But perhaps that should be virtual rubber, as Australia's most famous motorsport class will be swapping tarmac for the TV screen with the real-life drivers to take part in an E-series.
With the Tasmania, New Zealand and Perth rounds of the championship pushed back to June at the earliest, Supercars chief executive officer Sean Seamer announced the E-series would have drivers pilot their own virtual cars complete with their standard team colours and sponsors in a tournament to be live streamed on Fox Sports, Kayo, Supercars.com and Twitch.
Matt Stone Racing — Jacobson's team — wasted little time committing to the new tournament, excited to be trying its hand at the fresh concept.
“The big news for some is though that over the next few weeks all Supercar teams and drivers will be racing in a fully-televised E-series competition of live Supercar online gaming,” a MSR Facebook post read.
“Our sport is very fortunate at this time to be able to take our teams and drivers into the online space in a fully televised manner and continue to deliver for our fans and all stakeholders.
“Both Matt Stone Racing entries of car 34 UNIT Racing and car 35 Yellow Cover Racing will be entered in the Supercars E-Series with the same car livery designs and sponsors as we have on our race cars this year, essentially delivering an estimated additional four live TV events of exposure for our commercial partners and delivering a new and exciting format for our fans.”
As it stands, the Supercars season will not be cut back, but rather postponed, creating a busy back-half of the season that could bring plenty of exciting racing with it.
Seamer said his organisation's priority was running all events with crowds rather than behind closed doors.
“We have been working diligently to assess all available options to ensure continuity of the series,” he said.
“Obviously, the situation is evolving, but we acknowledge the need to act decisively with the information we have at hand.
“Our sport is a visceral experience and rather than run without crowds, we have decided, along with our key broadcast and government partners, to delay any further racing until June.
“Supercars’ priority is to deliver the 14-round 2020 championship for our fans and partners, irrespective of the dates. Bathurst will obviously proceed on its scheduled date.
“We have a plan for how we can make that happen and will begin discussions with all of our stakeholders over the coming days to lock this in.”
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