Supercars at Bathurst 12 Hour ‘still under discussion’

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer says category management is still considering whether the championship will feature at next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

Following the first edition of calendar revisions, it was confirmed the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship would see out its season at Mount Panorama on February 5-7, 2021.

That would have seen the touring car championship share the stage with the Bathurst 12 Hour, an event also promoted by Supercars

However, the second revision to the calendar has since seen a second event at Mount Panorama cut from the reduced 2020 season.

Instead, Supercars will conclude its season at Sydney Motorsport Park under lights on December 12-13.

While a second event at Mount Panorama is no longer on the table for this season, Seamer said discussions are still being had about the championship’s involvement with the event next year.

International travel is unlikely to happen until 2021 at the earliest according to Australia
Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham.

If they were to be lifted at the beginning of January 2021, that would theoretically give the Intercontinental GT Challenge teams roughly a month to arrive in time for the race.

Whether quarantine periods will apply still remains up in the air, however, as it stands, Australia’s borders are closed to international travellers.

If restrictions aren’t lifted in time for the endurance race, Supercars could fill the void left by the international GT3 race.

When asked whether Supercars management is still considering hosting a sprint event in 2021, Seamer said, “That’s still under discussion but nothing has been determined as yet.

“As you can probably tell, we’ve only just set the formats for the next three events, so we’re having to stay pretty agile with 2020, which is why we don’t anticipate that we’ll get the ‘21 calendar out until closer to October.

“Normally we would have liked to have been starting to get ready to announce next year next month as we tried to do last year. But given the circumstances, we just need more time.

“We’re still working on next year but I think you can anticipate a mid to late February start as per usual.”

This week the SRO, organisers of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, said they still expect to open the 2021 season at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour is scheduled to take place on February 5-7.