The start of the South Island Endurance Series has been postponed once more as New Zealand’s Delta outbreak continues to create uncertainty.
Teretonga was scheduled to open the season after Ruapuna was postponed from early September to early November.
It now seems Highlands Motorsport Park will be round one of the four-leg championship on October 2.
Today marks the first full transition day for all of New Zealand south of the Auckland border from alert level 4 to alert level 3.
The current indication is that level 3 will be in place for a minimum of one week.
Motorsport can only occur in level 2 or lower. Therefore, the South Island needs to drop one more level for the series to go ahead.
However, Auckland will remain at level 4 for at least a further two weeks.
Competitors and teams in Auckland cannot travel to the South Island until it drops to level 2, which is looking like it won’t be for several weeks.
Teretonga was set to be on September 18, which is only three weeks from now.
With no guarantee that the South Island will be in level 2 by that time, series organisers decided it was in best interests to push back the start of the season.
“A further level change in a week would be the best outcome for all involved but would still only allow just over a week for everyone to get ready and prepared for the season kick off,” SIERDC Secretary Cate Paddon said.
“If Level 3 was extended it would not allow us much reaction time at all.”
Auckland is also a vital piece of the puzzle for the series.
A number of teams and drivers are based there, as is Sky Sport, who are broadcasting each round live.
“With Level 2 meaning the chance that spectators are prohibited, it is more important than ever to try and get us live on TV and let everyone watch the action safely at home,” Paddon said.
Teretonga will be rescheduled somewhere later on in the season. It will either be round three or four.
“The decision to postpone this round was made with Teretonga’s full support, who were also asking for a postponement to ensure they were able to put on a fantastic event for all and hopefully remove some uncertainty of Covid.”
There will now be no more calendar amendments.
Highlands will open the season in October, and this round, nor any others, cannot be rescheduled if Covid and alert levels continue to play havoc.
