Supercars not postponing Darwin just yet

The Territory's chief minister Michael Gunner today confirmed that Sydney will join Victoria on the restricted list even once borders open on Friday, which means anybody arriving who has been in those areas in the last 14 days will be required to do 14 days of quarantine upon arriving.

Darwin is currently scheduled as the next stop for Supercars, with a round already set for the August 8-9 and another the following weekend rumoured to be on the cards as a double header.

However that was planned on the assumption that the borders would be open and both the Queensland teams and the Victorian teams – which are all now based in New South Wales – would be able to enter without restrictions.

Thanks to this weekend's Sydney Motorsport Park round it won't be until at least Monday August 3 that personnel will be able to have spent 14 days outside of the hot spot area.

It will also force the Victorian teams currently based in the SMP hub to relocate outside of Sydney immediately once this weekend is finished.

That is, of course, unless teams are given an exemption from Northern Territory officials.

Supercars issued a statement in response to the NT announcement confirming that, as it stands, there are no changes in place.

"Supercars is aware of the latest developments and have been in conversations with Northern Territory authorities and NT Health regarding all possible options for the category," it read.

“Supercars will provide an update on any possible changes to the Darwin event in due course.

“The focus for now is on delivering a world-class event under lights and in front of fans in Sydney this weekend.”

A ticket allocation of 4500 was already confirmed for the Darwin round, as well as the debut of an innovative new parc ferme system.

Should Darwin not go ahead, it could open the door for a Queensland Raceway round – the subject of much speculation recently – to fill the gap before Townsville at the end of August.

Alternatively the championship could be forced back into a hiatus while the Melbourne and Sydney coronavirus outbreaks are brought under control, which would spell an early return for the Victorian border raiders that were expecting to be on the road for as long as eight weeks.