Motorsport Roundup: Notable highlights from 26/04 to 03/05

More race events from F1, MotoGP WRC, Formula E and Classic TT 2020 affected by the coronavirus pandemic headline our weekly motorsport wrap-up. Suzuki extended Joan Mir’s MotoGP contract till 2022, Audi announced its departure from DTM post 2020, and the Indian motorsport community took up eSports initiatives during this lockdown.

Formula One

The Hungarian Grand Prix officials have announced that the race, which is currently scheduled to take place on August 2 will be held behind closed doors without any spectators. Aside from this, the FIA has announced an extension to the F1 shutdown period. For the teams, the shutdown has been extended to 63 consecutive days, whereas the extension of power unit suppliers has been extended from 35 days to 49 days days. For both scenarios, the shutdown runs till the end of May heading into June. 

MotoGP

The Sachsenring, scheduled for June 21, the following round at Assen on June 28 and the race at the KymiRing on July 12 were under threat of cancellation. And now,it has been officially confirmed by the FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports. This leaves the Automotodrom Brno as the most likely season opener on August 9.

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Another piece of the rider market puzzle fell into place as Suzuki retained Joan Mir for the 2021 and 2022 MotoGP seasons. This announcement came shortly after the team extended Alex Rins’ contract till 2022 as well. This marks the fifth rider to have his MotoGP future past 2020 sealed with two teams booked until 2022. 

WRC

The Vodafone Rally de Portugal has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. That aside, Pirelli revealed that it will be using its experience in F1 for its return to the WRC championship in 2021 The tyre manufacturer already supplies the WRC2 and Junior WRC categories. 

DTM

This week saw Audi announce that it will pull out of the German Touring car championship (DTM) at the end of 2020 to focus its efforts on its Formula E program. The decision falls in line with parent brand Volkswagen terminating its non-electric motorsport programmes in 2019. This leaves BMW as the sole DTM manufacturer

Formula E

The Formula E season may be on hold, but it has received more setbacks as the New York E-Prix and the season finale round at London have been cancelled. The reasons for this is due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the London facility being repurposed into a hospital to assist NHS in the fight against COVID-19. This leaves no scheduled Formula E races for the rest of 2020. What’s more is that Formula E co-founder and chairman Alejandro Agag has revealed that the rest of the season is under threat of cancellation if races aren’t held before October. 

Classic TT 2020

A couple of months ago it was revealed that the legendary Isle of Man TT event was cancelled due to coronavirus threats. And now, the Classic TT event scheduled from August 22 to September 4 has been cancelled due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Indian eSports

As the international motorsport community has taken to eSports in order to get their motorsport fix, the same initiatives are being taken back home in the form of the Indian Sim Racing League and Ultimate E. Established by familiar names in the Indian motorsport community, these eSports leagues are offering the opportunity for fans to compete against real-life racers as well as acting as a platform for grassroot level motorsport.  In addition to this, these events are raising money to assist healthcare workers to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

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