The continuing outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has forced EuroFormula Open organisers to reschedule two more rounds of the championship. The season now set to get under at the Hockenheimring in Germany on the final weekend of June.
The traditional winter series events at the Circuit Paul Ricard and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya have already been cancelled, while the scheduled opening rounds at Paul Ricard and Pau having either been rescheduled or put on the backburner, albeit for the time being.
However, the race at Spa-Francorchamps, which was set to start the season across the weekend of 5-7 June, has been delayed until the weekend of 16-18 October, while the round at Barcelona has been moved back a week to the 30 October-1 November weekend.
This was done to prevent the series running three events in three successive weekends, with the Mediterranean Grand Prix at Enna-Pergusa set to run on the 9-11 October weekend.
“The entire world faces an unprecedented challenge, which will mark the history of today’s generations,” said Jesus Pareja, the CEO of GT Sport. “We share the frustration of the racing community and fans in this period of confinement, but the top priority now is to win the battle for everyone’s health and safety.
“We will be running again, although no one can predict exactly when this will happen. Meanwhile, GT Sport is working to reorganize the schedule and be ready for when the activity can resume. Our guiding principle is to try to maintain the same number of races originally planned.
“Today we announce new dates for Spa and Barcelona and our contingency plans are ready if more events need to be rescheduled. Racing will now begin at Hockenheim on June 27/28, with the testing window with the new Dallara 320 car set to be left open longer into the year.
“At this time, I want to send a warm message of hope and encouragement to all of our contestants, partners and fans, and their families. If we stay together and keep doing what we have to do, keeping ourselves confined, the virus will be defeated and we will return to what we enjoy most: racing. Take good care of yourself and take care of your loved ones and those around you.”
Formula Regional European Championship Postpones Two Events
It is not just EuroFormula Open that has been forced to alter its calendar, with the sophomore season of the Formula Regional European Championship having postponed its two rounds in Italy that were set to take place in May.
The season was set to get underway at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 15-17 May before switching to the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodrome on 29-31 May. Both rounds are still to be rescheduled but series organisers are hopeful of reorganising the calendar to accommodate both events later in the year.
The season is currently set to get underway at the Vallelunga Circuit on 12-14 June before switching to the Hungaroring on 10-12 July.