Supercars has secured the support of its Victorian teams to temporarily move to New South Wales despite some initial ructions.
Following the announcement of a seven-day statewide lockdown on Thursday, news broke on Saturday that Supercars had instructed its Victorian teams to prepare to leave the state.
Prior to that, some teams had considered making a border dash before eventually opting out.
Speedcafe.com understands there was opposition from some teams to make the move, including Erebus Motorsport.
However, the Barry Ryan-led squad is now understood to be onboard and will support Supercars’ request.
Ryan declined to comment when approached by Speedcafe.com to discuss the topic.
Alongside Erebus Motorsport, afflicted by the measures are the Blanchard Racing Team, Tickford Racing, Team 18, Kelly Grove Racing, and Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Teams will need to be in New South Wales before midnight on Wednesday (June 2) where they can effectively self-isolate as opposed to hotel quarantine in the Northern Territory.
That will allow teams to spend the required 14 days out of Victoria in time for the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown on June 18-20.
Speaking with select media, including Speedcafe.com, category chief operating officer Shane Howard said the teams were all behind Supercars’ request.
“All the teams are preparing for that,” Howard said of the move.
“It’s very important that we protect the Darwin round. Our teams are organising themselves to move to be compliant with the health regulations, et cetera, to enter the Northern Territory.
“They’re all geared up for that move.”
Howard said he understood the hesitancy to up sticks given what played out in 2020.
The July 6 border dash resulted in Victorian teams being on the road for more than 100 days, most basing themselves out of temporary lodgings on the Gold Coast.
This time teams have been guaranteed they won’t be on the road beyond the Darwin Triple Crown.
“Obviously last year the teams packed up within six hours’ notice and didn’t come back home for [100-plus] days,” said Howard.
“That was a lot for any individual to take on, different circumstances in the teams; I think people would be very hesitant to embark on that sort of time away from their families, et cetera.
“That won’t be the case with this situation. We’ll ensure that the teams will be back with their families after Darwin.
“We’re working with the teams on different options for accommodation, et cetera. That’s a work in progress and working with the individual teams.”
This year’s Darwin Triple Crown will form the fifth round of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship after the Winton SuperSprint was postponed to July 31 to August 1.
