The list of races canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak has grown since our report last week.
IMSA has added the early-May Mid-Ohio race to its list of canceled events. As noted last week, the 12 Hours of Sebring has been rescheduled to November 11–14. The next race remaining on the schedule is the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle, an event in which the only classes running are the DPI prototype class and the GTD class, in which the Turner Motorsport M6 GT3 competes.
The British Touring Car Championship, in which West Surrey Racing runs the 330i M Sport, has canceled its March round at Donington and its April rounds at Brands Hatch and Silverstone. The season is now scheduled to open at Thruxton on May 16–17.
The Nürburgring 24, always a key endurance event for BMW Motorsport, has been postponed from May 21–24 to September 24–27. The April six-hour qualifying race that typically precedes the 24 has been canceled.
SRO still plans to run in May, but on May 20 the series indicated that “As local authorities advise on the state of the pandemic, an update will be provided in the near future regarding the TC Festival @ Lime Rock Park scheduled for May 8–9 and the Victoria Day SpeedFest at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park scheduled for May 15–17.”
While DTM canceled its March 16-19 pre-season test at Hockenheim, it has made no announcement regarding its season opener on the Zolder Circuit in Belgium, scheduled for April 24–26.
When racing resumes and events are rescheduled, the calendar will be crowded. As Racer’s Marshall Pruett has indicated there will be serious competition between auto racing and other sports for TV time. Still, coping with a crowded calendar will be a good problem to have compared to what the racing community is facing today.—Brian Morgan
[Photo of Andrew Jordan in the 330i M Sport courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
