Supercars will race under lights in Darwin for the first time, with the championship confirming that the 2027 betr Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley will be built around a Friday night race, a Saturday twilight race and a Sunday daytime event.
The plan, first revealed on MotorRacing360, makes Hidden Valley just the fifth circuit to host a championship night race in ATCC/Supercars history, after Sydney Motorsport Park, Wanneroo Raceway, Yas Marina Circuit and Calder Park. Final scheduling is still to be confirmed.
Supercars Executive Chairman and interim CEO Barclay Nettlefold cast the change as a turning point for one of the calendar's most popular rounds.
"Adding night racing to the Darwin Triple Crown is a major evolution for an event that is already a favourite among our fans, teams, and drivers," Nettlefold said. "There is nothing quite like Supercars under lights — the noise, the energy and the atmosphere create an incredible spectacle — and bringing that energy to the Territory in 2027 will make the Darwin Triple Crown one of the standout events of the season."
The Northern Territory government, which backs the event, framed it as a tourism play. Minister for Tourism and Major Events Marie-Clare Boothby said the Territory was "absolutely in pole position" for motorsport.
"There's nowhere better for motorsports and major events, and next year we're taking it up another level," Boothby said. "Twilight races and night races will unlock a raft of opportunities for Territorians and visitors to enjoy all we have to offer: sunset markets and hospitality venues, parks and one-of-a-kind events."
"That's so sick," Allen said. "Darwin would be the perfect spot for a night race, especially with the heat and everything. It'll spice things up, and the racing can be actually quite cool and quite fast. That's blown me away a little bit. I'm keen for that."
Reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Matt Payne also welcomed the move, pointing to the atmosphere and the relief it could bring from Darwin's tropical heat.
"It's definitely got the atmosphere for it. Any time the category wants to do a night race, I'm all for it. I love racing at night. The Sydney one is awesome for us," Payne said. "[Darwin night racing] would be awesome for the sport and be cool for the fans. It'd be cool to have the sunset and everything at Darwin."
Six-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander, speaking on MotorRacing360, joked that the prospect was almost enough to tempt him out of the cockpit.
"I was very fortunate to race at the first race here at Hidden Valley in 1998, and year on year, the facility continues to get better and better and better," Tander said. "So now to go night racing, it's almost like I wanna go get a license again and have a crack at doing this. If there was any race that we go to throughout our calendar that we should be doing a night race at, it's Hidden Valley."
The shift caps a steady expansion of the Top End round. Supercars has contested a championship event in Darwin every year since 1998, and in 2026 will race on all three days of the weekend for the first time. The Triple Crown itself, run since 2006, has from 2025 been awarded to the driver scoring the most points across the three races.
This weekend's 2026 edition doubles as Supercars' Indigenous Round, with all 24 cars carrying unique liveries designed by Indigenous artists. The night-race switch arrives a year early in the conversation, but the championship is clearly betting that lights at Hidden Valley will become a signature of the season.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports](https://motorsports.global/article/supercars-confirms-first-darwin-night-race-for-2027). Visit for full coverage.*