Japanese Rounds Dropped in Revised Calendar

Photo: SRO

Events at Autopolis and Fuji Speedway have been dropped from the latest revision of the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS schedule, which now sees a second event at Sepang.

Released by SRO Motorsports Group on Tuesday, the championship has maintained an 11-race calendar thanks to triple-headers at both the Sepang season-opener and a yet-to-be-announced Chinese venue on Oct.31 – Nov. 1.

The global coronavirus pandemic initially forced Sepang to switch from its traditional season-opening slot to the final round in December, with the new second date taking the Sept. 12-13 weekend previously reserved for Shanghai’s now-canceled sprint event.

Autopolis, which was due to open the season on July 11-12, has now been canceled, while a potential late July/early August date at Fuji was no longer considered viable.

However, SRO is still evaluating staging a potential fifth event in 2020.

The Shanghai 888, for which double points will be awarded, remains a three-hour race, while the season finale in Malaysia will be a traditional double header consisting of two 60-minute races.

“Scaling back to four events presents a more cost-effective approach to maintaining an 11-race calendar, eases logistical considerations, and – most importantly – limits any risks associated with traveling,” a statement from SRO read.

The current calendar also avoids clashes with GTWC Europe and America events, although all dates and destinations remain subject to national and local government restrictions and guidelines.

2020 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Schedule (Revised):
Sept. 12-13 – Sepang
Oct. 17-18 – Shanghai 888
Oct. 31-Nov. 1 – TBC – China
Dec. 5-6 – Sepang

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John