COVID-19 CONTINUES TO DISRUPT 2021 MOTORSPORT CALENDAR
The rapid emergence and spread across Australia and now New Zealand of the second major (and considerably more contagious) Delta strain of the Corona virus has forced several major changes to the local motorsport event landscape.
Chief amongst these have been the cancellation – for the second year in a row – of the NZ round of the Repco Supercars Championship (which was to have bene held at Pukekohe Park Raceway over the Nov 06-07 weekend) and moving of the annual Repco Bathurst 1000 endurance event from its traditional ‘first-weekend-in-October’ to the Nov. 04-07 slot.
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said the calendar update was brought about by the ‘ongoing Covid challenges in various states’ and was ‘made in consultation with key stakeholders, including broadcast partners and team owners.’
The rescheduled events on the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship calendar are:
• Winton SuperSprint: 2-3 October.
• TBA: 23-24 October.
• Repco Bathurst 1000: 4-7 November.
• Beaurepaires Sydney SuperSprint 19-21 November.
• Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500: 3-5 December.
The recently announced Cash Converters Eseries, featuring main game Supercars and Dunlop Super2 drivers taking on elite gamers will also be shifted forward to 25 August, featuring six rounds of sim racing.
The Cash Converters Eseries will be broadcast live on Foxtel, streamed on Kayo and 7plus, and be available on the Supercars Facebook and YouTube.
Specialist sportscar importer, distributor and retailer Greg Brinck, of Hampton Downs-based Radical Sportscars New Zealand, is throwing the full weight of his company behind the 2021/22 NZ Sportscar Championship.
For good reason too, as Brinck outlined to Motor Equipment News late last month.
“There are a number of Radicals already competing in the Sportscar NZ Racing Series. (And) with the strong interest and sales since we took on the Radical agency for New Zealand late last year, it made good sense to get in behind the series and offer current and prospective Radical Sportscar owners who want to race, a platform to do so.
“We welcome Greg and Radical Sportscars New Zealand to the series and would like to thank him and the team at Radical NZ for their support,” said Richard Kelly, Chairperson, NZ Sports Car Racing Inc. “Radicals have been an important part of the series for years,” he continued, “and we look forward to welcoming many more Radical drivers to the Series.”
Radical NZ will be offering full technical and parts support at each round of the series, but Brinck says that he is also keen to: “build on the strong social side that NZ Sportscar Racing has already established.”
To that end Brinck says that he will host “all drivers and supporters at the completion of each round of the series from the Radical trailer and marquee.”
While Radical currently boasts the largest ‘one make’ racing series in the world, Brinck has no short-term plans to bring this to our shores.
“The NZ Sports Car Racing Club is well established here and has a great thing going. This is the perfect place for local Radical owners to race.”
And for those who just want to experience the amazing power to weight ratio of a purpose-built track car Brinck concludes by saying;
“Because not all Radical sportscar owners want to go racing, we have developed partnerships with Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park, with their GT Club membership, allowing us s track access up to 80 days a year.
“This is the perfect platform for Radical owners who want to enjoy track day driving along with the social side.”
For more information on the 2021/22 NZ Sports Car Racing Championship click on this link at www.sportscarracing.co.nz