The Australian Stadium Super Trucks will have to wait a little longer because kicking off the 2021 season. On Wednesday, the Repco Supercars Championship announced the Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint at Symmons Plains Raceway has been postponed by a week due to COVID-19. Instead of the original 10/11 April date, the weekend will take place on 17/18 April.
“In light of the current COVID-19 situation in Brisbane, Supercars has made the precautionary decision to delay the upcoming Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint by one week,” read a statement from sanctioning body Motorsport Australia. “The event will now be held across the weekend of 17-18 April. All tickets already purchased for the event will remain valid and will be moved to the new event dates.
“As has been the case since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Supercars staff and race teams will comply with all applicable government regulations in travelling to and staging the event.
“Supercars thanks all fans for their ongoing patience and apologises for any inconvenience caused. We look forward to welcoming everyone to a safe event in Tasmania in the coming weeks.”
Various Supercars teams are located in Brisbane, including Red Bull Ampol Racing of points leader Shane van Gisbergen and second-placed Jamie Whincup, or fellow Queensland city Gold Coast. Greater Brisbane has been under a snap lockdown for the past three days in an effort to contain the United Kingdom strain of the coronavirus. Tasmania had also designated Greater Brisbane as a “high-risk area”, meaning those arriving at the island state from Brisbane would have to enter a fourteen-day hotel quarantine. These protocols proved to be too close for Supercars to proceed with the original Tasmania SuperSprint weekend.
Australian SST, which was known as the Boost Mobile Super Trucks during its COVID-impacted inaugural season in 2020, signed on for a seven-race schedule for its sophomore campaign in support of the Supercars. It is unknown if the Boost Mobile name is returning for 2021, as Motorsport Australia documents like the SST Sporting and Technical Regulations have referred to it as the “Australian Stadium Super Trucks Series” or “Stadium Super Trucks Australia”.
SST has never raced at Symmons Plains Raceway. The 2.41-km Launceston, Tasmania circuit was originally on the 2020 slate before the pandemic forced its postponement and eventual cancellation.
