2021 Townsville 500 – Start time, how to watch, channel & more
Supercars kicks off its Townsville double-header this weekend with the NTI Townsville 500.
The Reid Park circuit will host Supercars across the next two weekends, starting with the Townsville 500 this weekend and then the Townsville SuperSprint on July 17-18.
The double-header move follows weeks of uncertainty regarding to the trip to far north Queensland due to COVID-19 outbreaks up and down the east coast of Australia.
For this weekend's 500 we'll see refuelling for the first time since the season-opener in February, with the points to be split over a pair of 250-kilometre heats.
Each will feature two mandatory stops for fuel and Dunlop's soft compound tyres.
The grids for the two races will be determined by a 15-minute all-in session, followed by a T0p 10 Shootout, on each day.
Shane van Gisbergen heads into the weekend holding a healthy 221-point series lead over teammate Jamie Whincup.
When is the Supercars Townsville 500?
The Townsville 500 is the third three-day meeting of the season, starting with a pair of 40-minute practice sessions on Friday.
On Saturday qualifying kicks off at 11:15am AEST with the single-lap dash to determine the first five rows following at 1:05pm AEST.
The first 88-lap race then kicks off at 3:45pm AEST.
On Sunday qualifying is at 10:10am AEST, the Top 10 Shootout at 12:05am AEST and the second race at 2:45pm AEST.
Friday July 9
- 10:50-11:30 Supercars – Practice 1
- 15:05-15:45 Supercars – Practice 2
Saturday July 10
- 11:15-11:30 Supercars – Qualifying
- 13:05-13:35 Supercars – Top 10 Shootout
- 15:45-17:48 Supercars – Race 1
Sunday July 11
- 10:10-10:25 Supercars – Qualifying
- 12:05-12:35 Supercars – Top 10 Shootout
- 14:45-16:48 Supercars – Race 2
How can I watch the Supercars Townsville 500?
- Channel: Fox Sports 506, Channel 7
Fox Sports will have live coverage of all three days of the Townsville 500. On Friday the coverage starts at 9:45am AEST, on Saturday at 08:50am AEST and on Sunday at 8:00am AEST.
Saturday and Sunday's action will also be live on free-to-air broadcaster Channel 7, with coverage starting at 1:00pm AEST on Saturday and 12:00pm AEST on Sunday.
Can I stream the Supercars Townsville 500?
The Supercars Townsville 500 can be live streamed via subscription streaming services Foxtel Go and Kayo.
There will also be live coverage of Saturday and Sunday's action through 7Plus.
Viewers outside of Australia and New Zealand can watch via Supercars' own SuperView service.
2021 Supercars Townsville 500 session times and preview
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