SUPERCARS STALL

BATHURST FINAL MAY LEAVE TASSIE OFF V8S MAP

TASMANIA’S biggest sporting event is in doubt as Supercars Australia considers making the Bathurst 1000 the last race of the 2020 season.

Tasmania’s round, which attracts more than 50,000 people, was the first Supercars event postponed when the coronavirus shut down sport across Australia.

The coronavirus crisis has sent Australia’s premier motorsport championship into a spin.

virus shut down sport across Australia.

It was rescheduled for November 21-22, after Bathurst, along with rounds in Perth (October 31) and Sydney (December 12-13).

Those rounds would be scrapped if Supercars makes Bathurst the season-ender.

Small Business, Hospitality and Events Minister Sarah Courtney confirmed the government was in regular contact with Supercars officials.

“No decision has yet been made in regards to the Supercars event and the government is closely engaged with the Supercars Australia,” Ms Courtney said.

Supercars boss Sean Seamer could not rule out a proposed blockbuster finale at the Bathurst 1000 on October 10-11, saying all options were “on the table”.

“I think that’s a scenario that our fans would certainly like, it’s something that everybody has always talked about having Bathurst as the finale,” Mr Seamer said.

“Everything is on the table, but we are not planning too far ahead because as we’ve seen in the last week, two weeks is a tremendous amount of time in the world at the moment.

“We’ll get through Darwin and as we get closer to Townsville — that’s when we’ll start to lock down our plans from Townsville through to Bathurst.”

Tasmania has hosted a round of the Australian championship since 1969, with the exception of a fouryear absence from 2000-03 when the government withdrew its backing.