Coronavirus forces Sydney TCR Australia round postponement

The opening round of the 2020 TCR Australia Series has be postponed due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week Motorsport Australia advised that it felt the Sydney Motorsport Park event would be able to go ahead, with ARG stating that it would be guided the governing body.

The situation has now developed such that the event will not go ahead as scheduled.

“Motorsport Australia, together with the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC) operators of Sydney Motorsport Park and Australian Racing Group (ARG), will postpone the opening round due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation,” a statement from Motorsport Australia read.

“A new date will be announced in due course, with Motorsport Australia and ARDC to work closely together to find a suitable option for all categories scheduled to be part of the opening round of the season.”

It means a delay to the start of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships, which was next weekend set to host the first round of the TCR Australia Series, along with Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, VHT S5000 Championship, Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters, Trans Am, Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car Series, and LMP3 Cup Australia.

“We are working with all circuits and our categories to determine how we can move forward together and ensure we have a strong finish to 2020,” said Michael Smith, Motorsport Australia Championships Director.

“We hope to be able to share a revised calendar very soon, as we work through what is a very challenging and unique situation. We are looking forward to being able to go racing once it is appropriate to do so.”

On Tuesday Motorsport Australia stated that it was seeking clarification from State Governments with regards to how organised gathering legislation applied to motorsport events.

Both TCR Australia and S5000 were impacted by the cancellation of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix weekend, the former hosting the Asia Pacific Cup and the latter the opening round of its championship.

Earlier today it was confirmed the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, the second round of the Motorsport Australia Championships, would not proceed as planned.

That event is now set to be run in conjunction with the Bathurst International in November.