Supercars confirms collective team agreement on TRC as 14-round 2027 calendar nears release

Collective agreement reached at the Gold Coast

Supercars is on the verge of announcing its long-awaited 2027 championship calendar after owner RACE secured agreement from all twelve teams on the future of the Teams Racing Charter. Supercars boss Barclay Nettlefold confirmed to Speedcafe on Sunday at the Gold Coast 500 that there is now a "collective agreement" for critical changes to the Teams Racing Charter to take place, with final sign-off and ratification expected in the coming days ahead of a public calendar announcement. ¹

"We've got a collective agreement between all the team owners with regards to how the TRC will be finalised," Nettlefold told Speedcafe on Sunday. "We'll be working over the next few days to conclude the TRC and we're looking forward to the future. Everyone is fully committed to a 14-round calendar and we hope to be able to put that out once we've got everything agreed in the next week." ¹

The confirmation follows a period of mounting frustration. V8 Sleuth reported on 23 October that the calendar announcement would not come that day as had been hoped, with sources indicating a release was unlikely over the weekend. Supercars had originally planned to unveil the calendar at the Gold Coast showcase event but delayed the rollout while details of its deal with seven teams were still being finalised. ¹³

How the negotiation reached this point

The TRC, devised when RACE bought the business in 2021, determines what the series owner must pay teams each season. As Speedcafe detailed in July, it stipulates a base payment for 12 events plus an additional fee per event beyond that, with amounts resetting in five-year blocks. The base was set at $650,000 per TRC for 2022-2026, while additional event payments are the greater of a set figure ($63,000 per event in 2026) or a revenue growth share calculated as 0.75 percent of the amount by which RACE's revenue exceeds its 2022 revenue. ²

That reset structure created the crisis. Speedcafe reported in September that figures calculated on RACE's 2026 revenues would skyrocket the monies required for each additional event, potentially to as much as $200,000 per extra round, making any calendar above 12 events unviable unless a new deal was struck. A 14-round calendar also lines up with Supercars' current TV deal, under which RACE must pay money back to Fox Sports if it does not meet that number. ²⁴

Nettlefold first put a plan to a four-man panel of team representatives during the Townsville 500 weekend in July: Brett Ralph (Dick Johnson Racing), Ryan Walkinshaw (Walkinshaw TWG) and team owners Matt Stone and Brad Jones. Speedcafe understood the plan involved creating a pathway to a 15-event championship, aiming for 14 in 2027 and 15 the following year. Under the TRC terms, a one-year amendment requires a 75 percent special majority among owners, while a completely new charter would need 100 percent agreement. ²⁴

Two payment structures in the pit lane

It was revealed at the Bathurst 1000 that seven teams had agreed to a revised deal, but five others — Triple Eight, Grove, Erebus, PremiAir and SCT — knocked it back. The seven publicly urged the breakaway five to join them, issuing a statement stressing the importance of concessions for the health of the sport. Speedcafe reported in September that the holdout group was chasing a figure said to be over $1.2 million per year, significantly more than what had been offered, with teams receiving around $800,000 per TRC in 2026 under a cut-price one-year deal. ¹⁴

Last week, Speedcafe revealed that RACE had struck a different deal with the five holdout squads, a surprise outcome meaning the pit lane will operate on two different payment structures. The five will receive a higher annual payment, while the seven are now expected to score a bonus payment when RACE sells the business. V8 Sleuth noted there is thought to be some angst from that seven-team contingent, perhaps naturally, given the potential situation of being paid less than rivals; both groups appear to be declaring victory, with the seven effectively investing in RACE's success for a higher overall return. ¹³

The 2027 calendar taking shape

Pending further developments, the rejigged 14-round calendar is set to include Phillip Island returning to the schedule for the first time since 2019, taking Sandown's place in the Finals Series. Sandown is expected to be repositioned as a third Enduro Cup event, while Queensland Raceway — which lacks significant government funding — is set to drop off the schedule. Speedcafe's September reporting noted Phillip Island's return follows the Victorian venue's loss of MotoGP, and flagged that if Queensland Raceway secured government funding, Sandown would instead be at risk. ¹⁴

Timing is tight: the calendar must be finalised this week if teams are to meet an end-of-month 2027 entry deadline, which has already been pushed back once amid the uncertainty. The release is expected to come as a relief to the broader Australian motorsport industry, given the calendar's knock-on effects for other classes, officials and fans; Motorsport Australia is believed to have recently issued Supercars a 'please explain' regarding the ongoing lack of calendar clarity. ¹

One piece of the 2027 picture was already locked in earlier in the year, with Formula 1 announcing an April 1-4 fixture for Albert Park, albeit with the remote chance of that event being brought forward if F1's Middle Eastern races did not proceed, as Speedcafe reported in September. ⁴

Context and what remains unconfirmed

The agreement caps months of tension between RACE and its teams. Beyond the payment figures, Speedcafe's September reporting noted other tabled TRC changes were causing consternation, amid frustration over the sport's governance five years into RACE's ownership. Points of tension included parity — which resulted in legal letters being issued midway through the Bend 500 weekend — and scrutiny of RACE's own costs, staffing levels and three-office structure. ⁴

It should be noted that the calendar itself has not yet been published: Nettlefold's comments commit to a 14-round schedule being announced once the TRC is concluded, expected within the week, and the specific round dates, venues beyond the Phillip Island, Sandown and Queensland Raceway movements described above, and the exact terms of both team payment structures remain to be confirmed by the official announcement. ¹