Within the space of a couple of hours on Wednesday, the state's largest annual sporting event - the annual round of the Supercars championship - was postponed and Targa Tasmania cancelled.

Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Northern Tasmania

Meanwhile grave fears are held for the state's round of the Australian Rally Championships, scheduled to visit Launceston on June 20-21.

Motorsport Tasmania general manager Donald Potter said it was a devastating day.

"It's heart-breaking for Tasmanian motorsport fans," he said.

"The petrolheads won't get their fix which is really sad but obviously health is very important and Tasmanians are very robust and will bounce back."

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Potter firmly believed the Supercars would still come to Symmons Plains this year, in a later timeslot.

"It is only a postponement, we're confident of that and that we will slot back into the Supercar calendar but poor old Targa have got nowhere else to slot in which is a real shame.

"The good thing is we're all set and ready to go for the Supercars. We could turn the event around very quickly and probably only need a month's notice.

"It all comes down to how long this saga is going to last and I think the last half of the year will be very busy sportswise. But it's the unknown that's the real scary part."

Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer announced that rounds in Tasmania, Auckland and Perth would be postponed until later in the year.

"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," he said.

"Fortunately, our calendar this year enables us to do this."

The Tasmania Super400 had been scheduled for April 3 to 5.

The cancellation of Targa Tasmania soon followed.

The tarmac rally, held every year since 1992, was due to run from April 27 to May 2 and had been a huge annual boost to the Northern economy.

Targa chief executive Mark Perry said it was sad news but organisers were focusing on the 29th edition in 2021.

"Given the uniqueness of Targa, an event which visits all corners of the island, we felt that the health risk to the Tasmanian community was simply too great," he said.

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