With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across Australia, Supercars has announced the opening event of the 2022 season, the Repco Newcastle 500, has been postponed to a later date in 2022.

The move will mean the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight will become the opening events of the 2022 Supercars Championship, running from 4-6 March at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Supercars CEO, Shane Howard, who was recently announced as the organisations new chief executive following the departure of Sean Seamer, said the decision came as a result of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 in Newcastle currently.

“Given the continuing evolving and unpredictable COVID situation, it has become too challenging to stage a complex multi-faceted event on the streets of Newcastle for tens of thousands of race fans in March,” Howard said.

“Putting on an event of the scale of Newcastle, in the middle of its CBD, requires an enormous amount of work to ensure it runs to a world-class standard.

“We have been in consultation with the City of Newcastle throughout January and understand that constructing and operating an event of this size during the current COVID period has caused concern in parts of the community.

“As a street circuit built in the heart of the CBD, the event provides enormous economic benefits to the region, and we want to ensure that happens again in 2022.

“We are working to confirm the rescheduled date as soon as practicable.

“We thank our fans, volunteers, local businesses, Destination NSW, the NSW Office of Sport and City of Newcastle for their ongoing support.

“We fully intend to stage this year’s Repco Newcastle 500 in Supercars’ trademark style, and we are confident that we will be able to successfully do this later in the year.

“We are excited to be opening our season under lights in Sydney in just over a month’s time.

“In 2021 the venue provided fans with some of the most exhilarating racing we have ever seen in Supercars.

“Sydney Motorsport Park is a permanent circuit with infrastructure for competitors and fans already in place.

“We’re looking forward to our first race of 2022, to take place under the spectacular lights in Sydney in 40 days’ time,” he said.

Supercars confirmed the tickets for all existing ticketholders for the Newcastle 500 will remain valid for the new event when the date is confirmed, with the local government opting to wait until the current restrictions around travel across Australia and specifically with New Zealand, ease, before proceeding with the hosting of the event.