As the COVID-19 – the illness commonly referred to as coronavirus – has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), the cancellations in the world of motorsports are piling up. Here’s a list of cancellations and postponements as of late March 12, 2020:
Formula 1: The Australian Grand Prix, supposed to have been run on Sunday, March 15, 2020 has been CANCELLED
UPDATE: As of March 13, 8:30 a.m. EST, Bahrain and Vietnam Grand Prix have been POSTPONED. The Formula 1 season will tentatively resume in May 2020. Additionally the second round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which were to have run at Albert Park during the GP weekend, will be POSTPONED to later in the year.
Twelve Hours of Sebring: IMSA have POSTPONED the race to November 11-14, 2020
ABB FIA Formula e: Season is SUSPENDED for two months
NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Thus far IndyCar’s first race of the season, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, will be run with NO SPECTATORS on March 15, 2020
UPDATE: As of March 13, 2020, all NTT INDYCAR SERIES events have been CANCELLED through April. This includes the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
WRC Rally Mexico: In progress as planned March 12-15, 2020
Rally Argentina: 2020 SpeedAgro Rally Argentina, originally scheduled for 23 – 26 April, has been POSTPONED. New dates will be announced soon.
100 Acre Wood Rally: As of March 11, ARA has not yet decided whether or not the March 20-21 rally will be affected by the pandemic. “Series and event officials are having continuous dialogue regarding all aspects” of the Salem, Missouri rally.
UPDATE: As of March 13, 100 Acre Wood Rally is CANCELLED.
NASCAR:
FULL UPDATE:
Atlanta Motor Speedway: “With the health and safety of fans, staff, competitors, race teams and media our top priority, NASCAR and Atlanta Motor Speedway POSTPONED this weekend’s race activities to a yet-to-be determined future date.”
ARCA: This weekend’s ARCA Menards Series East race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida has been POSTONED.
Homestead-Miami: “As a result of the recent Coronavirus and taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our fans and industry stakeholders, NASCAR has decided to postpone the race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend.”
Whelen Modifier South Boston: “NASCAR and South Boston Speedway officials announced Friday that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener has been POSTPONED INEVITABLY.“
NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES: After conversations with Circuit Ricardo Tormo and the local government, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season opener in Valencia, Spain has been rescheduled due to the ongoing concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The NASCAR GP Spain at Valencia, previously scheduled for April 25-26, will now take place on October 31st – November 1st. [POSTPONED]
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: The April 17-19 GP has been CANCELLED. “…various race sanctioning bodies and the Long Beach Convention Center to discuss the viability of rescheduling this event at a later time in the year. If that is not possible, then we look forward to presenting the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16-18, 2021.”
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: As mentioned above under IndyCar, the Cooper Tires USF2000, the Porsche GT3 Cup, SRO TCR/TCA, and SRO GT3 Cup will all take place with NO SPECTATORS.
NHRA: As per the the March 12 press release, “NHRA officials are postponing a portion of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Some Sportsman racing will be contested this weekend without ticketed spectators, but the majority of the event has been POSTPONED to a later date.”
Formula D: No official announcement as of March 12.
UPDATE: The 2020 opening round is now CANCELLED. “For all Formula DRIFT Long Beach ticket buyers, information on refunds and/or credits will be forthcoming.”
Trans Am Series: The debut at Sonoma Raceway that was originally scheduled for March 14-15 is POSTPONED. New date will be announced soon. “As an additional precautionary measure, the upcoming SpeedTour Road Atlanta Grand Prix event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta March 28–29 will be held WITHOUT SPECTATORS.”
Monster Energy Supercross: March 14 race at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium has been CANCELLED.
It should also be noted that outside of motorsports, the New York International Auto Show has been POSTPONED from April to August 2020. Concrete dates will be announced soon.
FURTHER UPDATES AS OF MARCH 13:
FIA World Rallycross: “In light of the Generalitat de Catalunya’s decree to currently suspend all live sporting events in response to the evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation, this year’s World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona on April 18-19 has been POSTPONED.”
