The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship revised calendar has been updated and will now finish under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park in December.
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said the update to the revised calendar has been made following weeks of discussions with key stakeholders including broadcast partners and team owners.
“When the draft calendar was released four weeks ago, our primary objective was to ensure we returned to racing as soon as possible,” Seamer said.
“This allowed us to put a stake in the ground and ensure we returned to the track quickly following the COVID-19 shutdown.
“The calendar announced in May was based on the best information we had at the time.
“With an eye on 2021, teams and broadcast partners have agreed it is in all parties’ best interests commercially and competitively to finish this year’s campaign in December and start the new season in the New Year.”
The final round of the 2020 Championship will be under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on 12-13 December .
Deputy Premier of NSW John Barilaro said the revised calendar is a great result for fans of motorsport racing in Australia.
“This is fantastic news for fans of the Australia Supercars Championship who want to see competitive racing and see a result before the end of the calendar year.
“The Bathurst 1000 is the pinnacle of motorsport racing so to see it remain the showcase event is incredible news for everyone involved.
“To see the season end under the new $16.4 million lighting at Sydney Motorsport Park will be a blockbuster finish to the year and serve as a chance to showcase the results of the NSW Government’s $33 million investment in the Western Sydney motorsport precinct.”
The previously announced rounds at The Bend, New Zealand and the second event at Mount Panorama do not feature on the revised 11-round 2020 calendar. This is in consequence of the COVID-19 circumstances which are beyond the reasonable control of Supercars.
The Sandown event shifts from December to September, returning to its traditional pre-Bathurst calendar position.
All events remain subject to change based on appropriate State, Territory and Federal regulations as they continue to be updated in response to COVID-19 and otherwise.
The rescheduled 2020 calendar is now as follows:
- Superloop Adelaide 500 20-23 February
- Beaurepaires Supercars Melbourne 400 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix 12-15 March
- BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint 27-28 June
- Truck Assist Winton 18-19 July
- BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown 8-9 August
- Townsville 29-30 August
- Penrite Oil Sandown 19-20 September
- Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 8-11 October
- PIRTEK Perth 31 Oct – 1 Nov
- Tyrepower Tasmania 21-22 November
- Sydney Motorsport Park 12-13 December
Details regarding next year’s full 2021 Championship calendar are due to be released in October.
“As was the plan for 2020 before COVID setbacks, we envisage the 2021 calendar to include a break over winter months,” Mr Seamer said.
“These are challenging times for all sport, which is why we have had to remain flexible with our calendar arrangements and make significant changes to support key stakeholders.
“In 2021 we plan to return to New Zealand, The Bend and street circuits.
“Our goal now is to make sure that we deliver some amazing racing over the rest of the 2020 championship.”
Primary support category, the Dunlop Super2 Series, will also alter its revised calendar.
DS2 races are now scheduled to feature on the undercard at Winton, Sandown, Mount Panorama and Supercars’ season finale at Sydney Motorsport Park in December.
Supercars return to racing at Sydney Motorsport Park on 27-28 June with three 130-kilometre sprint races, broadcast exclusively live on Fox Sports and Kayo.