Supercars says COVID-19 and the impending sale of the motor racing series will not affect the timing of next year's Newcastle 500.
The championship announced on Monday that it had cancelled the Gold Coast 500 in early December "due to ongoing safety and logistic concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic".
"Given the evolving and unpredictable COVID situation, it has become increasingly challenging to stage a complex multi-faceted event on the streets of Surfers Paradise for tens of thousands of spectators this year," Supercars chief executive officer Sean Seamer said in a statement on the series website.
A Supercars representative told the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday that the street-based Newcastle round of next year's series was still pencilled in as the 2022 championship opener in February or March.
He said Supercars would likely publish its 2022 calendar in the next two months.
The season-ending Newcastle 500 was cancelled last year and this year due to the pandemic and rescheduled as the opening round of 2022.
Archer Capital and team owners are poised to sell the the championship to a consortium comprising sports marketing agency TLA and promoter Australian Racing Group.
Archer holds a 65 per cent stake in the series and team owners control the other 35 per cent.
The sale is expected to include Supercars' contract with government agency Destination NSW. The DNSW deal contains an agreement to hold the first event of the race calendar in NSW.
The NSW government is yet to reveal whether large-scale public events such as a Supercars street race will be allowed to proceed early next year under its road map for reopening when the state reaches its 80 per cent double-dose adult vaccination target.
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