IndyCar is currently standing by its new 2020 start date of 30 May at the Detroit Grand Prix, despite Michigan declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following IndyCar’s decision to reschedule the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis for 4 July, and the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 for 23 August,
NASCAR’s hopes of returning to on-track action at Martinsville Speedway next month took a hit on Monday after stricter social distancing measures were implemented in the state of Virginia. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued a stay-at-home order for residents of his state to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak. This came into force on Monday and
MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports says it is offering financial assistance to all satellite MotoGP teams and the Moto2 and Moto3 squads to help pay staff wages during the coronavirus-enforced hiatus. The 2020 MotoGP season has had the first five rounds of the year either cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with at least
The FIA has confirmed the appointment of Compact Dynamics as the exclusive supplier of hybrid systems to the World Rally Championship from the 2022 season. The FIA launched an invitation to tender last year for the 2022‐2024 seasons when the next generation of Rally1 vehicles are introduced. FIA rally director Yves Matton has previously told
Jorge Lorenzo believes he will “not be short of offers” if he were to stage a full-time MotoGP comeback in the future, having retired at the end of the 2019 season. The three-time MotoGP world champion hung up his leathers at the end of last year following a bruising sole season aboard the factory Honda.
Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez says Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha wildcard at the Catalan GP proves he has “no fear of motorcycling”, but was “maybe afraid” of the Honda. Triple MotoGP champion Lorenzo announced his retirement from racing at the end of last year, following an injury-hit first season on the Honda that robbed him
Honda team manager Alberto Puig believes MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports has responded to the coronavirus pandemic better than “very hesitant” Formula 1 owners Liberty Media. The COVID-19 outbreak, which has infected well over 600,000 people worldwide and killed over 30,000, has forced the postponement and cancellation of many major sporting events, including the opening eight
Johann Zarco believes Ducati can “give me time” to prove himself on the year-old Avintia-run Desmosedici and show he deserves a factory MotoGP seat with the marque in 2021. The double Moto2 world champion has signed directly with Ducati for 2020 to ride a GP19 in Avintia colours, with the team now becoming an official
Honda team manager Alberto Puig has hit back at claims by Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna that the delayed start to the season will benefit HRC and Marc Marquez. The start of the 2020 MotoGP season will be pushed back even further following the cancellation of the Jerez round, meaning that the French Grand Prix stands
IndyCar CEO Mark Miles is hopeful that the double-header weekend in Detroit can happen as scheduled on May 29-31 despite the current acceleration of coronavirus cases in the US. Miles says that, with eight weeks to go until the event, he remains “optimistic” it will go ahead. He said: “We’re talking to all our promoters
Valentino Rossi admits the forced hiatus for MotoGP due to the coronavirus pandemic has “messed up the plan” he had for deciding his future beyond the 2020 season. The 41-year-old nine-time grand prix motorcycle world champion did not commit to a contract extension with Yamaha at the start of the year as he wanted to
The 2020 edition of the Indianapolis 500 will now be postponed to August 23, as IndyCar continues to push back events amid the ensuing coronavirus pandemic. IndyCar’s blue-riband event will move from its original date of May 24, while the Grand Prix of Indianapolis – which takes place on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course
NASCAR will have to “look outside the box” when it comes to rescheduling its 2020 calendar, believes Kevin Harvick. The 2020 NASCAR Cup season is on hold until at least May due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with its recent races at Homstead and Atlanta ultimately scrapped after they were due to run behind closed
The 2020 MotoGP season is currently on an enforced hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the first five races now pushed out of their original slots. MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports and governing body the FIM have been proactive during this time, with a provisional calendar already published, while various plans have been mooted on
M-Sport World Rally Championship driver Esapekka Lappi admits he was “surprised” that six-time champion Sebastien Ogier elected to continue after losing the 2019 title to Ott Tanak. Ogier had rejoined the Citroen team last season after two years driving M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta WRC car, but Tanak’s breakthrough title ended Ogier’s streak of six titles in
The MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez due to run at the start of May has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the fifth race to be scrapped. The COVID-19 outbreak is now centred on Europe, with Formula 1 recently postponing its Dutch and Spanish GPs, while cancelling Monaco altogether. MotoGP had its
Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso believes that a compressed schedule in the second half of 2020 owing to the global coronavirus pandemic will be “difficult for everyone”. The new season is currently due to begin at Jerez in early May following the cancellation of the Qatar Grand Prix for the premier class and the postponement
The 2020 World Rally Championship has been hit by further delays due to the coronavirus outbreak, with Rally Portugal and Sardinia officially being postponed. Last week’s Rally Mexico was ended early as a result if impending travel restrictions in the US threatening travel chaos for the paddock. Winner Sebastien Ogier said afterwards that the rally
KTM MotoGP boss Pit Beirer has confirmed to Autosport that a test will take place prior to the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season getting underway. The current championship has had the first four races of the season struck from the schedule, while it is highly expected that May’s Spanish, French and Italian Grands Prix will also be
MotoGP has clarified its homologation rules for engines and aerodynamic fairings amid the coronavirus shutdown, with the cancelled Qatar race the point at which the rules are being enforced. MotoGP’s current technical regulations stipulate that engines and the first of two allowed aero fairings for all non-concession manufacturers (Yamaha, Honda, Ducati, Suzuki) must be homologated
Danilo Petrucci admits negotiations regarding a contract renewal with Ducati would have been underway by now had the start of the MotoGP season not been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. After being awarded a one-year extension to his works deal with the Borgo Panigale marque off the back of his Mugello victory last year, Petrucci
Aprilia MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro says he feels “ready” to fight for the podium this season and doesn’t think there are many riders “quicker than me” on the grid. The 2020 season will be the elder Espargaro brother’s 10th in the premier class and his fourth with Aprilia, who will race its “revolution” RS-GP. Espargaro
Haas Formula 1 simulator driver Louis Deletraz is set to return to the GT ranks this season in the GT World Challenge Europe with the factory-backed GPX Racing squad. The Swiss, who will be racing in Formula 2 again this year with the Charouz team, has been pencilled in to drive one of the Dubai
The revised September date for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has caused date clashes with British GT and Supercars, posing problems for teams and drivers planning to enter both. The final round of the British GT championship at Donington and the opening Supercars enduro, the OTR 500 at the Bend, now clash with the
Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti believes it will be “impossible” for MotoGP to begin its season before June or July given the worsening coronavirus situation in Europe. After the Qatar opener was run earlier this month for Moto2 and Moto3 only in light of the worsening COVID-19 crisis, the three following races in Thailand, Austin
The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach has confirmed that after exhaustive efforts to reschedule the 46th Acura GP of Long Beach for 2020, it will now not be possible. As recently as yesterday, Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of GPALB had been investigating all options for alternative calendar dates in 2020, trying to find
Maverick Vinales says Jorge Lorenzo’s Barcelona MotoGP wildcard will be “important” for Yamaha to allow it to properly test new parts, and hopes the three-time champion will do further races. Yamaha announced earlier in the month that Lorenzo will make his MotoGP race comeback at his home Catalan Grand Prix (currently slated for June), just
NASCAR has launched an invitational Esports series to replace its postponed real-life rounds, with reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch among its confirmed drivers. The series was initially going to run its coming rounds at Atlanta and Homestead-Miami behind closed doors, before deciding to fully postpone both events due to the coronavirus pandemic. NASCAR
The organisers of races at Long Beach are still aiming to find a slot in the IndyCar schedule for 2020 which could also double up as an IMSA round. The Long Beach round’s traditional April slot means it has fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic that has led to America’s increasingly stringent regulations and advisements
NASCAR has extended its postponement of races due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus through 3 May. NASCAR had originally intended to ru its Atlanta and Homstead events this week behind closed doors in a bid to avoid calendar disruption while adhering to safety guidelines on quelling the spread of COVID-19. However, the series