The situation surrounding the new coronavirus is changing everyday. For this reason, the possibility of holding world-class motor sports events such as F1 and MotoGP is likely to be further affected.
Italy is the country with the highest spread of the new coronavirus in Europe. To date, 233 people have died and more than 5,000 people have been infected. In light of this, the Italian government is taking bold steps to stop the epidemic.
On Saturday, March 7, the Italian government announced that strict quarantine measures would be taken against people entering and leaving Northern Italy. The region also includes Modena, where Ferrari is based.
Northern Italy also includes Milan, home of Pirelli, an F1 tire supplier, Lombardy, home of the Yamaha MotoGP team’s factory, and Pesaro and Urbino, home of world-renowned MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi.
Interestingly, Bologna, home of the MotoGP Ducati team, is not included in these restricted areas. Faenza, where the base of the AlphaTauri F1 team is located, is also excluded, and these two teams will not be affected by this measure.
It is also being considered that workers who are forced to take leave for the above reasons will receive benefits, but it is not yet clear whether this includes F1 teams or MotoGP officials.
The Qatar MotoGP has been canceled. This was due to the Qatar government’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on Italian tourists, leaving some staff unable to enter the area. The second round of the Thai GP was also postponed and rescheduled in October.
This means that the America’s GP, which will be held in Austin, Texas, USA on April 5th, is the first race in the MotoGP class at this time, but Austin declared an emergency on the morning of March 7 (Saturday). A major music and movie festival SXSW “South by Southwest” scheduled to take place in the state has been canceled.
Elbe Poncharal, chairman of the International Racing Team Association (IRTA), Moto3 tech 3 team representative, is in Qatar where Moto2 and Moto3 classes are taking place, and the availability of the America’s GP will be determined in the next week.
Meanwhile, the Australian Grand Prix of the F1 opening round is expected to be held from March 13 (Fri) as scheduled. Italian travelers will be subject to strict checks, but the Australian government has not imposed strict travel bans at this time. It is unclear whether the Italian government’s actions described above will prompt a change in stance.
Although Ferrari is observing the latest developments, they are likely to head to Australia before quarantine measures are in place, so it is likely that the season will open without any problems. However, F1 Managing Director Ross Brown has stated that the Australian Grand Prix will be a non-championship if Italian teams such as Ferrari and AlphaTauri can no longer participate.
“If a team is barred from entering the country, we can’t race. If we do, it won’t be a F1 World Championship race because it’s unfair,” said Brown.
A Pirelli spokeswoman said: “We are going with the same number of people as usual.” further adding, “In Australia and Bahrain, we know that people from Italy will receive a medical check upon arrival. Nothing has been decided on travel to Vietnam, but we have to wait for further instructions.”
The coronavirus is completely overrated. More people die from other diseases by large margins.
Because of higher infection rates, how dumb can you be? Case fatality rate is ALL that matters and COVID-19 is a level 5 outbreak due to the CFR of >=2%. It’s also not a disease dummy.