Supercars has officially unveiled its 12-round 2021 calendar, with the season starting at Bathurst and finishing on the Gold Coast.
The final version of the calendar is the same as the draft shown to teams yesterday, with 12 rounds in total, a single two-driver enduro, two night events and six two-day events.
Exact race formats for the events are yet to be confirmed.
The season will kick off with an all-in pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 14, followed by a trip to Bathurst on February 26-28 for the Mount Panorama 500, which is likely to be two 250-kilometre single-driver races.
That event will effectively take the place of the Supercars-owned Bathurst 12 Hour, which can’t go ahead due to border closures.
The season will then continue with the traditional appearance at the Australian Grand Prix, that locked in for March 18-21, before the dash south to Symmons Plains for the Tasmania SuperSprint – the first of the two-day meetings.
That will be followed by more two-day sprint events at The Bend (May 8-9), Winton (May 29-30), and Darwin (June 19-20).
Townsville will be held over three days between July 9-11 and will be the final round before a lengthy winter break.
The season will then resume with a pair of night races, starting at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 20-22 followed by Wanneroo Raceway in Perth on September 11-12.
The newly-named Repco Bathurst 1000 will be the sole enduro, that meeting held, as usual, over four days between October 7-10.
The annual trip to New Zealand will return to its slot as the penultimate round, however the uncertainty over where it will be held continues.
The calendar simply lists it as the Auckland SuperSprint, with both Pukekohe and Hampton Downs in the frame to host the event.
The season will then conclude with a single-driver event on the Gold Coast between December 3-5.
The combined Super2 and Super3 series will race at both Bathurst rounds, Winton, Townsville, SMP and the Gold Coast.
Sandown has been named as a ‘flex option’ by Supercars, which says it has ‘multiple bookings through the year should either events be cancelled’.
Motorsport.com understands one of those is the Australian Grand Prix weekend, should Australia’s strict border policies not allow Formula 1 teams to travel from Europe.
“It is important to us to ensure the 2021 calendar features as much certainty for fans as we can provide given the current COVID-19 restrictions in each state and territory,” said Supercars CEO Sean Seamer.
“We’re thrilled that next year we can deliver two events at Mount Panorama, including the season opener in February.
“We are still working with all government partners on fan limits for each event, but we are confident of strong crowd numbers across Australia and New Zealand, in line with the current loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.
“We think having three different event formats used in 2021 will build on what we’ve learned about our racing this year, so fans can look forward to thrilling weekends every time we race.”
Round / Event / Circuit / Date
1 / Mount Panorama 500 / Mount Panorama, NSW / February 26-28*
2 / Australian Grand Prix / Albert Park, VIC / March 18-21
3/ Tasmania SuperSprint / Symmons Plains, TAS / April 10-11
4 / OTR SuperSprint / The Bend, SA / May 8-9
5 / Winton SuperSprint / Winton, VIC / May 29-30*
6 / Darwin Triple Crown / Hidden Valley, NT / June 19-20
7 / NT Townsville / Reid Park, QLD / July 9-11*
8 / Sydney SuperNight / Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW / August 20-22*
9 / Perth SuperNight / Wanneroo Raceway, WA / September 11-12
10 / Repco Bathurst 1000 / Mount Panorama, NSW / October 7-10*
11 / ITM Auckland SuperSprint / Auckland, NZ / November 6-7
12 / Gold Coast / Surfers Paradise, QLD / December 3-5*
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