Kyalami final in December, only four rounds in 2020

SRO Motorsports has once again revised its plans for the 2020 season in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. After canceling the Suzuka 10 Hours, it's the turn of the 9 Hours of Kyalami to be this time postponed for three weeks, the season finale Intercontinental GT Challenge now being scheduled from 10 at 12 december.

The South African event was once planned at the same time as the FIA ​​GT World Cup in Macau, before it was not held, recently confirmed by the FIA.

A postponement which “will facilitate logistics for teams, drivers and manufacturers whose programs have been rescheduled due to COVID-19. » specifies SRO Motorsports, which has already largely condensed its series, notably the GT World Challenge Europe, with the end of the campaign on November 15 at Paul Ricard.

This new date will also allow teams to ship their equipment and cars directly to Bathurst for the kickoff of the 2021 campaign which begins in February.

On the other hand, despite the promoter's desire to find a fifth date to maintain the number of events initially planned, no solution could be found in Asia to add a replacement race to the Suzuka 10 Hours. The 2020 calendar will therefore remain built around four rounds.

“Pushing Kyalami back to mid-December is a common sense decision that makes logistics easier for teams coming from Europe where most of the entries for the 9 Hours are expected to come from, indicates Stéphane Ratel, boss of SRO Motorsports.

COVID-19 itself was not a factor in our decision, although the influence of the virus on other racing schedules – including SRO's – certainly played a role in the decision, this which ensures that as many cars as possible have the potential to race in South Africa.

Last year's event – ​​the first in 22 years – was an incredible success that re-established Kyalami's place on the international motorsport map. We expect December’s Intercontinental GT Challenge finale to continue this legacy.

Limiting the 2020 calendar to four events also makes perfect sense. There were discussions about organizing a race in Asia, but in agreement with the nine manufacturers present in the season, we ultimately felt that this year would not be the right time to present a new event. »

The Intercontinental GT Challenge will be relaunched from October 2 to 4 with the new round of Indianapolis in the United States, contested alongside a round IndyCar Series.