The World Time Attack Challenge (WTAC) Sydney 2021 has been postponed to April 2022 due to the New South Wales lockdown.

This year’s event had been slated to take place at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 15-16 but has now been rescheduled for April 1-2.

“Organisers of World Time Attack Challenge Sydney 2021 are disappointed to announce the October event has been postponed to the new provisional dates of Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd of April 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 situation in NSW,” read a statement from those organisers.

“We believe this reschedule is the most logical decision to ensure the safety of the event community, increase the potential for visitation from interstate and regional NSW and allow time for the event and motorsport industries to get back on their feet.

“Preparation time is not only important for our racers on track, but also the businesses and individuals involved in the event who need to manage schedules and resourcing.

“We understand the stress and strain these lockdowns and wider restrictions have on households, small and medium businesses, and World Time Attack Challenge organisers hope that the postponement will relieve some of the pressure on event partners, while giving a positive path forward to 2022.

“The current COVID-19 outbreak has made it unviable for participants and spectators to travel from interstate for the event at this time.

“We would never put on a show if we didn’t feel totally confident that it would meet the standards we have held for the event over the past decade. Safety and fan experience will always be top priorities at World Time Attack Challenge.

“All ticketholders and VIP package buyers have already been contacted directly by Oztix to offer refunds if you are unable to attend the new event dates.

“If you are planning to attend the new dates, no action is required as any valid ticket in the system by October 11, 2021 will automatically roll over to the April 2022 event.

“So looking ahead, we know this reschedule will provide all participants a well-deserved time extension, while giving event organisers time to understand what restrictions and COVID-safety measures required to deliver World Time Attack Challenge in April.

“We would like to thank our sponsors for getting us to this point, and continuing to support the event through to the new dates.

“We look forward to having this extra time to tell stories, connect with fans and put more work into delivering the biggest return to Sydney Motorsport Park ever.

“See you in April, stay safe and keep preparing!”

Although not referred to in the statement, retention of a Friday and Saturday programme (as opposed to Saturday and Sunday) suggests the possibility of running under SMP’s new lights in April 2022, as was planned this year.

The postponement makes for two calendar years in a row that WTAC will not proceed, after the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Barton Mawer won the 2019 WTAC with a new event record time of 1:19.277s in Rod Pobestek’s RP968 Porsche.

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