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TRANS AM CUP ENDURO ADDED TO BATHURST 6 HOUR PROGRAM
A BRAND-NEW Trans Am Cup Series endurance event will add another must-win headline race to the 2027 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour festival next Easter.
To be contested across two legs with a mid-race pause to refuel and change drivers, the new Trans Am Cup feature will add to the Saturday program of the annual Easter event and feature as a major element within the series calendar next year.
It will complement the annual TA2 ‘Tag Team Enduro’, while also forming part of the Trans Am Cup Series championship.
It’s set to give everyone with TA2 and Trans Am machinery the opportunity to contest a headline event at Mount Panorama next March – while also potentially drawing some star co-drivers to the field in the process.
Following practice on Friday, the Trans Am Cup Bathurst enduro will slot into the schedule on the Saturday of the event and will also be broadcast nationally within the broader Bathurst 6 Hour coverage.
It’s an exciting announcement for both the event and the category, offering another element to a weekend already packed with a strong on and off-track program.
“The Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour has become an important event on the Trans Am Cup Series calendar, so when the organisers approached us to take our appearance to the next level by making the race an endurance type format on the Saturday afternoon, we were immediately excited by the idea,” said Trans Am Cup Category Manager, Matt MacKelden.
“We’ve seen how successful the ‘TA2 Tag Team Enduro’ is, so to now have a Trans Am enduro is brilliant, especially at the home of endurance racing in this country.
MacKelden said the category was ready to build something new and exciting on the Mountain at one of the circuit’s major – and rapidly growing – events.
“The Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour has established itself as one of the big 3 at Bathurst, alongside the 12 Hour and the 1000, so we expect to attract an impressive driver line up. It gives both TA2 and Trans Am competitors an opportunity to race against the cream of the crop in Australian motorsport which is exciting,” he said.
“These cars don’t have a dry break fuel system and we aren’t intending to change the specifications of the cars at all, so the format is likely to be a ‘stage’ type race format – an opening race, followed by a short break for re fuelling, a driver change, then straight into the next phase”.
Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour Event Director Sally Parkinson said the concept came as the event continues to develop and grow year on year.
“We are already fortunate to have the Bathurst 6 Hour as a key part of the Trans Am Cup Series schedule, but we were keen to find ways to build the Saturday component of the event and it made sense to build something really exciting around the Trans Am field,” she explained.
“Adding in an enduro element, with a unique format specific to the event, was a logical step and just adds to the special nature of the Bathurst 6 Hour weekend.
“With the Trans Am Cup enduro and Bathurst 6 Hour qualifying on Saturday, a packed support program each with full grids and then the big race on Sunday the event continues to build and grow as it heads into its second decade in 2027.”
Tickets and Campground sales are now open for the 2027 event, to be held on 26-28 March next year, with a record uptake of camping sales pointing to another great turnout in 2027.
Meanwhile, more than 100 entries have been received for the 2027 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour race following entries opening in late September.
The 2027 Trans Am Cup Series commenced at Mount Panorama and the Bathurst 6 Hour earlier this year and will conclude with a double-header at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in November, competing at the Shannons Speed Series and Repco Supercars Championship Sandown 500.
Nathan Herne leads Todd Hazelwood and James Moffat heading into the Sandown deciders.
The 2027 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour will be held on 26-28 March next year.
For more information visit www.bathurst6hour.com.au and www.transam.com.au