BRAD Schumacher loves any chance to race, especially at his home track, so that the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge series still plans to start with Bathurst 12 Hour is something he takes as a positive.
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Earlier this month the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar was revised, reducing it to four rounds with the Kyalami 9 Hour season-finale pushed back December 10-12.
Organisers stated that revised date "provides sufficient time for cars and equipment to travel directly to Australia for 2021's season opener - the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour - on February 6-7."
Schumacher, who has twice started in the endurance epic at Mount Panorama, knows it hinges on the state of the global coronavirus pandemic as to whether or not the 2021 Bathurst 12 Hour goes ahead in February.
But with the 12 Hour slated to be the Intercontinental GT Challenge season-opener and teams from across the globe eager to find success in that series, he feels it has a chance.
"Logistically it could happen, everyone needs to get here and do their isolation period, which obviously Bathurst residents would want to ensure happens," he said.
"Obviously we want these types of events to go ahead, they're great for our community and people really want to see them as well.
"All those European teams, in my opinion, have a very short turnaround from the end of one season to the start of the next year, the first race of 2021.
"If they have that two-week isolation period it will be difficult to plan themselves around."
But while it may present planning challenges for teams to get themselves to Bathurst in time to isolate ahead of the 12 Hour, Schumacher knows it will not deter many from coming to the Mount.
"These GT teams are super professional and I think they definitely will do that. In fact just speaking with Audi Customer Racing myself, they advised there's no doubt that if the 12 Hour is to go ahead, they will certainly fly their European drivers over and isolate them for the required amount of time to make sure they're good to go.
"They will run a majority of their cars utilising Australian pit crews and engineers, which is good for us.
"Hopefully other teams will follow suit, because if they don't I don't see how there could be enough Australian and New Zealand teams to make the field required, to make the 12 Hour feasible to run,
"So fingers crossed hey."
But before Schumacher contemplates another start in the Bathurst 12 Hour, he is thinking about a hectic two-month period which lies in wait as he tackles a new series in a new car.
Schumacher Motorsport is stepping up into the Australian GT series in an Audi R8 LMS.
At this stage the opening round will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 4-6. There is then a short turnaround for round two at Sandown on September 11-13.
In October Schumacher will have the chance to race at Mount Panorama when the series acts as a support category for the Supercars' Bathurst 1000. Then it is off to Western Australia's Barbagallo for the season finale on October 30-November 1.
"We'd not been able to go to the previous event that was supposed to be at Sydney Motorsport Park and got cancelled due to the border closing in Victoria, maybe around a third of the teams in the Australian GT come from Victoria," Schumacher said.
"It's a catch-22 as to whether or not we run everything or we don't. The benefit to running is ragged and running at all these events, obviously we have the budget there because we haven't raced most of the year as per usual.
"But it is such a tight schedule trying to fit a series in in such a short period of time.
"Because there has been no rounds run to date, if you contest every round til the end you've got a very good possibility of having a good result."
But all those dates and venues could change depending on the status of the pandemic.
"It's so hard, you can't plan anything at this stage, no-one can ascertain that any of this is going to go ahead, but this is what the calendar says for now," he said.
"We are just playing it by ear ... we are just sitting on our hands for now."
