Super GT to allow limited number of spectators at Fuji

The boss of SUPER GT organiser, Masaaki Bandoh, made the announcement during his regular press conference ahead of Sunday's Motegi race.

Earlier this year the Japanese championship decided that the first four races of the heavily-revised 2020 schedule would take place with no fans present owing to the affects of the global coronavirus pandemic, with limits also placed on team personnel and media.

It said a decision would be made on whether to open up its races to spectators for the latter part of the season based on the latest advice from the Japanese government, which in July decided to lift the cap on people attending mass gatherings to 5,000.

From September 19 onwards organisers of sporting events in Japan will be allowed to fill their venues up to half-capacity, but SUPER GT is sticking to the 5,000-person limit for now, although Bandoh didn't rule out increases for subsequent races.

Fans will not be allowed to enter the paddock, as they could up until this season, and there will be no stage events or talk shows to limit any health risks. As is the case for those working in the paddock currently, temperature checks will be conducted on arrival.

Bandoh stated that the tracks themselves will be responsible for managing the public, while SUPER GT focuses its efforts on the 1,500 or so people working in the paddock.

For the first time this year, SUPER GT drivers and team personnel will have to undergo a PCR test and return a negative result to be allowed into the paddock at Fuji. Each team has been allotted 22 tests per car for this purpose, including drivers.

The Japanese Formula 4 championship will be held at the first time in 2020 at Fuji, but with a separate paddock located away from the SUPER GT one to reduce the risk of infection.

Super Formula held its opening round at Motegi two weeks ago with a limited number of spectators. A total of 8,300 fans attended across Saturday and Sunday.