Paris (AFP)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place without an audience on September 19 and 20, due to uncertainties about the Covid-19 pandemic, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) announced in a statement Monday.
"While many solutions had been considered to organize the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, next September, in the presence of a limited number of people on the site, the ACO and the prefecture of Sarthe, in close collaboration with various experts in the health situation, today announced the holding of the classic Le Mans, without an audience, on September 19 and 20, "said the ACO.
The legendary race, initially scheduled for June 13 and 14, was postponed to mid-September, for health reasons, in the face of the spread of the new coronavirus.
The organizers hoped for the presence of the public in the fall, while the gauge in stadiums in France is maintained at 5,000 people until the end of August, the prefects may however grant exemptions to increase this limit.
"During the last few weeks, we have been thinking about many options to share our ordeal with our fans, even in small numbers, on site next September. However, the reception conditions specific to our event, a real popular festival lasting several days , made us opt with the prefecture, for the organization of our 24 Hours, without public this year ", regretted Pierre Fillon, president of the ACO.
"There are still too many uncertainties for our race-festival, but we don't want to compromise on safety. Even if the consequences of this decision are sad for our fans and for us, the decision was not difficult to stop because we do not want to take any risk, ”he added.
"Ticket holders (general public and ACO members) will be contacted by the ticketing service to confirm their credit," said the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
The other two legendary motorsport races are also affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic: the Indianapolis 500 Miles on the mythical North American oval will take place without an audience on August 23 (the race was first scheduled for May 24), while the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix was simply canceled.
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