The Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships will not visit The Bend Motorsport Park in June as originally planned.
The South Australian venue was set to host the fourth round of the Motorsport Australia Championships on June 12-14 but has been postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It would have marked the opening event of the year after Sydney Motorsport Park (March 27-29) and Winton (May 1-3) were postponed, and Bathurst (April 10-12) was cancelled.
It means a further delay to the commencement of the carsales TCR Australia Series, and VHT S5000 Championship.
A number of other categories have also been impacted, including the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, Australian Production Car Series, and Australian Prototype Series.
“Unfortunately we had to postpone The Bend round given the current circumstances and ongoing travel restrictions around the country,” Michael Smith, Director of the Motorsport Australia Championships, confirmed to Speedcafe.com.
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“We are hopeful of being able to release a revised 2020 Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships calendar in the near future, as part of our overall ‘Return To Race’ strategy.”
The Motorsport Australia Championships had seven events originally scheduled, three of which have thus far remain unaffected.
Though unwilling to be drawn on how many events may go ahead, Australian Racing Group’s (ARG) Matt Braid admitted a number of possible calendar options have been drawn up.
ARG is a key stakeholder in the Motorsport Australia Championships as it operates the TCR Australia Series, S5000 Championship, Gulf Western Touring Car Masters, and National Trans Am Series.
It also promotes the Bathurst 6 Hour, which would have formed the second round of the 2020 season prior to its cancellation.
“There’s been multiple calendar options that have been developed and set aside waiting for the clear space when we’re going to be able to run effectively,” Braid explained.
“It’s now looking like it’s going to move towards a calendar of July is our estimation for starting our events, which is logical.
“I can’t let many details through at this stage, because there are a few things ready to tick off obviously to approve and understand, but we are sort of getting prepared for the back end of the year.”
According to the originally published schedule Morgan Park is now set to host the season opening on July 2-5, followed by Phillip Island (August 21-23) and Sandown (September 11-13).
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