SHANNONS REPLACES SANDOWN WITH SECOND TAILEM BEND ROUND

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shannons Nationals round scheduled to take place at Sandown Raceway in September and has been replaced by a second round at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

Tailem Bend will now hold a doubleheader event with two rounds for Australian Racing Group categories TCR Australia, the National Trans Am Series and Touring Car Masters held over one weekend.

The additional round will occur on the same October 15-17 weekend and will create a jam-packed schedule running alongside several other national series.

Race formats and scheduling for the new Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship doubleheader event at the South Australia circuit at Tailem Bend is yet to be announced, however Auto Action understands that two different layouts at the South Australian venue could be used.

Joining TCR, TCM and Trans Am will be the GT World Challenge Australia which will not change format and continue to host its round of the Motorsport Australia GT Endurance Championship, run as a three-hour two-driver race for GT3 and GT4 sports cars.

Although excited to see a doubleheader and Motorsport Australia categories come together in South Australia, Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith is disappointed not to be returning to Melbourne in 2021.

“We know how popular the Sandown round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships can be, with huge crowds attending the Victorian event in recent years,” Smith said.

“Unfortunately, with the Victorian lockdown looking like extending into September, we have been forced to make the call on this event now for the certainty of fans, competitors and our sponsors.

“We’ve worked closely with the Melbourne Racing Club over recent months and thank them for their efforts in trying to make this event a reality.

“That said, we’re absolutely thrilled to be heading to The Bend for a massive fortnight of motorsport in October.

“With back-to-back weekends of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships alongside the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship and the SXS Motorsport Australia Championship also featuring, it promises to be two events that cannot be missed.

“I’d like to thank our competitors and category managers for their ongoing support and flexibility throughout 2021, as well as our sponsors who have been extremely supportive of these changes and the Championships more broadly.”

Australian Racing Group CEO Matt Braid is pleased that racing will be shown on Seven at The Bend despite the uncertain times.

“Having to drop Sandown from the calendar of our categories was one of the hardest decisions that we have had to make during these recent times,” Braid said.

“We feel for fans of our categories who have been anticipating a return to racing in Melbourne.

“However, the creation of a ‘two-in-one’ race meeting at Tailem Bend is going to be one of the most exciting race weekends that Australian motorsport fans have seen in some time.

“Whether watching at home on the Seven Network or at the track, there will be non-stop racing action from our top-class categories over the entire weekend.

“It will also be fascinating to see how the teams and drivers deal with the packed race schedule, and it will be great to watch it all unfold at The Bend in October.”

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