Brands Hatch Sprint Season-Opener Postponed

The start of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup season has been pushed back by one week with the postponement of the Brands Hatch opener.

Championship organizer SRO Motorsports Group announced on Monday that Sprint Cup will defer its visit to the British track until later in the year.

Brands Hatch had been due to host the opening round of the new season on May 1-2, marking its return to the GTWC Europe billing after being scratched from the 2020 schedule amid various schedule changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

SRO has said that the decision to postpone the Brands Sprint Cup event was taken following the UK government’s recent publication of its roadmap for easing lockdown.

National sporting authority Motorsport UK has given the all-clear for race events to resume from March 29, but spectator access won’t be allowed until May 17 at the earliest.

The postponement of Brands Hatch is also set to ease pressure on a busy part of the GTWC Europe calendar.

Per the UK’s current travel regulations, most GTWC Europe personnel arriving into the country from abroad would need to quarantine for 10 days before Brands Hatch.

For several teams involved in the full GTWC Europe, this would involve traveling immediately from the Monza Endurance Cup race on April 18 to the UK for an isolation period that would likely end on the Thursday of Brands Hatch race week.

The decision also removes the short turnaround between the rounds at Brands Hatch and Magny-Cours, which is due to host Sprint Cup on May 7-9.

The French circuit is now set to open the 2021 season, while events at Zandvoort in June, Misano in July and Valencia in September are also planned.