Supercars drops QR, Phillip Island in revised 2020 calendar

Supercars has revealed a revised 14 round 2020 calendar which sees Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island dropped from the championship.

The championship has unveiled its new schedule consisting one less round compared to this year, but will increase the amount racing kilometres courtesy of a new 2x200km SuperSprint format, and feature night races at Perth, Sydney and possibly the Gold Coast.

As previously reported, Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island were tipped to be omitted from the schedule as the championship looked to condense its calendar while welcoming back a night race at Sydney Motorsport Park after it was dropped for 2019.

Queensland Raceway has featured on the Supercars bill since the circuit’s inception in 1999, while Phillip Island has been a mainstay since 2005.

“The one round reduction is to create a better, more regular and consistent rhythm throughout the year and making sure that we’re getting the right flow for both the fans and the teams,” said Supercars CEO Sean Seamer.

“Phillip Island is one of the best permanent circuits in Australia, but with our operational requirements limiting the number of rounds we can complete over 12 months, it was not included in the 2020 calendar.

“It was not an easy decision knowing the strong support we have in Ipswich. It does not mean that the championship will not return to either facility in the future. There were no easy decisions.

“I fully expect that at some point in time we’ll be back at that circuit and the same with QR.

“We’ve gone through very considered discussions with both the teams, we’ve listened to the fans, we’ve looked at our ticketing, we’ve looked at our ratings and made those decisions based on all of that quantitative and qualitative data.”

Supercars has confirmed the season will launch in Adelaide with a pre-season test at The Bend Motorsport Park on February 18, held in the week of the Superloop Adelaide 500 curtain raiser from February 20-23.

From there the series will feature at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park before a visit to Symmons Plains in Tasmania in April.

The ITM Auckland SuperSprint, celebrating its 20th year, will move from September to the ANZAC weekend from April 24-26 ahead of the first of as many as three night racing events with the Pirtek Perth SuperNight in May.

Meanwhile, Winton and Townsville were among events on the chopping block but both have been given a reprieve.

Winton moves to a later Queen’s Birthday weekend date in June while the Townsville 400 has inked a new five-year deal Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and the Queensland Government and has been shifted a week earlier, now occupying a June 26-28 slot.

As a result, the Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway has switched places with Townsville, becoming the only meeting in July.

The championship will feature a five-week winter break coinciding with the Olympics in Tokyo before returning with the Sydney SuperNight at Sydney Motorsport Park in late August.

As announced on the weekend, The Bend Motorsport Park will host the 500km opening round of the Pirtek Enduro Cup in September, ahead of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 (October 8-11).

The Vodafone Gold Coast 600 could be revamped by holding racing under lights on the glitter strip for the first time.

A new three-year deal has been agreed for Sandown which will continue in its penultimate round berth in November, but will host two 200km races instead of the two driver 500km enduro.

The season will conclude at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 on December 4-6.

Meanwhile, the Dunlop Super2 Series will host a seven round series featuring at Adelaide, Tasmania, Townsville, Sydney, Bathurst, Sandown and Newcastle.

CLICK HERE to download the 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship calendar.

Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 2020 calendar