SHANNONS MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIPS OPENING ROUND DELAYED

TCR Australia will start its season in September – Photo: TCR Australia/Daniel Kalisz

The opening round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships has been delayed until September after stage three COVID-19 restrictions were placed on metropolitan Melbourne.

By HEATH McALPINE

Scheduled to return on August 15-16, the second-tier Australian series has been delayed until September 4-6 currently placing it a week before Round 2 at Sandown, however this and the two remaining rounds may be subject to change.

The current restrictions put in place impact the bulk of teams that were set to compete at the venue, so too category management and even the governing body with its offices located within the lockdown zone.

Also. the unknown timeline of the Victorian and New South Wales border closure impacted on the decision.

“We were hoping that the August date would be possible, however with a large number of teams Victorian based and unable to travel freely between New South Wales and Victoria, we felt the only option was for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships to take place on the first weekend in September,” Smith said.

“Opening our season at Sydney Motorsport Park is certainly an exciting prospect and we know that this new date will be upon us very soon. Ultimately, we all want to go racing as soon as we can.

“We know this year is one that is very fluid and we are greatly appreciative of the support of all our categories and circuit managers for their flexibility and understanding.

“This new Sydney date may mean that we have to change dates for future rounds, however together with the team at Australian Racing Group, we will provide updated information as soon as we are able to.”

Australian Racing Group categories TCR Australia and S5000 Australian Drivers Championship were scheduled to headline the meeting, however a key entrant in both categories Garry Rogers Motorsport is situated within the lockdown area.

“The current coronavirus crisis is unprecedented and we have to remain flexible in how we adapt to the ongoing impact on our return to race plan,” Braid said.

“As we’ve seen the situation in Victoria develop over the past few days, and considering the many affected teams, moving the date back was the best outcome for all.

“We’re excited that we have a new date for Sydney and working hard to get the clearest possible direction for our categories.”

TCR Australia and S5000 Australian Drivers Championship will be joined at SMP Touring Car Masters and Trans Am.

Unconfirmed are the two Porsche categories, which were originally part of the event line-up, but as revealed by Auto Action yesterday Porsche Cars Australia confirmed it had cancelled its attendance at that round.

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