North East Victoria will miss out on hosting a major car racing event this month due to coronavirus restrictions.
The Winton SuperSprint was scheduled for July 18–19 but has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols in Queensland preventing the return of teams after they competed in Victoria.
The fourth round of the revised Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will instead return to Sydney Motorsport Park and race in front of fans.
Supercars chief executive, Sean Seamer, said Sydney was the practical location to move the event to.
"Sydney Motorsport Park was a logical choice as we have a proven track record of completing a safe event there based on what we achieved last week," he said.
"Following NSW State Government guidance we are thrilled that we will be able to accommodate fans each day of the July event."
There will be strict measures in place to ensure teams remain in isolated areas to one and other during the event, including social distancing measures.
Paddock access will be restricted to the racing teams and officials while corporate facilities will remain closed due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
Loss for regional Victoria
The announcement was disappointing for the team at Winton Motor Raceway who had spent extensive hours maintaining the track and preparing ticket sales since November, 2019.
"It's obviously a blow at this point of time, but there could be a window of opportunity to have a round later on in the year which we would absolutely be welcome to," said Winton Motor Raceway marketing manager Brenton O'Brien.
"We understand that in these challenging times that the priority of people's health comes first and as disappointing as it is, we have to always make sure that the community's best interest is at heart."
The cancellation will also hit local businesses that had hoped to cash in on the popular motorsport event after a devastating tourism year due to bushfires and the pandemic.
"All those businesses are affected very badly by this as well," Mr O'Brien said.
"Everyone in the area is hurting.
"This certainly doesn't relieve any of that pain but hopefully there is a window of opportunity that we can host a round later in the year."
