Supercars 2020: V8 season saved from axe as all five Victorian teams take operations on the road
In a no expenses spared move to avoid another COVID-19 enforced cancellation, the five Victorian Supercars teams will pack up and relocate to NSW to ensure the season can continue.
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The Supercars season has been saved with Victorian based V8 teams agreeing to move to Sydney.
In a no expenses spared move that will prevent another COVID cancellation, the five Victorian teams will pack up and abandon Victoria to ensure the Supercars season continues.
The teams, which include Erebus Motorsport and Walkinshaw Andretti United, will be housed in temporary facilities at Sydney Motorsport Park and have already begun to prepare for the emergency move.
The pending COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria threatened to bring a halt to the season with next week’s Sydney SuperSprint put in doubt.
“Following ongoing discussions with NSW and Victorian health authorities, all Victorian team personnel and drivers will relocate to Sydney Motorsport Park ahead of next weekend’s Truck Assist Sydney SuperSprint,” a Supercars spokesman said.
“The team garages at Sydney Motorsport Park will be opened for use from this evening.”
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer also confirmed the move.
“Supercars has been closely monitoring the situation in Victoria and teams had been preparing to bring forward travel dates in advance of Monday’s announcement,” Seamer said.
“We appreciate their willingness to play their part, to ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of Supercars and the wider community.
“We remain agile and continue to work with all government stakeholders, relevant medical officials and teams on ensuring we race in a safe and compliant way.”
V8 VICS RIGID TEST TO GET ON SYDNEY START LINE
All Victorian Supercars teams and drivers will be forced to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing before they are allowed to attend the next round in Sydney, writes Rebecca Williams.
After Supercars was forced to shift the next race from Winton to Sydney Motorsport Park for a second round, the series has been forced to add another layer of biosecurity to its already tight protocols due to Victoria’s coronavirus surge.
All team personnel from Victoria will need to undertake a COVID-19 test — and provide the evidence of a negative result — before they can travel to the venue.
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Team managers must provide the test results to Supercars before leaving Victoria.
COVID-19 testing had not been enforced by Supercars before the return round in Sydney last week, a choice which was left up to the teams.
Anyone who resides in a listed “hotspot” is not permitted to enter New South Wales, but it’s understood no teams have any personnel in lockdown areas.
Tickford Racing’s Campbellfield base neighbours some of the lockdown postcodes and the Ford team is understood to have briefed its crew to have the cars prepped and ready in case they are forced to leave the state early in the event of further lockdowns.
The Supercars commission has also confirmed changes to the pitlane order for the second Sydney event with the Victorian teams forced to be quarantined from the rest of the V8 paddock.
Matt Stone racing will move into the position where Tickford Racing normally resides behind DJR Team Penske and Red Bull, with the New South Wales teams next.
The five Victorian teams — Tickford, Erebus, WAU, Kelly Racing and Team 18, separated at the end of the pit lane.
SEPARATE PADDOCK FOR THE VICTORIAN CREWS
Victorian Supercars teams will be separated from the rest of the V8 paddock and the next round will be shifted to Sydney in an unprecedented move sparked by Melbourne’s COVID-19 spike.
News Corp Australia can reveal the Winton round of the Supercars championship — scheduled to begin on July 18 — will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) with Victoria’s coronavirus surge forcing the sport to make the 650km move from Northern Victoria to Eastern Creek.
Set to be announced today after the NSW Government green-lit SMP to host back-to-back rounds following the successful restart of the series in Sydney last weekend, Supercars will also take the unprecedented move of separating Victorian based teams from the rest of the paddock.
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News Corp understands the sport will reorder the positions in pit-lane with the five Victorian teams to be isolated in quarantined garages.
With pit-lane garage order determined by championship position, teams including Erebus Motorsport may be forced to give up pit-lane priority with Victorian team likely to be shunted to the rear of the grid.
The only place where the Victorian teams will be able to make contact with their northern rivals is on the track with a series of strict distancing measures to be put in place in an unprecedented bid to keep the driver’s apart.
The sport will book the Victorian based drivers and team personnel into their own hotel with the NSW and Queensland based teams to stay elsewhere.
The Supercars teams based in Victoria include Erebus Motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Tickford Racing, Team 18, and Kelly Racing.
The host of measures are expected to be announced on Thursday when the Truck Assist Winton is officially replaced by another SuperSprint round to be held at SMP.
In a herculean logistic shift, the July 18 event will be moved from Northern Victoria to Sydney after Winton was ruled a V8 no-go zone.
It is understood the relocated round will include three sprint races – the first of them to be held at night.
News Corp has been told the sport has been giving approval to hold the first day of the two-day event under lights with SMP’s brand-new permanent lighting to be used for the very first time.
The forced relocation could come with a silver-lining with Supercars close to gaining approval to open the gates and let fans in for the first time since the season opener in Adelaide.
The NSW Government is considering letting as many as 20,000 fans in over the course of the two-day event.
The Winton round will be rescheduled for later in the year.
The sport made a successful COVID-19 return last weekend with Scott McLaughlin conquering Sydney to relaunch the season.
In an ominous showing of speed and superior strategy, the reigning champion one two of the three races to extend his championship lead over Jamie Whincup.
McLaughlin is vying to win his third straight crown after beating Shane van Gisbergen to go back-to-back last year.