International Motorsport Roundup: More Future Announcements And The Passing Of A Formula One Legend

The last seven days has remained relatively unchanged with racing action for most motorsport disciplines around the world currently on a near-standstill. However revisions and future announcements are being made in the process. Some of them include Formula One aiming for an 18 race calendar, a few rule changes in WRC, the provisional weekend format for the 24 hrs of LeMans being decided and a revised timeline for the Gen2 Evo Formula E car. This week also saw the passing of Formula One legend, Sir Stirling Moss. Here’s all about it:

Formula One

This week saw the Formula One community mourn the loss of Sir Stirling Moss, aged 90. He was well known amongst the paddock as the greatest driver to never win a Formula One title, amassing a CV of 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes. From his 16 wins, the best of them came in  1961 with victories in Monaco and Germany.  

Aside from this, Formula One motorsport boss Ross Brawn has revealed that the 2020 season is likely to begin in Europe behind closed doors. In terms of the expected timeline and number of races, Ross Brawn is expected to cram a maximum of 18 races starting from July with a variety of triple headers. Two-day weekends haven’t been ruled out either. Currently, the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard is the provisional season opener on June 28.

WRC

While the 2020 World Rally Championship is yet to resume, WRC promoters have introduced a new rule called the ‘Swap Seat Special Stage’. This rule makes it compulsory for all drivers and co-drivers to swap seats for one stage at every future round. This means that we’ll be entertained with an exciting prospect of Julien Ingrassia behind the wheel of a Toyota Yaris with Sébastien Ogier reading pace notes. Of course it is down to the driver and co-driver as to which stage they make the swap. These rules will come into effect when the WRC season resumes.

Formula E 

Due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and the threat of financial difficulties for teams, Formula E has delayed the introduction of the Gen2 Evo bodykit to the 2021/22 season. It was originally set to be introduced in the 2020/21 season which also coincided with Formula E gaining world championship status from the FIA. In addition to this, manufacturers will only be able to modify its powertrain components once over the next two years due to an extended homologation period  to keep costs down,

WEC

The World Endurance Championship is one of the few motorsport series that has managed to put out a revised calendar for the rest of 2020. And now, the provisional schedule for the 24 hrs of LeMans has been revealed. It is set to take place over the period of September 13–20, with the race commencing on September 19. 

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