Northern Territory set for first major post lockdown event with August’s Darwin Supercars

The Darwin Supercars on 8th and 9th August will be the first major spectator event to be held in the Northern Territory since its easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

With more than 4500 fans are expected to attend each day of the two-day event on 8th and 9th August, NT Major Events Company Chief Executive, Tim Watsford said the event will give a much needed boost to the local economy even if it was a scaled down version of previous years.

Watsford advised “we usually have up to 30,000 to 40,000 people through here over the weekend, so there’s a significant reduction in the number of people who are allowed in.

“We’re happy to open the gates and try and make sure as many people from interstate come as we can.”

The organisers have been working for about six weeks to ensure COVIDSafe procedures are in place including a ban on spectators into the pit lane, with Watsford adding “potentially, coronavirus is a rapidly moving piece, at this moment in time we’re confident our plans with health coupled with what government has put in place around securing the Territory is why we are where we are today putting tickets on sale.

“But in saying that if there is an outbreak or something along those lines we will monitor the situation closely.”

The event will be the first Supercars event that goes ahead with spectators.

It has also been announced that pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has renewed its media rights for the Supercars motorsport series for five years, from 2021 to 2025.

Sky will show coverage of all races in the Australian series on its Sky Sport television and digital platforms.

Supercars restarted its 2020 season at the weekend after a three-and-a-half-month gap due to COVID-19 lockdown.

The first race was the Sydney SuperSprint, held behind closed doors at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The season has been cut from 14 to 11 rounds due to the pandemic.

Image: Supercars in Darwin.