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90th Geneva International Motor Show cancelled, F1 calendar unchanged for now

With less than a week to go before opening, the 90th edition of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) has been cancelled. Although the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading and increasing in many places all over the world, the organisers may have been debating daily whether to cancel but the decision was made for them when the Swiss government ordered that events with more than 1,000 people would not be permitted to run (at least until March 15, 2020).

“We regret this situation, but the health of all participants is our and our exhibitors’ top priority. This is a case of force majeure and a tremendous loss for the manufacturers who have invested massively in their presence in Geneva. However, we are convinced that they will understand this decision,” said Maurice Turrettini, Chairman of the Foundation Board.

Proton EMAS — The Geneva International Motor Show has been a popular event for manufacturers (though its future has been at risk for other reasons before this virus crisis). Even Proton was present in 2010 to display a concept car called the EMAS.

GIMS was to have opened on March 5 and construction of the stands at the Palexpo venue has been nearly complete and now dismantling will instead have to be organised. The financial consequences for all those involved in the event are significant, especially carmakers which had planned to use GIMS to unveil their new models, among them the new Volkswagen Golf GTI and Kia Sorento.

Geely launched its new ICON SUV last week with an online event in China and some companies may be rushing to do the same thing. Of course, they have already spent a lot of money preparing for GIMS and although they will get refunds, some costs won’t be avoidable, eg payments to contractors building the stands. However, tickets already purchased for the event will be refunded.

Even though there are so far only 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in Switzerland, the move by the government is aimed at preventing or delaying the spread of the disease in the country in the hope of reducing its momentum. For events with fewer than 1,000 people, organizers are required to carry a risk assessment in conjunction with the authorities to decide whether the event can be held.

FIA monitoring situation but no cancellations – yet
While the Formula E round in Marrakesh will run this weekend, Liberty Media, the company which took over the commercial side of F1 in 2017, is expecting the COVID-19 crisis to impact its revenues by millions for the 2020 season. As it is, the Chinese GP scheduled in April has been postponed and the FIA is monitoring the situation closely and making the necessary decisions in the interests of the participants and the public.

The last time a F1 event was cancelled was in 2011 when the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was to have been the season-opener, could not run due to concerns about unrest in the country.

*First round of 2020 Formula 1 championship will still go ahead in Melbourne on March 15.*

The first round for 2020 is to start in Melbourne, Australia, on March 15, a date that is presently used as an end-date for COVID-19-related measures. Round 2 will be in Bahrain and Round 3 at a new street circuit in Hanoi, Vietnam. Liberty Media wants the races to run and the FIA has so far not instructed any cancellations or changes to the calendar of 22 races, apart from the Chinese GP.

However, there could be a problem for some teams if the host countries become strict on entry or even refuse to allow entry to travellers from certain countries, eg Italy which has the largest cluster of infected persons. This not only affects the racing teams but also companies that support the teams. There are some logistics and hospitality contractors who have bases in China and they not only face increasing challenges to their operations, but movements of their personnel are hampered as some cannot enter certain countries or are stuck in them.

It’s not only F1 that has this critical situation but all sports… in fact, any event where large crowds will be gather in close proximity. These could include racetracks, stadiums and convention centres. It has already been found that one means of transmission has occurred at events where one infected person has passed the virus on to others present. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now raised its global risk assessment of the new coronavirus to the highest level.

2020 F1 Chinese Grand Prix cancelled due to COVID-19 situation

Cancellations of Formula 1 races are rare and the last time was 8 years ago when the Bahrain Grand Prix had to be cancelled due to security issues as a result of unrest in the country. This time, it’s the outbreak of a disease and given the seriousness and spread of the COVID-19 virus in China, the FIA has made the decision not to run the Chinese Grand Prix which was scheduled for April 19 in Shanghai. This follows the cancellation of the Formula E round that was to be held on Hainan Island next month.

For both events, the FIA has mentioned ‘postponed’ which suggests that the events could be held later in the year. However, the calendars are tight and finding an available weekend may not be easy. Furthermore, being in Asia, logistics have to be considered too as a series of races may be scheduled for the venues in the western hemisphere.

*The FIA has considered the health and safety of all those involved in F1 races, and has decided the Chinese GP this year should be cancelled, with the possibility that it may be run later in the year.*

“In view of the continued spread of novel coronavirus and after ongoing discussions with the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of People’s Republic of China (CAMF) and Shanghai Administration of Sports, the Chinese Grand Prix Promoter, Juss Sports Group, has officially requested that the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix be postponed,” the organisation said in a statement.

“As a result of continued health concerns and with the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency, the FIA and Formula 1 have taken these measures in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains of primary concern,” said the FIA.

The FIA and Formula 1 will continue to work closely with the teams, race promoter, CAMF and the local authorities to monitor the situation as it develops. It will also review the situation for other motorsport events globally in accordance with the changing COVID-19 environment and advisories from the World Health Organisation.

Formula E round in China cancelled, other motorsports events under review by FIA due to concerns about coronavirus

Goodyear chosen as supplier for WEC LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) and European Le Mans Series

Goodyear continues to gain increasing preference in the motorsports world as it is chosen as Official Tyre Supplier. Following its appointment by the FIA as tyre-supplier for the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), the international governing body has now also made Goodyear the official tyre supplier to the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and European Le Mans Series (ELMS).

A multi-season contract between the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the FIA World Endurance Championship and Goodyear was agreed following ACO’s decision to appoint a single tyre supplier for this highly competitive Le Mans Prototype class.

The contract, to supply all the WEC teams in the LMP2 class, begins with the 8-round 2020/2021 season which starts at Silverstone in September, before continuing across four continents around the world. its climax will be the 24 hours of Le Mans in June 2021, a race which Goodyear-equipped cars have won outright on 14 occasions.

“Goodyear has a long and remarkable history in motorsport. In addition to our unbeaten record in Formula One with 368 Grand Prix wins, we have 14 overall wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This partnership allows us to showcase our technology, durability and performance in the most famous endurance race in the world. We are proud to have been chosen for this challenge,” said Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer EMEA at Goodyear.

The LMP2 official tyre partnership with ELMS, the world’s leading continental endurance racing series, will begin in April 2021. In ELMS, the LMP2 category is the top tier of a multi-class championship that races at six of Europe’s top circuits.

The partnership means that all LMP2 entrants in the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, including cars from outside of WEC and ELMS, will benefit from the latest developments in Goodyear Racing tyres. In addition, Goodyear will also increase its brand visibility on and off the track to support its launch of the latest range of Eagle F1 SuperSport tyres, featuring motorsport-derived technology.

Goodyear returns to international sportscar racing

Formula E round in China cancelled, other motorsports events under review by FIA due to concerns about coronavirus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently stated that the coronavirus outbreak meets the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and therefore appropriate actions are to be taken by governments and other organisations worldwide. Public events where many people are in close proximity would need have the risk factor reviewed and such events include motor racing.

Last week, the FIA (the international organisation governing motorsports) said it is closely monitoring the evolving situation concerning the coronavirus with relevant authorities and its Member Clubs, under the direction of FIA Medical Commission President, Professor Gerard Saillant. The FIA will evaluate the calendar of forthcoming races around the world and, if necessary, take any action required to help protect the global motorsport community and the wider public.

Formula 1 — *The FIA says it will evaluate the calendar of forthcoming races around the world and, if necessary, take any action required to help protect the global motorsport community and the wider public.*

In view of the continued spread of coronavirus and after close consultation with the relevant departments of Hainan Province and Sanya Municipal Government, Round 6 of the Formula E all-electric championship is cancelled. The Sanya e-Prix was scheduled to be run at the Haitang Bay Street Circuit on the island of Hainan on March 21.

“Given the current growing health concerns and with the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus an international emergency, Formula E has taken the necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of its travelling staff, championship participants and spectators, which remains of paramount importance,” the FIA said in a statement.

“We are working closely with our regional partner and the local authorities in Hainan Province and Sanya Municipal Government, to continue monitoring the situation as it develops. All parties will take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates should the situation improve,” it added.

F1 China — *The Formula 1 round at the Shanghai Circuit in China, scheduled for April, would also be under review.*

Obviously, other events are being reviewed with those that will be held in China being at the top of the list. In April, the third round of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship calendar is to be held at the Shanghai circuit and that too may have to be cancelled or postponed.

During the second half of the year, there are also two rounds of the World Touring Car Cup (September and November). However, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar does not include a round in China this year as the Kyalami circuit in South Africa is reinstated. The Monza 6 Hours will take the weekend that the Chinese WEC round at Shanghai has traditionally been held on.

Of course, given every country’s concern about the virus and preventing its spread, all public events which would have large crowds would be reviewed by local authorities and organisers, not just motorsports.

Goodyear to supply tyres for WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup from 2020 – 2022

Following the announcement of Pirelli as the sole tyre-supplier for the World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2021, the FIA has also announced that Goodyear’s tender for supplying tyres to the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup has been accepted. The tyremaker will be the official tyre supplier for the series over the next 3 years, covering the 2020-2022 seasons.

The 2020 WTCR season has 10 races on three continents including races in Morocco, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, China, South Korea and Macau, with Malaysia hosting the finale. The events are triple-header races, resulting in a 30-round highly competitive race calendar.

Eagle F1 SuperSport racing tyres
Goodyear will supply its latest generation of Eagle F1 SuperSport racing tyres in both slick and wet specifications, beginning with the 2020 WTCR season opener in Marrakech in April.

The WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup is promoted by Discovery-owned Eurosport Events and administered by the FIA. Its high appeal to spectators is because the cars are racing versions of high-performance production models from brands such as Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cupra, Honda, Hyundai and Lynk & Co.

“Goodyear has a long and successful history in motorsport and we are very proud it has chosen the WTCR as an international racing flagship. Discovery and Goodyear will be very active together all year long to reconnect that iconic brand into the racing community with quality content and a full range of very creative activations. We have no doubt that Goodyear will be a first-class partner on the technical and marketing fronts of WTCR,” said François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCR promoter.

Long history in top-level motorsport
Goodyear has a long history in top-level motorsport, winning 368 Formula One GPs, more than any other tyre manufacturer. The FIA WTCR contract rekindles memories of Goodyear’s race-winning heritage in the European Touring Car Championship, a forerunner of WTCR, in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, Goodyear has been the sole supplier of tyres to NASCAR and announced its comeback into global motorsport earlier this year, supplying tyres to the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.

“We are excited to be joining Eurosport and the FIA by becoming the official tyre supplier for the FIA WTCR. This complements our recent comeback into global motorsport through the FIA World Endurance Championship. It allows Goodyear to connect with fans in a wide range of countries, and also prove the performance of our Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport range of racing tyres,” said Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President & Chief Marketing Officer, Goodyear Consumer Europe.

Goodyear Eagle F1 range in Malaysia widens with more choices

Pirelli to be sole tyre-supplier for FIA World Rally Championship

Pirelli has been the tyre-supplier to Formula 1 teams since 2011 and from 2021, the tyremaker has also been chosen by the FIA as the sole supplier for the World Rally Championship (WRC). Taking over from Michelin, the supply contract is to run until the end of 2024.

Pirelli will supply all the 4WD cars that compete on the championship, from the WRC category that fights for the overall title, to the R5-specification WRC2 class, which is also the headlining category on regional and national championships throughout the world.

*Pirelli will supply tyres to all classes in the WRC.*

Commitment to supporting young drivers as well
“Our return to the top level of rallying is something that we were considering for a while, and it’s particularly fitting that this appointment from the FIA comes in the year that Ott Tanak – a graduate of the Pirelli Star Driver programme – was crowned World Champion. Supplying the WRC alongside F1 will enable us to improve our products still further by putting them against some of the most varied and demanding conditions seen in motorsport,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and car racing.

Pirelli’s commitment to supporting the careers of young drivers is set to continue as well. Alongside the continued supply to the Junior WRC, Pirelli will also carry on equipping the Junior ERC3 class on the European Rally Championship.

Pirelli F1 WRC — *Pirelli has been sole tyre-supplier to F1 since 2011 but its involvement in the WRC goes back longer.*

25 world titles and 181 wins
The tyremaker has long experience in WRC, having been involved since 1973 and being the tyres used by teams that won 25 world titles and 181 WRC events. It was sole supplier to the WRC from 2008 to 2010 and since 2018, it has supplied tyres for drivers in the WRC2 category.

“Technology and passion are two key elements that Pirelli bring to motorsport, and these have allowed us to secure the single tyre supply for the World Rally Championship. We’ve supported young drivers in the Junior category for many years and now we’re returning to the top class as well,” said Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s Senior Vice-President of Prestige and Motorsport.

He added that rallying has always been a perfect open-air laboratory for Pirelli’s engineers to test out new technologies that are eventually destined for road use, thanks to the extreme conditions that characterise the sport.

Tyres to be supplied
Pirelli will supply the WRC teams with tyres that have already successfully been seen on different rally championships throughout the world. The P Zero RA is for asphalt, with different compounds available to suit the terrain and weather conditions. The Sottozero Snow (with or without studs) is used for snowy conditions, the Sottozero Ice J1 is specifically designed for Rally Sweden, while on gravel, the reinforced Scorpion K can cope with a wide variety of loose surface conditions.

F1 (Round 21/Final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results and Highlights

♦ Lewis Hamilton, already the 2019 World Champion Driver, finished off the season with another win at Yas Marina. It is his fifth victory at the event.

♦ Although Charles Leclerc finished third overall, his position is not confirmed as there is an investigation into the amount of fuel that was actually in the Ferrari.

♦ Valtteri Bottas finished finished the race in 4th after having started from the back of the grid.

♦ In the closing stages of the race, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, Jr. gave one last push and moved into 10th place to finish 6th overall in the Driver’s Championship.

♦ Alex Albon is the only one of the four rookies this year who had not driven an F1 car at Yas Marina (although he is familiar with it, having raced in GP3 and F2 events there).

2019 F1 World Championship — *The champion driver and champion team of 2019*

Click here for the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship Calendar

The 2020 Formula 1 World Championship Calendar

Vietnam will host a round in 2020 and is creating a street circuit in Hanoi for the race which will be held at the beginning of April

*The Belgium GP, held at Spa-Francorchamps, will again have the longest circuit in the calendar*

Singapore GP — *Singapore, which has hosted a night race every year since 2008, will continue to do so for another 4 years.*

Monaco Circuit — *The Monaco street circuit has been a regular venue for decades and has the shortest length of all circuits in the calendar.*

F1 (Round 21/final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Starting Grid

Race starts at 5:10 pm in Abu Dhabi/9:10 pm in Malaysia on Sunday

*Final assignment for the F1 Safety Car and driver Bernd Maylander.*

F1 (Round 20) – 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix Results and Highlights

♦ Max Verstappen took a well-deserved third win of the 2019 season, starting from pole position all the way to the chequered flag.

♦ In the closing stages of the race, the two Ferrari drivers made contact and knocked themselves out of the race.

♦ Lewis Hamilton finished third but was deemed by the stewards to be at fault for an incident with Alexander Albon Ansusinhan, Red Bull Racing’s Thai-British driver, As a result, Hamilton received a 5-second penalty which dropped him to 7th in the official classification.

♦ Hamilton’s demotion gave Carlos Sainz the third position – his first ever F1 podium. He had started from 20th and fought hard to move up the field. The podium finish was also McLaren’s first one since 2014 in Australia.

♦ Pierre Gasly also had a great day with his first podium, having gotten ahead after the Hemilton-Albon incident. Although the Mercedes-AMG driver tried to out-accelerate him to the finish line, Gasly pulled ahead to cross first and claim second position.

Next race (final round) in Abu Dhabi on December 1

Piston.my

FIA

90th Geneva International Motor Show cancelled, F1 calendar unchanged for now

2020 F1 Chinese Grand Prix cancelled due to COVID-19 situation

Goodyear chosen as supplier for WEC LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) and European Le Mans Series

Formula E round in China cancelled, other motorsports events under review by FIA due to concerns about coronavirus

Goodyear to supply tyres for WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup from 2020 – 2022

Pirelli to be sole tyre-supplier for FIA World Rally Championship

F1 (Round 21/Final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results and Highlights

The 2020 Formula 1 World Championship Calendar

F1 (Round 21/final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Starting Grid

F1 (Round 20) – 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix Results and Highlights

90th Geneva International Motor Show cancelled, F1 calendar unchanged for now

2020 F1 Chinese Grand Prix cancelled due to COVID-19 situation

Goodyear chosen as supplier for WEC LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) and European Le Mans Series

Formula E round in China cancelled, other motorsports events under review by FIA due to concerns about coronavirus

Goodyear to supply tyres for WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup from 2020 – 2022

Pirelli to be sole tyre-supplier for FIA World Rally Championship

F1 (Round 21/Final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results and Highlights

The 2020 Formula 1 World Championship Calendar

F1 (Round 21/final round) – 2019 Abu Dhabi Starting Grid

F1 (Round 20) – 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix Results and Highlights

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