2021 WorldSBK Calendar Update – Assen Round Postponed to July, Season Starts in Estoril

The start of the 2021 WorldSBK season will have to wait for another two weeks.

The Dutch round of WorldSBK, scheduled to take place at the TT Circuit Assen from  April 23-25th, has been pushed back to July 23-25th due to COVID-19 restrictions. The season will now start at Estoril, on the weekend of May 9th.

The postponement of the WorldSBK race to the end of July is a result of local restrictions put in place by the mayors of the largest municipalities in the Dutch province of Drenthe, where the TT Circuit Assen is located.

The mayors have agreed to ban large-scale events until June 1st 2021, which rules out holding World Superbikes on the originally scheduled weekend.

The June 1st date is crucial in Drenthe, as several major events are due to take place in the province from June onward. Including the Dutch TT MotoGP round at Assen, still scheduled for June 27th.

That race, like all major events at the moment, are subject to further changes to COVID-19 restrictions being relaxed or extended, a situation which is likely to extend until enough people have been vaccinated for the coronavirus to be limited to an inconvenience rather than a threat.

It is also worth noting that the restrictions in Drenthe forcing the postponement of the Dutch WorldSBK round are locally imposed.

Although a national ban on events is still in place in the Netherlands, that ban has only been extended until June 1st in the province of Drenthe.

Whether other events can go ahead, such as the MXGP round in Oss in May, is still undecided, subject to national restrictions.