TOYOTA GR SUPRA SUPERCAR TO MEET THE MOUNTAIN AT BATHURST
Motorsport fans are in for a treat this weekend when the Toyota GR Supra Supercar makes its first public dynamic debut as part of the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The stunning new GR Supra Supercar that will line up on the grid from the start of the 2026 Supercars Championship season was unveiled at a glittering invite-only event in Sydney last month but its Bathurst outing is all about the fans.
Starting on Wednesday 8 October, the GR Supra Supercar will take part in the crowd-favourite Track to Town starting at 5.30pm, joining the other 27 Supercars in a procession from Mount Panorama to Russell Street in the centre of Bathurst, before going on display at the Repco Bathurst Street Party until 7pm.
From there the GR Supra heads back to mountain and will be on public display in Garage 19 with those fans with a Paddock Pass able to get up close to view the racecar.
On Friday afternoon, it will hit the Mount Panorama circuit at 5.05pm for the first of four demonstration sessions over the weekend.
On Saturday, the sessions will bookend the main game with the GR Supra Supercar hitting track at 9.30am and again at 4.50pm before kickstarting the main race of the weekend at 7.40am on Sunday 12 October.
Six Toyota GR Supra Supercars will lineup on the 2026 Supercars Championship grid next year with two to be campaigned by homologation partner Walkinshaw Andretti United and a further four to be fielded by Brad Jones Racing.
The GR Supra Supercar will not be the only Toyota on the track with fans set to be thrilled as 35 drivers lineup on the grid to compete in three GR86 races as the Bathurst round of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) GR CUP gets underway.
With the first two Queensland rounds down and Gold Coast following Bathurst, before the finale at Sandown in Melbourne, the GR CUP drivers will be putting on plenty of wheel-to-wheel action in the hunt for championship points and that final $50,000 first prize.
After two rounds, there is less than 100 points difference between the top five drivers with young 16-year-old Tasmanian Oli Wickham leading the championship ahead of Lachlan Evennett and Hayden Hume.
These three and the rest of the field will also have three guest drivers to deal with, with veteran Supercars driver Steve Owen getting behind the wheel as GR CUP Driver Mentor.
The other two guest drivers are newcomers to Bathurst with 18-year-old Chris White having won Rookie of the Year in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand (TGRNZ) GR86 Championship earlier this year that came with an invite to race at Bathurst.
White will line up against his Australian counterpart Liam Gerges, who after finishing fifth in the TGRA Scholarship Series – Toyota’s entry level 86 racing series here in Australia – was selected as the winner at the final Evaluation Day, with his prize also a fully-funded drive in the GR CUP at Bathurst.
Gerges competed against three other Scholarship Series entrants Anthony Capobianco, Caleb Hefren, Darcy Heyne in a series of activities that test proficiency in a variety of skills including fitness, driving skills and media performance to see who has the makings of becoming a professional race driver.
The Repco Bathurst 1000 runs from 9-12 October and is set to be a Toyota motorsport showcase from the grassroots to Australia’s premier Supercars category.
TOYOTA’S BATHURST 1000 TIMETABLE
Wednesday 8 October
5.30pm: GR Supra Supercar in “Track to Town” procession before going on display at Repco Bathurst Street Party
Thursday 9 October
8.25am: TGRA GR CUP Practice 1
12.45pm: TGRA GR CUP Practice 2
Friday 10 October
7.25am: TGRA GR CUP Qualifying
12.35pm: TGRA GR CUP Race 1
5.05pm: GR Supra Supercar Demonstration laps
Saturday 11 October
9.30am: GR Supra Supercar Demonstration laps
2.55pm: TGRA GR CUP Race 2
4.50pm: GR Supra Supercar Demonstration laps
Sunday 12 October
7.40am: GR Supra Supercar Demonstration laps
9.00am: TGRA GR CUP Race 3
