Tickets have gone on sale for the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 ahead of its return to the Supercars calendar this September.

Event 9 of the season will be the first enduro to be held at the historic Melbourne circuit since 2019, after which the championship’s 500km race was to have moved to The Bend but was instead scrapped during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even then, by the time the 2023 Sandown 500 rolls around, it will have been five years since a 500km race was held in its traditional position as the precursor to the Bathurst 1000, given the unusual order of the 2019 enduros.

The 161-lapper traces its roots to a six-hour touring car race held at the venue in 1964, with the present-day format first being used in 1984.

Over the years, Supercars’ 500km enduro has moved to Queensland Raceway, back to Sandown, to Phillip Island, and then back to Sandown again, but has remained synonymous with the latter.

After two years as a SuperSprint event, not only is the Sandown 500 back, but so too is the Top 10 Shootout to finalise the starting grid, rather than the qualifying sprints which were run to regularly changing rules from year to year.

“We’re thrilled to announce that tickets for the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 are now on sale,” said Mark Pejic, Supercars’ Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer.

“Sandown provides a connection to the history of Australian motorsport like no other venue and bringing back the Sandown 500 has been extremely well-received among our fans, drivers, and teams.

“This year’s race will be one of the most exciting events of the year as the first enduro in the new Gen3 Supercars, and we can’t wait to welcome fans back to Sandown Raceway for another unforgettable weekend of racing.”

The Repco Supercars Championship will be supported at Sandown by the Dunlop Super2 Series (including Super3), Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series, and Haltech V8 SuperUtes.

Tickets are available through Ticketek, with the event taking place from September 15-17.