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SUPERCARS HUB TO FINISH SEASON

Supercars Hub to finish season - Image: InSyde Media

By Mark Fogarty

Supercars is planning an AFL/NRL-style hotel hub in southeast Queensland to ensure the season is completed.

Southern teams will quarantine in a Gold Coast ‘bubble’ for 14 days before racing resumes with back-to-back events at Queensland Raceway in early November.

All the teams would then move to NSW for another double-header at Sydney Motorsport Park before the Bathurst 1000, which is to be rescheduled as the season finale at the start of December.

Supercars is understood to be negotiating with the Queensland government to allow team personnel and series staff from VIC and NSW to isolate in a hotel or resort on the Gold Coast for two weeks.

“They’re going to do a quarantine hotel for all the team and Supercars personnel from Victoria for 14 days,” a southern squad insider revealed. “That’s the smart way of doing it.”

After completing quarantine, they would be free to join the QLD-based teams and Supercars officials to compete on consecutive weekends at QR.

The deal is due to be finalised within days, along with the latest revision of the COVID-disrupted calendar for the final five events.

As outlined to the teams, all interstaters would isolate in a dedicated hotel that would be turned into a Supercars ‘bubble’.

They’d have freedom of movement within the facility rather than be restricted to their rooms, with access to dining areas, gym, swimming pool and other outside facilities

The arrangement will be similar to the hotel/resort ‘bubbles’ employed by the NRL, which relocated its competition to QLD, and the AFL’s finals mini-hubs in Adelaide and Perth.

Finalisation of the Gold Coast hub is part of the delay in announcing the new schedule of events, which has been postponed at least twice since late last week.

COVID uncertainties have already claimed next month’s proposed returns to Winton and Phillip Island, plus the Gold Coast 500 in December.

Supercars is planning back-to-back events at QR and then SMP in November before the Bathurst 1000, delayed again to replace the GC500 on the December 4-5 weekend as the season-ender.

The Bathurst 1000 is set to be combined with ARG’s Bathurst International to create an almost week-long racing festival at Mount Panorama from November 30-December 5.

ARG’s TCR, S5000, TCM and Trans Am will join Supercars’ full roster of main game, Super2, Porsche Carrera Cup and Toyota 86 Series, culminating in the 1000 km classic.

Supercars’ last-ditch effort to fulfill its contractual obligations to complete a 12-event season depend on lockdown restrictions being eased in NSW by mid-November and no deterioration in QLD.

After the two-week quarantine from late October and 10 days in Ipswich, it is understood that all the teams will be allowed to enter NSW from QLD without isolating.

More problematic may be the teams’ returns home after the Bathurst 1000.

But they are all prepared to quarantine for two weeks – hopefully, at home rather than hotels – afterwards to ensure the season is completed.

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