The China Round was announced, initially for a 2004 date, by series chairman
Tony Cochrane in early 2003, signalling the first time that V8 Supercars would race outside
Australia and
New Zealand. The event was eventually confirmed for June 2005, with several teams updating their liveries for the weekend, including the
HSV Dealer Team entry of
Rick Kelly rebranding as Team
Buick for the weekend. The race weekend itself was dominated by the
Holden Racing Team, with
Todd Kelly winning two of the three races, and the round, and team-mate
Mark Skaife winning the other race. It was also a record fiftieth round victory for the team. In the opening race of the weekend,
Mark Winterbottom hit a loose drain cover which ripped the bottom out of the chassis and ruled him out for the final two races. It was an incident which was later repeated at the
2005 Chinese Grand Prix. While the event initially appeared on the
2006 calendar, the proposed dates were rejected by Chinese officials and the event was replaced by a round at
Winton Motor Raceway. The 2006 calendar also featured another the series' second venture outside Australasia with the introduction of the
Desert 400 in
Bahrain. ==Winners==