International Motorsport Roundup: Coronavirus Effects Continue For Formula One MotoGP, WEC And Formula-E, WRC Rally Guanajuato Mexico

The spread of COVID-19 has caused many postponements/cancellations of sporting events starting with the cancellation of Formula One’s season opening Australian Grand Prix followed by the WEC 12 hrs of Sebring. MotoGP has had its calendar shuffled yet again with Formula-E announcing a  two month suspension of its racing season. However, we did get some racing action in the form of the WRC Rally Guanajuato Mexico, although not without trouble either.

Formula One 

After the postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix due to coronavirus, it was only a matter of time when the virus would make a major dent into the F1 calendar. And it did with a sequence of events that led to the cancellation of the season opening Australian Grand Prix scheduled for March 15. It started with a McLaren team member testing positive for the coronavirus, which led to the British team pulling out of the race weekend. Just a little over 12 hours later and less than a couple of hours before free practice was set to begin, it was officially announced that the race would be cancelled. 

And that is not the only bad news, as the next two races set to take place at Bahrain and Vietnam have been postponed. Revised dates for both races are yet to be announced, as things stand, the Formula One season could kick off on May 3 at Zandvoort. However that is still not a guarantee considering the situation at hand.

MotoGP 

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Another series that has yet to kick off due to the coronavirus has had its calendar revised yet again post the postponement of the Austin and Argentine Grand Prix. The Argentine Grand Prix has moved to November 22, which means there will be a triple header season finale starting from Austin on November 15 to Valencia on November 29. As it stands, Jerez, Spain is set to host the opening round of the championship on May 3. 

WEC

Another upcoming event recently affected last week by the coronavirus is the cancellation of the FIA World Endurance Championship 12 hrs of Sebring scheduled for March 20. The reason for this is due to the U.S declaring a travel ban to the country from Europe for 30 days. In addition to this, the penultimate round of the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship season scheduled to take place at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium on April 24 to April 25 has also been postponed. However a revised date is yet to be revealed.

Formula-E

The folks in Formula-E have taken preemtive action due to the coronavirus by announcing a two month suspension of their racing calendar. this means that the races in Seoul in South Korea and Paris in France will join the likes of Rome, China and Jakarta E-Prix being postponed. This also means that tentatively, the next Formula-E race is set to take place on June 21 in Berlin followed by New York and the double-header season finale in London. However this schedule is expected to change according to the coronavirus situation. 

WRC 

Despite the cancellations, there was some racing action in off-road motorsports with the Rally Guanajuato Mexico.  However the event was shortened and ended at the Rock & Rally León stage. In the end, Sebastien Ogier took top honors for Toyota Gazoo Racing, although the former champion was vocal about his displeasure over the event going ahead as scheduled. It is also his sixth win in Mexico. The Frenchman finished with a 27.8 seconds ahead of Hyundai i20 driver Ott Tänak. Teemu Suninen rounded off the podium for M-Sport Ford. This result leaves Ogier leading the standings , 8 points ahead of teammate Elfyn Evans and 20 points ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. WRC action is set to resume next at the  Speedagro Rally Argentina from April 23 to April 26.

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