Melbourne teams in Supercars risk
THE Townsville 400 could be at risk of missing out on fielding Melbournebased Supercars teams in the wake of Queensland’s decision to lift border restrictions on July 10 except for Victoria.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced anyone who has travelled from Victoria – including Queenslanders – would be prevented from entering Queensland from tomorrow unless they quarantined at a hotel at their own expense for two weeks.
The decision has already resulted in the postponement of the scheduled round at Winton, with the round now likely to be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on July 18-19.
Queensland teams Triple
Eight
Engineering, Team Penske and Matt Stone Racing, featuring some of the sport’s biggest names including Jamie Whincup and James van Gisbergen, would have been unable to travel from Queensland to Victoria for the Winton round.
The lifting of further COVID-19 restrictions, including those for concert venues and auditoriums, means the possibility of crowds being able to attend the Townsville 400 is growing stronger.
This week it was announced that the Darwin round of the Supercars in early August will have crowds.
But not having some of the Supercars’ biggest talents will undoubtedly cast a shadow over Townsville’s motorsport extravaganza.
“We are aware of this afternoon’s announcement from the Queensland Government,” the Supercars organisation said in a statement.
“At this early stage, we are assessing all options ... and will advise in due course.
“We will continue to prioritise above all else the safety and wellbeing of our people, teams, drivers and officials.”
There has also been 10 Melbourne suburbs put back into strict lockdown as part of the outbreak control, including Broadmeadows, which neighbours Tickford Racing’s Campbellfield base.
The lockdown laws allow only the leaving the house for work purposes, which means factory operations shouldn’t be affected.
This year’s Townsville 400 was due to be raced last weekend on June 26-28, but COVID-19 restrictions forced the annual showpiece to be pushed back to its current schedule, and the Gold Coast 600 and Newcastle 500 were cancelled.
The Townsville 400 needs a fiveweek build to put necessary infrastructure in place, and a minimum of just under 500 essential people including drivers and crews.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO PRIORITISE ABOVE ALL ELSE THE SAFETY AND WELLBEING OF OUR PEOPLE, TEAMS, DRIVERS AND OFFICIALS. V8 SUPERCARS