Anti-vaxxers’ full throttle hate over jab policy
THE operator of Sydney Motorsport Park has revealed he has received “hate mail” from anti-vaxxers over the venue’s enforcement of a double-jab policy ahead of Supercars’ return at the circuit later this month.
In what looms as a test case for the return of professional sport in New South Wales, Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) will host four consecutive rounds before the series heads to Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 1000 finale in early December. Sydney Motorsport Park will enforce a double-vaccination policy for everyone entering the venue, in line with the health advice of the NSW government.
Glenn Matthews, chief executive of the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club which runs Sydney Motorsport Park, said he had received some “nasty” feedback from antivaxxers over the double-jab stance based on the public health advice.
But Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer said there had been no push back from anyone in the V8 series over the vaccination requirement. He said everyone was prepared to do what was necessary to “get back to the racetrack” after a lengthy lay-off.
“I have had some terrible hate mail from anti-vaxxers and stuff and I just said to them, ‘What we are doing is we are simply complying with the public health order’,” Matthews said. “Some of it was very nasty. But we are not alone in that. Lots of venues and places have been getting trolled.”
Supercars has not raced since back-to-back races in Townsville in mid-July. The series will resume at SMP with the Sydney SuperNight on October 29-31. Seamer said he was not aware of any issues with anyone involved in Supercars over the jab policy and was confident everyone would meet the health requirements.