Coronavirus: The motorsport events affected so far

Due to the developing situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, a number of high-profile motorsport events have been affected worldwide.

The continued spread of COVID-19 around the world has had a significant impact on sporting events across the globe, notably impacting on the Formula 1 and MotoGP season schedules.

To date there are over 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally, which has resulted in 8,000 deaths, the majority of which have been in China, where the outbreak originated towards the end of last year.

Coronavirus has continued to rapidly spread worldwide, leading to the World Health Organisation (WHO) making the outbreak a pandemic.

Here is a timeline of the motorsport events to have been cancelled or postponed as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak…

March 26 - Indy 500 postponed

The 2020 Indianapolis 500 has been postponed by three months and will take place on August 23. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis will join forces with NASCAR to host a historic double-header on July 4.

March 26 - Spanish MotoGP postponement

MotoGP officials have confirmed the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez set to take place on May 1-3, has been postponed. No new date has been issued yet.

March 24 - All British motorsport is called off until May 31

All motorsport activities in the United Kingdom have been postponed until at least the end of May, meaning the planned British Superbike and British Touring Car Championship rounds have been postponed.

March 24 - Assen World Superbike round rescheduled for August

The Dutch World Superbike round has been postponed from April 17-19 to August 21-23 with further rescheduling expected to the rest of the 2020 calendar.

March 23 - F1 Azerbaijan GP latest postponement

The F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the next postponed race, having previously been set to host the 2020 opener following prior cancellations, meaning the Canadian Grand Prix is now set to start the season on June 14 - but that race is already in doubt.

March 19 - F1 calls off Dutch GP, Spanish GP. Monaco GP cancelled

F1 bosses have postponed the Dutch and Spanish GPs, while the Monaco GP has been cancelled for 2020. It means the current F1 opener will be the Azerbaijan GP on June 7.

March 18 - Le Mans 24 Hours postponed to September

The iconic endurance event and 2019-2020 WEC finale, the Le Mans 24 Hours, has been postponed to from 13-14 June to the 19-20 September, which will also delay the start of the 2020-2021 WEC season.

March 17 - BSB opener postponed

The BSB opening round at Silverstone will be rescheduled due to the UK-wide suspension of motorsport events in April, which includes the first round of this year's British Talent Cup. The BSB pre-season test at Silverstone has been cancelled.

March 17 - BTCC season start delayed 

The start of the 2020 BTCC season has been delayed in response to social distancing advice issued by the UK government in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The opening three rounds have subsequently been postponed. 

March 16 - Isle of Man TT cancelled

The 2020 Isle of Man TT has been cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak. It is the first time the event has been fully called off since the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

March 16 - WEC postpones 6 Hours of Spa 

The 6 Hours of Spa - scheduled for April 25 - became the latest motorsport casualty of the coronavirus pandemic on March 16 when WEC confirmed it had postponed the penultimate round of the 2019-2020 season. 

March 13 - NASCAR postpones two rounds

NASCAR officials have postponed its next two rounds at Atlanta (March 15) and Homestead (March 22).

March 13 - IndyCar cancels opening four rounds

IndyCar has announced all four of its opening races in April have been canned. IndyCar had already been gearing up for action behind closed doors at St Petersburg but the event has been called off completely, along with its trips to Barber and Circuit of the Americas, after having already cancelled its Long Beach round.

March 13 - F1 postpones Bahrain and Vietnamese GPs

12 hours after officially cancelling the 2020 opener in Australia, F1 confirms the Bahrain and Vietnamese rounds have been postponed and the season will start in May. The Dutch Grand Prix is currently set to host the opening round on May 3.

March 13 - Formula E suspends 2019-2020 season for two months

Formula E has suspended all racing for two months, meaning the Paris and Seoul rounds have been canned along with the previously cancelled Sanya, Rome and Jakarta races. Currently the next round is the Berlin E-Prix on June 21.

March 13 - F1 calls off Australian GP 

The 2020 F1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix was officially cancelled on Friday morning in Melbourne, becoming the second F1 race to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak after China. 

March 12 - IndyCar goes behind closed doors

IndyCar confirmed its 2020 opening round at St Petersburg will be closed to spectators. IndyCar has also scrapped its third round at Long Beach set for April 17.

March 12 - IMSA postpones Sebring round

IMSA has postponed the Sebring 12 Hours until November, taking it from its opening to its final round of the 2020 season.

March 12 - McLaren withdraws from F1 opener Australian Grand Prix

McLaren has pulled out of the 2020 F1 opening round in Australia after a team member tests positive for coronavirus. Four Haas team personnel are also test but report negative results. Nine people at the Australian GP tested in total. Race set to take place March 15.

March 12 - WEC cancels Sebring round

The World Endurance Championship has been forced to cancel the Sebring 1000 miles round planned for March 20 due to United States travel bans on non-US citizens from Europe. The race will not be rescheduled.

March 11 - WorldSBK postpones Jerez

The opening European round of the 2020 World Superbike season due to take place at Jerez on March 29 is postponed until October 25, making it the new season-finale.

March 11 - MotoGP postpones Argentina, moves Valencia

The previous MotoGP calendar lasts just one day before Argentina is postponed from April 17 to November 22, requiring the Valencia finale to move back a week to November 29. Jerez in Spain now becomes the planned 2020 season-opener for the premier-class, from May 1-3.

March 11 - Jakarta becomes third Formula E race to be affected

The inaugural Jakarta E-Prix in Indonesia has become the third Formula E race to be affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The race was due to take place on June 6 but has now been postponed, with Formula E hoping to reschedule at a later date. 

March 10 - MotoGP postpones Austin round to November

The Circuit of the Americas has been forced to postpone its MotoGP round from early April to November following coronavirus measures taken by the City of Austin with large spectator events banned by authorities. The race has been pushed back to November 15 and is set to host the penultimate round before the finale in Valencia which has been forced back by a week to November 22. 

March 8 - F1 Bahrain GP goes behind closed doors

The F1 Bahrain Grand Prix has been closed to spectators as part of the nation’s measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The full race weekend, including F2 and F3, is still scheduled to go ahead but only with F1 personnel allowed to attend the race.

March 6 - Formula E postpones Rome race 

The Rome E-Prix was the second Formula E race to be affected by the outbreak of coronavirus with confirmation of the April 4 round being postponed coming on March 6, leaving a seven-week gap on the 2019-2020 calendar. 

March 3 - World Superbike postpones Qatar round

Following the cancellation of the Qatar MotoGP premier class race, World Superbike championship organisers have followed suit by postponing its round set to take place a week later, March 13-15, at the Losail International Circuit.

Organisers are aiming to reschedule the Qatar round later in the year, with a late October to early November slot already targeted.

March 2 - MotoGP postpones Thai race

On Monday, the Thai government announced the country’s planned MotoGP race had been postponed, which was then officially confirmed by Dorna Sports and the FIM.

The Thailand Grand Prix was scheduled to be the second round of the 2020 MotoGP campaign on March 22. A new date and schedule for the round is yet to be announced, but it is expected to slot into its previous calendar spot at the start of the Asian flyaway races in October.

March 2 - Suzuka Super Formula opener postponed

Super Formula’s 2020 season-opening round at Suzuka (scheduled for April 5) was postponed, while a two-day pre-season test at the Japanese Grand Prix venue (March 9-10) was cancelled.

The coronavirus epidemic has also cast doubts over whether the Super GT opener at Okayama will go ahead as planned on April 11-12.

March 1 - MotoGP opener cancelled

Just hours before the Thailand GP was postponed, MotoGP announced that its planned season-opener in Qatar on March 8 had been cancelled for the premier class.

However, Moto2 and Moto3 will go ahead as planned due to the teams and riders already being in Qatar after taking part in a recent three-day test.

February 27 - DTM test moved

DTM organisers announced a planned pre-season test at Monza on March 16-18 had been relocated to the Hockenheimring in Germany as a direct response to the spread of COVID-19 in northern Italy.

February 26 - Vietnam GP support races shelved

The Formula Renault Asiacup had its highest-profile round supporting the F1 Vietnam Grand Prix called off, while the Chinese Formula 4 season opener was also cancelled.

February 26 - International GT Open postpones testing

The International GT Open became the first European sportscar racing series to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak when the championship’s planned winter test at Barcelona between March 6-7 was postponed.

February 12 - F1 Chinese GP postponed

F1 abandoned this year’s Chinese Grand Prix - scheduled for April 19 - due to COVID-19, with the championship’s bosses hoping to reschedule the Shanghai race for later in the 2020 season.

Initial suggestions pencil in the race directly before the season-finale in Abu Dhabi and after the Brazilian round on November 22.

February 2 - Formula E abandons Sanya race

The first major motorsport event to be affected was Formula E’s Chinese round in Sanya, due to be held on March 21.

After the coronavirus epidemic was declared as a public health emergency by WHO, FE called off the race for the time being, leaving a five-week gap on the 2019-2020 calendar.

This article will be updated regularly…