MOTORPSORT: Supercars rush to NSW

Victorian Supercars teams have raced across the NSW border to ensure the next round of the championship can go ahead.

NSW is closing its border to Victoria at midnight tonight in response to the state’s COVID-19 outbreak, a move that would have trapped Victorian Supercars teams if they had not moved north.

Instead they will be based at Sydney Motorsport Park, which is scheduled to host the next championship event on July 18-19.

Supercars has also booked rooms at the hotel next to the circuit to accommodate teams and drivers.

Sydney hosted the resumption of Supercars action after a three-month break in late June and took over the July 18-19 date allocated to Winton in north-eastern Victoria last week when Queensland imposed restrictions on travel to and from Victoria because of the surge in coronavirus activity.

The teams affected include Tickford Racing, Erebus Motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Team 18, and Kelly Racing.

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“Supercars has been closely monitoring the situation in Victoria and teams had been preparing to bring forward travel dates in advance of today’s announcement,” said Supercars CEO Sean Seamer.

“We appreciate their willingness to play their part, to ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of Supercars and the wider community.

“We remain agile and continue to work with all government stakeholders, relevant medical officials and teams on ensuring we race in a safe and compliant way.”

The SMP races will be open to the public, but ticketing and support race details have yet to be announced.

After the SMP race, the championship is scheduled to travel to Darwin and Townsville in August, although quite how the latest COVID-19 issues will impact that is yet to be clarified.