The Bathurst 1000 delivered a finish worthy of its status as Australian motorsport’s biggest race, with the 2026 edition going down to the final lap as the podium places were decided in a dramatic conclusion.
The late-race drama also proved a winner for Seven, which took the chequered flag in the weekend’s TV ratings. Its broadcast reached 3.97 million Australians, while an average national audience of 1.46 million tuned in to watch the 1000km showdown. The race marked the 20th Bathurst 1000 since the death of motorsport legend Peter Brock in 2006.
On lap 161 of 161 Anton De Pasquale racing with Lee Holdsworth for DEWALT Racing held a commanding 2.5 second lead. This gap should have proved too much for the chasers. There was only one problem.
De Pasquale ran out of fuel during his ascent up Mount Panorama. Leaving the gate wide open for Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood of the Shell V-Power Racing Team—the irony.
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Kostecki steered his number 17 Ford Mustang to the finish line, taking home his second Bathurst 1000 victory.
And unfortunately for De Pasquale and Holdsworth, their Chevrolet Camaro didn’t finish the race, with the supercar stopping at The Chase.
A deflated De Pasquale fronted the broadcast after the race
“We had a really good day, so… and yeah, the checkered flag was, you know, six k’s away, so really disappointing,” he said.
“Our car was amazing at the back end of the race where we wanted it. Everything went our way until it didn’t.”
The race edged out TV Ratings juggernaut The Block. Nine’s popular renovation show grabbed a reach of 2.4 million people and an average of 1.4 million.
Seven had rev heads enthused all weekend with Bathurst being televised all weekend long. The top 10 shootout— the race that decides the grid position for Sunday — was the most popular entertainment program of Saturday night. It edged out Nine’s Bledisloe Cup broadcast and 10’s Australia Cup final.
