Bathurst sprint race could close Supercars season

The 2020 Supercars season could end with a sprint event at Mount Panorama on the 2021 Bathurst 12 Hour weekend.

Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford leads at the start of the race

The Aussie series is continuing to work on a highly-modified 2020 schedule, with plans to try and squeeze another 13 rounds in once current mass gathering and travel restrictions due to COVID-19 are eased.

Drastic measures such as a format changes are being considered to limit staffing requirements, while a season running as late as February next year has already been floated.

Should the season run that late, it could be that the finale will be held as a second Mount Panorama event as part of the Supercars-promoted Bathurst 12 Hour GT event.

That could help appease New South Wales officials if Newcastle is unable to host the finale as initially scheduled and contracted between the series and the state government.

The Bathurst 12 Hour, the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season, is generally held on the first weekend in February.

"That's absolutely on the cards and under consideration at the moment," Supercars CEO Sean Seamer told the new Sidetracked TV show when asked about a Bathurst 12 Hour crossover.

"It's an event that we promote, so there's an opportunity for us to capitalise on that.

"It won't be another 1000, we'll have to think of something different like a sprint format. But there is an opportunity for us to go there and potentially finish the season in New South Wales, because we know that will be important to New South Wales if we can't do it at Newcastle."

Seamer added that midweek races is also among the raft of measures under consideration for a truncated season.

"The first consideration is exactly when we can go racing. Very shortly after that is how we go racing," he said.

"Everything is on the table. This is a great opportunity for us as a sport to reset, to let go of some of the things that we've been holding on to, to innovate and do some things differently. I think we'll have to.

"And if that means anything from potential midweek racing, to doing different things over the course of the weekend, it's absolutely all on the table."

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