New Bathurst race to kick-off Supercars season

Bathurst has been confirmed as the opening race of the 2021 Supercars championship, with the iconic venue to host two races during the year.

As well as the traditional Bathurst 1000 in October, the Mount Panorama 500 will kick off the season on the last weekend of February.

The Newcastle street race, not held this year due to the pandemic, is also off the calendar for 2021, but has already been announced as the season-opening race for 2022.

Dates for each race have been locked in, but at this stage there's no announcement regarding the format of each weekend, although six of the races will be held over the two-day format that proved successful this year, instead of the traditional three days.

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"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 boss Sean Seamer.

"We're thrilled that next year we can deliver two events at Mount Panorama, including the season opener in February.

The Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander Commodore during the Bathurst 1000.

"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."

The season runs for just over nine months, including a six-week break around the Tokyo Olympics, with the series wrapping up on the streets of the Gold Coast in the first week of December.

Sydney Motorsport Park will also host the pre-season test session, set down for Sunday, February 14, while Sandown is a notable omission from the calendar, with Supercars confirming it remains on standby should other events be cancelled.

Supercars 2021 Calendar

February 26-28: Mount Panorama 500, Bathurst, NSW

March 18-21: Melbourne, Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, VIC

April 10-11: Tasmania SuperSprint, Symmons Plains, TAS

May 8-9:             OTR SuperSprint, Tailem Bend, SA

May 29-30:         Winton SuperSprint, Winton, VIC

June 19-20:        Darwin Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, NT

July 9-11:            NTI Townsville, Reid Park, QLD

Aug 20-22:         Sydney SuperNight, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Sept 11-12:        Perth SuperNight, Wanneroo Raceway, WA

Oct 7-10:            Repco Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, NSW

Nov 6-7:              ITM Auckland SuperSprint, NZ

Dec 3-5:              Gold Coast Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise, QLD

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