Motorsport: Auckland Supercars round moved to January in revised calendar

Two-time defending Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin.
Two-time defending Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin. Photo credit: Photosport

The Auckland round of the Supercars season will take place between January 9-10, 2021  with the hope a trans-Tasman bubble will be formed by then. 

On Sunday, Supercars officials released the full revised calendar which includes 11 more events to run between June and February 2021.

Auckland was initially scheduled to host an event over Anzac weekend at Pukekohe Raceway, but in January the event was relocated to Hampton Downs as Auckland Council's Unitary Plan restricts motorsport noise at Pukekohe.

But it's yet been determined whether the rescheduled Auckland round will be held at Hampton Downs or Pukekohe, with discussions ongoing with the relevant stakeholders.

Following the Adelaide season-opener in February, the Supercars season was suspended during the second round at Albert Park in Melbourne in March. 

Points won in Adelaide will still stand, with the revamped season to resume at Sydney Motorsport Park on June 27-28, behind closed doors.

Winton, Darwin and Townsville have been pushed back to July and August slots, with dates for The Bend and the traditional Bathurst 1000 unchanged.

That will follow with races in Perth, Tasmania Sandown and Auckland before a trip back to Bathurst for the season finale. 

Other than Bathurst the Bathurst 1000 - which will retain its four-day layout - all rounds are currently scheduled as two-day events, with race formats to be announced closer to the race dates. 

Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.
Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin. Photo credit: Photosport

Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer says  the race at Sydney Motorsport Park is the only event with any determination on whether spectators can or cannot attend.

Any decision if fans can attend other events will be made closer to the event. 

"To be in a position to release a calendar is great news for our sport," Seamer said.

"This plan allows us to deliver a world-class Championship while remaining agile and responsive to changing conditions."

"The stringent guidelines we have developed are based on expert medical advice and the advice of our Government partners and Motorsport Australia and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our people, teams, drivers and officials. 

"We will continually assess the possibility of admitting fans to events based on the direction of government restrictions, including how we might be able to accommodate camping and Park and View."

Seamer stressed all details are subject to change given the nature of the COVID-19 situation.

"We looked at everything. We looked at bubble concepts, we looked at back-to-back rounds.

"But the calendar has been formulated in such a way that we've been able to maintain the spacing between the rounds, for both medical and cost reasons.

"We believe it allows us to maintain our national footprint, which is really important to us."

Two-time defending Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin will return to racing holding a 27-point Championship lead over Jamie Whincup.

Revised Supercars calendar*

Sydney Motorsport Park - June 27-28

Truck Assist Winton -July 18-19

BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown - August 8-9

Townsville -August 29-30

OTR The Bend - September 19-20

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 - October 8-11

PIRTEK Perth - Oct 31-Nov 1

Tyrepower Tasmania - November 21-22

Penrite Oil Sandown - December 12-13

ITM Auckland - January 9-10

Bathurst - February 5-7

 *All events are subject to change