Supercars teams begin to cross border

As first reported by Motorsport.com, Triple Eight Race Engineering, Dick Johnson Racing and Matt Stone Racing are set to have all staff and drivers out of Queensland and at a temporary base in Sydney by the end of today.

The move is a reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the Sunshine State, which has led to a lockdown in the Greater Brisbane area.

The lockdown is currently meant to end on Thursday evening however a stream of new cases over the past two days has led to concerns it will be extended.

Tasmania, which will host the third round of the Supercars season on the second weekend in April, has closed its borders to anybody who has visited the affected local government areas in Brisbane.

While Triple Eight is the only team directly affected by the Brisbane lockdown, Motorsport.com understands all teams will exit Queensland today to reduce the risk of staff inadvertently visiting a hotspot or the virus spreading to the Gold Coast.

They may not return directly after Tasmania, either; South Australia has also closed its border to the affected LGAs, which could keep the Queensland teams on the road until after the round at The Bend on May 8-9.

The border run is reminiscent of what the Victorian teams went through last year as Melbourne was hit with a deadly second wave of COVID-19.

Five teams were forced to make a last-minute dash to New South Wales on July 6 and didn't return home until after the season-ending Bathurst 1000 in October.