F1, MotoGP racing’s efforts to reduce costs amidst the pandemic (Part 2)
Jorge Lorenzo is unable to return in early June in Catalunya
Teams have shown their dedication and skill through this project. They should feel proud of what has developed in this project. Thereby, there will be better prepared in the future, when society needs support.
In turn, F1 races in Italy and Spain have to be postponed
Spain and Italy are both among the top 4 countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, after the first 6 races were either postponed or canceled, it was inevitable that Mugello (Italy) and Catalunya (Spain) would inevitably decide to postpone the race which took place in late May and early June.
The current complicated situation in both countries makes the upcoming events impossible to occur as expected. The only positive news at this time is that the pandemic here is peaking and will soon decline in the near future.
The loss of the Catalan GP makes Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha’s special tickets here also greatly affected. The team has not yet announced whether Lorenzo’s appearance will be moved to another race, or wait until the revised schedule is announced.
Assen will make his first absence at MotoGP after seven decades
The governments of Germany, the Netherlands and Finland have also announced that all mass gathering activities will be banned until the end of August 31. Therefore, the races at Sachsenring (Germany), Assen (Netherlands), and Kymi Ring (Finland) have been officially canceled this year.
With the long-standing traditional racetrack TT Assen, this will be the first time they have not participated in a MotoGP season since the tournament began in 1949. And Kymi Ring still needs approval from the new FIM federation could be organized (something not possible at the time of national closure) so they cannot come back in 2020.
MotoGP seeks to tighten spending
Along with moves such as F1 racing in cutting costs at the current difficult time, MotoGP will also “freeze” all engine and aerodynamic developments this season. The racing teams and the organizers have agreed to use the 2020 car for the 2021 season.
As the 2021 season kicks off, vehicle development rules will return to normal. As such, non-franchise manufacturers of MotoGP (Honda, Ducati, Yamaha, and Suzuki) will only be allowed to upgrade aerodynamics once.