Motorsport Australia can today confirm the opening round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships will not take place at Sydney Motorsport Park as scheduled.
 
Originally slated for the first weekend in September, ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and border closures have meant the event could not proceed as planned.
 
Motorsport Australia, together with the Australian Racing Group, will announce a new Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships calendar shortly, with an expected opening round to be held in mid-October at a venue to be confirmed.
 
Understandably, given current restrictions in Victoria, the round at Sandown initially scheduled for 12-13 September has also been postponed.
 
A revised calendar will be published in the coming weeks.
 
Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships Director Michael Smith said:
“We are understandably disappointed that we could not get the opening round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships underway in September, however we’ve been working closely with state governments and all our categories and circuit managers to ensure we can be flexible and adaptable, given the changing COVID-19 circumstances,” Smith said.
 
“We’re very confident we can maximise the number of rounds held in line with the requests from our categories and the availability of circuits around the country.
 
“We think an October start date is realistic given the current climate and are working on a number of contingencies to maximise the opportunities for racing in the latter half of 2020.
 
“I’d like to thank everyone for their support and understanding, including our sponsors, categories, competitors, teams and circuit managers who have all been terrific to deal with and very understanding of the fluid situation we’ve been presented with.”
 
Australian Racing Group CEO Matt Braid said:
“It is disappointing to be in this position, however, it is the reality of the current environment,” said Braid.
 
“Despite the difficulties, our stakeholders remain positive. Our broadcast partner Network Seven is very supportive, and our competitors and sponsors are understanding of the situation and are all looking forward to going racing.
 
“ARG is working closely with Motorsport Australia and remaining focused on establishing a strong calendar for 2020, including a blockbuster Bathurst International event at Mount Panorama in November.”