» Supercars: Darwin double-header delayed

The Supercars Championship’s double-header in Darwin will be delayed by a week after the Northern Territory government suddenly imposed a mandatory quarantine period for all personnel travelling across the border from Queensland.

Local health officials declared Brisbane a COVID-19 Coronavirus hotspot after a number of new cases cropped up in the city. The area is a base to a number of teams, drivers and key Supercars figures – any who declare to have been in the city will be required to self-isolate for over a week upon entering the Northern Territory.

Several teams’ transporters and crew were held at the state border while clarity was sought.

This all but forced Supercars’ hand to delay the Darwin Triple Crown and Darwin SuperSprint rounds, which were to have run over consecutive weekends on August 8-9 and August 15-16 respectively.

The Triple Crown will now run on the August 15-16 weekend, with the following SuperSprint round potentially taking place anytime in the two weeks that follow before the field returns to Queensland at the end of the month for the Townsville 400 round.

“Following intensive discussions over recent days and at the direction of the NT Government and the relevant health authority, the decision has been made to postpone this weekend’s event for seven days,” Supercars CEO Sean Seamer explained.

“This decision has been made to ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of all of our people and the wider community in the Northern Territory ahead of the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.

“We would like to thank the NT Government and health authorities on working with Supercars on developing a plan that allows us to move forward with the northern leg of our championship.

“I would also like to thank our teams and fans for their ongoing flexibility to accommodate this year’s championship. This is a decision Supercars supports to ensure the health and wellbeing of all Territorians.

“This announcement will have no bearing on our plans for any future events including the Townsville SuperSprint.”

2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Season Calendar (Updated)
Date	Event	Location	Format
22-23 Feb	Adelaide 500	Adelaide street circuit, SA	Two-race
Cancelled	Melbourne 400	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, VIC	Four-race
Cancelled	Auckland SuperSprint	Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, NZ	Two-race
27-28 Jun	Sydney SuperSprint I	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Three-race
Postponed	Winton SuperSprint	Winton Motor Raceway, VIC	Two-race
18-19 Jul	Sydney SuperSprint II	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Three-race
15-16 Aug	Darwin Triple Crown	Hidden Valley Raceway, NT	Two-race
TBA	Darwin SuperSprint	Hidden Valley Raceway, NT	Two-race
29-30 Aug	Townsville 400	Townsville street circuit, SA	Two-race
Cancelled	The Bend 500	The Bend Motorsport Park, SA	Endurance
19-20 Sep	Sandown 400	Sandown Raceway, VIC	Two-race
11 Oct	Bathurst 1000	Mount Panorama Circuit, NSW	Endurance
Cancelled	Gold Coast 600	Surfers Paradise street circuit, QLD	Two-race
31-01 Nov	Perth SuperNight	Wanneroo Raceway, WA	Two-race
21-22 Nov	Tasmania SuperSprint	Symmons Plains Raceway, TAS	Two-race
Cancelled	Newcastle 500	Newcastle street circuit, NSW	Two-race
12-13 Dec	Sydney SuperNight 500	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Two-race