Photo: Supercars

Queensland hub for Supercars as COVID-19 border restrictions tighten

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South-east Queensland will be the temporary home for Supercars Championship teams as the category today announced it would move the teams up there after this weekend’s round at Sydney Motorsport Park in response to ever-tightening border restrictions across Australia.

While the Victorian border shut last week, forcing teams to relocate to Western Sydney and the SMP circuit, a further COVID-19 in the areas surrounding the circuit has given Supercars no choice but to relocate the teams to south-east Queensland as a temporary measure.

The plan has come into force after the Northern Territory government declared the Greater Sydney region as a declared hotspot, casting doubt over the upcoming round at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway.

All teams bar DJR Team Penske, Triple Eight and Matt Stone Racing are based outside of Queensland and will have to head north with no known return date to keep the championship alive and kicking throughout the second wave of the pandemic.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer has thanked the state governments as well as the personell from teams and the category as a whole for working together to keep it moving admist a cloud of uncertainty.

“I want to thank the Queensland and Northern Territory Governments for their support to continue our 2020 championship at this time,” Seamer said.

“Being able to prepare and operate out of Queensland enables us to lock in the key northern legs of our championship and give the teams and TV crew the best access to resources for preparation.

“I would like to thank all of our Victorian and New South Wales people, teams, drivers and of course their families for their continued support, flexibility and resilience.

“We’ve already seen numerous offers of support from Queensland teams for their interstate competitors, from unlimited access to workshops to accommodation and transport support.

“It’s been an overwhelmingly positive response from within the category to ensure our season perseveres in a year that will continue to challenge us all.”

As of today, Victoria has recorded 317 new active cases, a daily record in Australia, with only 10 in New South Wales and zero in both Queensland and the Northern Territory.