Bathurst key round in 2026 title fight
Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia returns to Mount Panorama this weekend for round 5 of 2026.
It’s the 22nd trip to the Mountain, the most of any track on the Carrera Cup Australia calendar.
A field of 24 cars are entered for the event - 16 cars for Pro and 8 for Pro-Am.
Pro championship leader Harri Jones comes into the weekend with a 146-point lead over Clay Osborne, having claimed the last four race wins.
In Pro-Am, Matt Belford enjoys a 51-point lead over DNA Autosports Jacque Jarjo who experienced a tough weekend at The Bend.
Busy Times
Max Geoghegan and Lockie Bloxsom return to Australian shores after a stint overseas.
Since the last round at The Bend, Geoghegan competed in Round 9 of Porsche Carrera Cup Italia at Misano. It was a ticky weekend with changeable conditions as Geoghegan finished 21st and 24th in the two races.
Bloxsom competed in Porsche Carrera Cup North America where he scored a 5th and 7th across the two races. A week later he then ventured to Fuji Speedway for Carrera Cup Japan and secured a 3rd place in round 11 of the championship.
Bathurst 2025 Recap
David Russell swept the weekend last year at Mount Panorama, claiming his second-round victory.
It proved to be a championship changing weekend when Jones suffered a tough round, after being penalised in the first race, he could only manage 10th in race two before being caught up in an incident in race three.
It meant Dylan O’Keeffe was the new championship leader and would then go on to claim the title in Adelaide.
Double Duties
Russell and Jones will line up in Sunday’s Bathurst 1000.
Russell will make his 17th start in the Great Race with Jayden Ojeda in the PremiAir Racing Camaro, while Jones is with Jack Le Brocq in the Matt Stone Racing Camaro.
It was a Sunday to remember last year for Russell, after claiming the round win he went on to finish third in the 1000 with James Golding.
Russell is one of three drivers who have done double duties and scored a pair of Bathurst podiums on the same day.
Warren Luff was the 2013 Carrera Cup Bathurst round winner before finishing third in the Great Race, while Steven Richards finished third for the round before winning the 1000 with Craig Lowndes in 2018.
Weekend Format
The championship returns to a sprint round format for this weekend with three races across the four days.
One 40-minute race on Friday, and two 30-minute races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday acting as the curtain raiser to the Bathurst 1000.
Teams will get just one 50-minute practice session on Thursday before qualifying later in the day.
The fastest laps from qualifying will set the grid for race one, with the second fastest laps forming the grid for race two, while grid positions for race three will be based off round points accumulated from races one and two.
Weekend Coverage
All sessions will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo while all three races will also be shown on the Seven Network.