The decision follows several days of discussions regarding Cyclone Vaianu and whether Supercars should take a proactive or reactive approach.
Earlier today the New Zealand MetService upgraded a Strong Wind Watch for the Taupo area to an Orange Strong Wind Warning, with a Heavy Rain Watch remaining in place for Sunday.
Supercars has now elected to be proactive, making significant changes to Saturday’s schedule.
Instead of two 120-kilometre races on Saturday there will be one 120-kilometre race followed by the 200-kilometre race that was scheduled for Sunday.
The Saturday sessions will be slightly earlier than originally planned with the shorter race to start at 12:20pm local time and the longer race at 3:30pm local time.
The second 120-kilometre race has been tentatively moved to 9:45am local time on Sunday morning, should weather conditions allow racing to take place.
For now, the only session that has formally dropped off the schedule is the Top 10 Shootout that was meant to take place on Sunday.
The grid for the Sunday race will instead be set by a single qualifying session at 8am local time.
Fans holding Sunday-only general admission tickets have been invited to use their tickets on both Saturday and Sunday, while those with Sunday pit walk tickets will be able to use them on Saturday.
“We have worked very carefully with local authorities to ensure the utmost safety for our fans, teams and all stakeholders throughout recent days,” said Supercars CEO Barclay Nettlefold.
“While we certainly hope to run the event in full, safety and responsibility are absolutely critical.
“Supercars will continue monitoring the situation with great caution over the coming days.”
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