Paris (France) (AFP)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycles, scheduled for April 18 and 19, have been postponed to September 5 and 6 due to the epidemic of new coronavirus, race organizers announced on Tuesday.
"Consequence of health developments linked to the coronavirus and ministerial restrictions concerning events bringing together more than 1,000 people in France, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), Eurosport Events, promoter of the FIM EWC World Championship, and the Automobile Club de Ouest, organizer of the 24 Heures Motos, have decided to postpone the 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos ", they explained in a press release.
"The current tickets will be valid for the postponement date of September 5-6, with no need for exchange," he added.
Consequently, it is the 24 Hours motorcycles that will exceptionally close the 2019/2020 World Championship in motorcycle endurance, and no longer the 8 Hours of Suzuka (Japan) on July 19, if the calendar was not changed yet.
In motor sports, another leading international event is scheduled for the same weekend in France: the Electric Formula Paris ePrix on April 18, for which no announcement has yet been made.
Follow the French Motorcycle Grand Prix, also at Le Mans on May 17, the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 13 and 14, and the French GP of Formula 1 on June 28. These three events are currently maintained.
On Monday, the French government took restrictive measures banning gatherings of more than 1,000 people until April 15 to fight the spread of Covid-19, which claimed more than 1,700 people in France for 33 deaths, according to a report. drawn up Tuesday evening.
The world motorsport calendar has already undergone several changes due to the epidemic. In MotoGP, after the Grand Prix of Qatar (canceled except for the Moto2 and Moto3 categories) and Thailand (postponed to October), it was the Americas GP in Austin (Texas) which was postponed to November Tuesday.
In F1, the Chinese GP, which was to take place on April 19, is postponed to a date yet to be determined and the Vietnam GP on April 5 seems uncertain. The Bahrain GP on March 22 will take place behind closed doors.
The updated calendar of the 2019-2020 season of the World Endurance Motorcycle Championship (EWC):
September 21-22, 2019: Bol d'Or (24-hour race) / Le Castellet (France)
December 14, 2019: 8 Hours of Sepang (Malaysia)
June 6, 2020: 8 Hours of Oschersleben (Germany)
July 19, 2020: 8 Hours of Suzuka (Japan)
September 5-6, 2020: 24 Heures Motos / Le Mans (France)
© 2020 AFP