit. This isn't merely a race; it’s a communion with the very soul of motorsport.

F1ABY Trivia

A haze of exhaust and anticipation hangs over Eastern Creek. The scent of Dunlop rubber, a phantom limb of a bygone era, clings to the air – a potent reminder of the sheer force unleashed here, of the V8s roaring their defiance against the track. Consider the 1996 Shell Championship Series round; the Holden Commodore VE’s 5. 7-liter LS1 V8, producing a staggering 410 horsepower, wrestled with the Ford Falcon’s 5. 0-liter, a battle of titans echoing through the concrete canyons. This year, the data suggests a shift, a calculated risk with the Pirelli compound selection, a gamble on grip that could rewrite the narrative entirely.

The rain, a grey, insistent curtain, descends upon Eastern Creek. It’s a familiar embrace, isn’t it? A shroud draped over ambition, a reminder that this circuit, this very patch of earth, has yielded countless tales of both triumph and agonizing defeat. Observe, if you will, the statistical dance – just seventeen drivers have ever secured victory here in the V8 Supercars Championship. A humbling number, wouldn’t you agree, considering the legions that have dared to chase glory on this demanding layout.

F1ABY Tales

The rain, a bruising grey against the asphalt – a mirror to the fury brewing in Brock’s machine. A flash of crimson, a desperate slide through Pirtek Chicane, the scent of wet rubber and burning oil thick in the air. He wrestled the Holden, a titan against the track, a primal scream echoing from its engine. This wasn’t just racing; it was a conversation between man and machine, a dance of aggression and control. The crowd, a roaring wave of anticipation, felt the raw energy of a legend fighting for his legacy. A brief, glorious moment of dominance, snatched from the jaws of defeat – a familiar, intoxicating drama.

A veteran’s sigh, distilled into the roar of his Falcon, a testament to a career sculpted by grit and relentless pursuit. He’d chased victory here, at Eastern Creek, countless times, a phantom limb of ambition always just beyond reach. The scent of damp asphalt and burning rubber – a familiar, poignant perfume. It wasn’t about the win, not entirely. It was about the accumulation, the battles etched into the very fabric of this circuit. A legacy, forged in the heat and the rain, a beautiful, stubborn refusal to surrender. A final, defiant dance with the ghosts of champions past.