Auckland won't get to host a round of the Australian Supercar competition this season afterall.
The Auckland race was to be pushed back until January to give it the best chance of taking place in a trans-Tasman bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A revamped schedule was announced in May but more changes have now been made with the season to finish in December.
That means the Auckland round is dropped along with the race at The Bend in South Australia and a second event at Bathurst which had been planned as the season finale in February.
Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer said the update to the revised calendar has been made following weeks of discussions with key stakeholders including broadcast partners and team owners.
Reigning Supercars champion, New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin. Photo: EDGE Photographics
"The Auckland SuperSprint is a major drawcard on Auckland's annual events calendar. Following discussions over recent weeks, it has become clear to all parties that an event in January could not go ahead due to the effects of COVID-19."
"We are committed to include the Auckland round in the 2021 calendar which is due to be released in October," he said.
"When the draft calendar was released four weeks ago, our primary objective was to ensure we returned to racing as soon as possible," Seamer said.
"This allowed us to put a stake in the ground and ensure we returned to the track quickly following the COVID-19 shutdown.
"The calendar announced in May was based on the best information we had at the time.
"With an eye on 2021, teams and broadcast partners have agreed it is in all parties' best interests commercially and competitively to finish this year's campaign in December and start the new season in the New Year."
The final round of the 2020 Championship will be under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on 12-13 December.
All events remain subject to change based on government rules around COVID-19.
-RNZ