Sandown 500 makes comeback in 2023

The Sandown 500 endurance race has been restored to the Supercars calendar for 2023.

A 500-kilometre, two-driver endurance race will be held at the historic venue in the lead-up to Bathurst.

The 2023 Penrite Oil Sandown 500 will be held on September 15-17.

The race will be the first of its kind at the historic Melbourne venue since 2019.

Sandown is seen as the traditional home of the 500 and first hosted the race 58 years ago.

The 500 was first held in 1964 as a six-hour race for series production touring cars.

The 2023 Sandown 500 will be the 16th time the race will be held as part of the Supercars Championship.

The 500 has also been held at circuits such as Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island.

The race was also set to move to The Bend in 2020 before COVID-19 intervened.

Next year's Sandown 500 will be crucial preparation for the 60th running of the Great Race on October 5-8.

The 2023 season will be the first since to 2019 to stage more than one enduro.

The 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons saw Supercars scale its endurance season back to just a single race, the Bathurst 1000.

A bumper Sandown sprint round in August saw drivers begin calls to bring the 500 back to the circuit.

The Sandown 500 was last held in 2019

It came as Sandown hosted the sole co-driver session of the season prior to Bathurst.

Drivers and fans have had their wish granted, with Sandown set to host the 500 for the 50th time.

The 2023 season will also be the first under the new Gen3 ruleset, with the Chevrolet Camaro to take on the Ford Mustang.

"With the Camaro vs Mustang debut, the return of the Sandown 500 and our marquee event, the Repco Bathurst 1000, celebrating its 60th running, 2023 is shaping as one of the most exciting in the history of our sport," Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.

"This year we have seen huge crowds return to our events and Adelaide is shaping as a spectacular finale for the Holden Commodore and Ford Mustang rivalry.

"We cannot wait to roll out our Gen3 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro at Newcastle in March.

"What an amazing way to start the new chapter of racing for our sport."

2023 Repco Supercars Championship calendar

Event	Date
Thrifty Newcastle 500*	March 10-12**
Beaurepaires Melbourne 400	March 30-April 2
Perth SuperSprint*	April 28-30
NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint	May 19-21
Darwin Triple Crown	June 16-18**
NTI Townsville 500*	July 7-9**
Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight	July 28-30
OTR SuperSprint	August 18-20
Penrite Oil Sandown 500*	September 15-17
Repco Bathurst 1000*	October 5-8**
Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500	October 27-29**
VALO Adelaide 500*	November 23-26**