Motorsport Roundup: Notable highlights from 20/04 to 26/04

by Gaurav Davare
Apr 27, 2020
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F1 and MotoGP plan season starts for July, community assistance by racetracks and other weekly highlights

The possibility of F1 and MotoGP athletes actually racing headlines our weekly motorsport round-up. Rome has extended its Formula-E contract till 2025. And lastly, circuits are assisting in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Formula One

Just a few hours ago, it was announced that the season opening French Grand Prix that was scheduled for June 28 has been cancelled due to travel restrictions and a ban on events until mid-July. The organisers for the Silverstone Grand Prix have also revealed that the race will be a closed door event.

Shortly after these announcements, Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey issued a statement that the planned start of the season will be the Austrian Grand Prix on the 3-5 July weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, with the aim of having a 15-18 race season starting from Europe in July to August, concluding in West Asia by December.

MotoGP

In the world of two-wheeler motorsports, Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has revealed that the management is planning on a Europe based MotoGP season starting from late July and running till November. This statement indicates that the opening two races, the first one being at Sachsenring, scheduled for June 21, and the following round at Assen on June 28 are likely to be postponed due to Netherlands and German governments banning all public events till the end of August.

Formula-E

The Rome E-Prix may have been cancelled for the 2019-20 FIA Formula-E Championship, but that hasn’t stopped a new deal to be announced till 2025. It first made its debut in the 2017-18 season and was initially scheduled for April 4 this year until the coronavirus pandemic forced a cancellation of the event.

WEC

There is some time to go before the season finale of the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship at Bahrain on November 8. Until then the Bahrain International Circuit engineers are assisting the Bahrain Ministry of Health in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by designing ventilators. These devices were designed in just under two weeks and the first 100 machines are already under production in a dedicated facility at the circuit. BIC will also offer the design blueprints to organisations around the world.