Tickford bringing families into Supercars hub

Tickford is one of five Melbourne-based teams that's been on the road since early July, having fled the Victorian border before it was closed off to the rest of the country due to a fresh coronavirus outbreak.

Since then most crew members from all five teams have been away from family, moving between Sydney, south-east Queensland, the Northern Territory and now Far North Queensland as the 2020 Supercars season has continued.

Melbourne, meanwhile, has been in a continuous state of either Stage 3 or 4 lockdown, with schools and childcare closed, adding additional pressure on those left behind.

With the teams not expected to return to Victoria until after the Bathurst 1000 in mid-October, Tickford has decided to bring family members into the 'hub', so to speak.

Those able to make the trip have been in mandatory hotel quarantine in Darwin since last Friday, and will travel straight to south-east Queensland once their 14 days are complete.

There will then be a grand reunion when the team returns from FNQ after the Townsville double-header, which kicks off this weekend.

Team boss Tim Edwards is also currently in hotel quarantine, having travelled straight from Melbourne to Townsville. He'll join the team for the second leg of the double-header.

Following Townsville, all teams are expected to return to their south-east Queensland bases – whether permanent or temporary – ahead of an expected double-header at Queensland Raceway.

They will then prepare their cars for the Bathurst 1000, which is likely to close out the season on either October 11 or October 18.