MOTORSPORT: Supercars 2021 calendar revealed

Supercars has issued a draft 12-event calendar for 2021 and also confirmed the Newcastle 500 will return as the opening event of the 2022 season.

COVID forced the cancellation of the NSW street race in 2020 and 2021, but the NSW government has signed back on to support it from 2022.

And with the Adelaide street race canned from 2021 for at least two years and the February Bathurst date reverting to an international GT race in 2022, Newcastle slides smoothly into the vacated season-opener slot and the commencement of the Gen3 era.

The 2021 calendar is as expected, with Australia’s only truly professional motorsport category making two trips to Mount Panorama in 2021.

Bathurst will host the Mount Panorama 500 on February 26-28, comprising two 250km races, while the Bathurst 1000 is tipped to be the only two-driver race of the season on October 7-10.

For the first time, the championship will conclude on the streets of the Gold Coast, on December 3-5. The format for the street race, cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic, has not been signed off as yet but it is odds on to be for the 24 regular drivers only.

After the ravages triggered by COVID in 2020, the championship is scheduled return to Western Australia, Victoria and New Zealand.

The historic Sandown circuit in Melbourne is acting as a free-floating reserve, ready to be plugged if any of a number of events have to be called off.

The first of them is the F1 meeting at Albert Park in March, while the trip to NZ might also be a challenge, although it has been scheduled for November.

Teams will stage their pre-season at Sydney Motorsport Park on Sunday, February 14. They will return there in August for the first of two consecutive night races, the second at Barbagallo Park in WA.

Every practice, qualifying and race session will be broadcast live in 2021 on Fox Sports and Kayo. Six events will be broadcast free-to-air on the Seven Network.

There is a planned six-week break around the Tokyo Olympics between the Townsville and SMP races.

The Bathurst 1000 and F1 events are scheduled to run over four days. Four other events are slated to take place over three days, while six events will use the three race/two-day SuperSprint format introduced in 2020.

Supercars is currently reviewing its general admission, grandstand and corporate ticketing options for the season-opening Mount Panorama 500, with further details to be released for fans by December 10.

With Scott McLaughlin having departed with Roger Penske to IndyCar racing America, Supercars will crown its first new champion in four years in 2021.

It will also mark the disappearance of the Holden racing effort along with the brand itself, although 16 Commodore ZBs will race in 2021.

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship Calendar:
Feb 14: Pre-season test, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Feb 26-28: Mount Panorama 500, Bathurst, NSW
Mar 18-21: Melbourne, Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, VIC
April 10-11: Tasmania SuperSprint, Symmons Plains, TAS
May 8-9: OTR SuperSprint, Tailem Bend, SA
May 29-30: Winton SuperSprint, Winton, VIC
June 19-20: Darwin Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, NT
July 9-11: NTI Townsville, Reid Park, QLD
Aug 20-22: Sydney SuperNight, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Sept 11-12: Perth SuperNight, Wanneroo Raceway, WA
Oct 7-10: Repco Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, NSW
Nov 6-7: ITM Auckland SuperSprint, NZ
Dec 3-5: Gold Coast Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise, QLD