Channel 7 unveils 2026 Bathurst 1000 coverage and Legends of the Mountain opener – Channel 7 will carry three days of the Repco Bathurst 1000 live and free from Friday, 9 October, across Channel 7, 7mate and 7plus.
For viewers, the key times are a 10.00am Sydney/Melbourne start on Friday and Saturday, then a 7.00am Sydney/Melbourne broadcast start on Sunday ahead of the main race coverage at 10.00am. Seven is also building a week of programming around Mount Panorama, including a preview show and a James Courtney interview.
The 7plus motorsport hub will offer live and on-demand race coverage, highlights, Bathurst throwbacks, archive footage, FAST channels and bonus features. The 2026 event is the 66th running of the Great Race and the 62nd staged at Bathurst. Practice and qualifying feature on Friday. Saturday’s coverage includes further practice and the Top 10 Shootout. Sunday’s coverage begins with the Supercars warm-up before the race takes centre stage.
Bathurst 1000 broadcast times in every market
These are Seven’s official local clock times for each city, not a single national AEDT time. Sydney and Melbourne share the same times; Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth differ. Seven’s full release also distinguishes early Perth sessions on 7mate and the Saturday shootout on 7plus Sport.
| Session | Sydney/Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 4 Oct: Supercars Preview Show | Noon | Noon | Noon | Noon |
| Fri 9 Oct: practice begins | 10.00am | 9.00am | 9.30am | 7.00am |
| Fri 9 Oct: practice, qualifying and supports | Noon | 11.00am | 11.30am | 9.00am |
| Sat 10 Oct: practice begins | 10.00am | 9.00am | 9.30am | 7.00am |
| Sat 10 Oct: practice and supports | 1.00pm | Noon | 12.30pm | 10.00am |
| Sat 10 Oct: Top 10 Shootout | 4.30pm | 3.30pm | 4.00pm | 1.30pm |
| Sun 11 Oct: supports and warm-up | 7.00am | 6.00am | 6.30am | 4.00am |
| Sun 11 Oct: Bathurst 1000 race coverage | 10.00am | 9.00am | 9.30am | 7.00am |
The preview show is on Channel 7 and 7plus in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and on 7mate and 7plus in Adelaide and Perth. Thursday’s Unfiltered: James Courtney is listed for 10.30pm nationally on Channel 7 and 7plus.
Friday’s opening practice is on Channel 7 and 7plus in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide; Perth receives that 7.00am session on 7mate and 7plus before Channel 7 joins at 9.00am. Saturday’s 7.00am Perth practice also begins on 7mate and 7plus, with Channel 7 joining at 9.00am. The later sessions are on Channel 7 and 7plus in all five markets.
Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout is listed on Channel 7 and 7plus Sport. Seven also lists a 1.00am national encore on Sunday on Channel 7 and 7plus. Sunday’s warm-up and main race are on Channel 7 and 7plus in all five markets at the local times above.
Matt White hosts the preview show with six-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander and 2013 winner Mark Winterbottom. Defending Bathurst winner and current Supercars Championship leader Matt Payne joins them. Later in the week, Courtney speaks with Hamish McLachlan on Unfiltered about his Supercars career, his ambition to win Bathurst and the near-fatal crash he survived in 2002.
Presenters and commentary team
Mel McLaughlin, Matt White and Mark Beretta will lead Seven’s coverage from Mount Panorama. Australian rally driver Molly Taylor and Aaron Noonan provide analysis, while Emma Freedman reports on the atmosphere among fans and campers.
Tander leads race commentary alongside Richard Craill and four-time Bathurst winner Greg Murphy. Chad Neylon, Mark Larkham and Riana Crehan will report from pit lane across the three days.
The network’s video preview of Bathurst is below.
Championship stakes at Mount Panorama
Payne and Tander won last year’s wet, chaotic Bathurst 1000 from 18th on the grid after seven safety cars and a late clash between leaders Cooper Murray and James Golding. It was Payne’s first Bathurst victory, Tander’s sixth and Ford’s first since 2019.
At the time of Seven’s announcement, Payne led the 2026 Supercars Championship on 2275 points, ahead of Broc Feeney on 2155 and teammate Kai Allen on 2069. Defending champion Chaz Mostert sat eighth. This year’s Bathurst result will settle the Enduro Cup and the final two places in the Finals Series; five drivers were separated by 87 points entering the weekend. The top eight will then move on to the Gold Coast 500 on 24 October.
Seven’s Head of Motorsport Angela Rampal pointed to last year’s unpredictable finish and the tight title battle as reasons to expect another dramatic weekend. With the Finals Series positions still in play, the Mount Panorama contest has championship consequences well beyond the race itself.
For more coverage of the sport, visit TV Central’s motorsport section. Viewers can stream Seven’s Bathurst coverage through 7plus.