Late-Braking MotoGP

© Bruce Allen

As of this morning, MotoGP is scheduled to open its 2020 season, Round One, in early May at Jerez in southern Spain. From there, the paddock is to travel to Le Mans two weeks later, followed by Round Three at Mugello two weeks after that.

Ain’t none of that happening.

Spain’s rate of infections and deaths has begun to soar. The French have already taken steps to limit gatherings. And Mugello sits at Ground Zero for the most serious outbreak in the world, in Italy. As April arrives, one can be certain to hear that first Jerez, then Le Mans, then Mugello will all be “rescheduled,” which is becoming Dorna’s equivalent to every parents’ response of “we’ll see,”–just a different way of saying no.

Dorna says you need 13 rounds to make it a season. The riders and teams are lobbying to reduce that number, perhaps to 10. Whatever. Our previous diatribe on the domino theory still applies. The virus is working its way in swaths across the globe, and no racing event or venue has any guarantee of being legally allowed to proceed. Assuming they held a race, how many fans would attend anyway?

The world as we knew it three months ago no longer exists, at least for now. The new world is smaller, poorer, and isolated, reduced to living life online. Entire industries are going to get scoured from the American scene–restaurants, movies, bars, professional and college sports, the list goes on. If this becomes some kind of semi-perpetual situation, with good seasons in the summer and bad seasons in the winter, most retail businesses face ruin. A world in this condition is not one which will be able to continue to support the racing industry. MotoGP sponsors, whose businesses are getting hammered, are going to be bailing on contracts for a sport that could be mothballed for another year or more.

Not wishing to sound overly apocalyptic, I am concerned that a five race MotoGP season in the late fall would not be worth doing. The juice, as it were, is not worth the squeeze. As much as I want to watch these guys race, it appears the world has shifted on its axis. It is hard to admit that this season is already screwed, but it’s the truth.

We will all stay on top of it. Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: coronavirus, motogp

This entry was posted on March 21, 2020 at 7:29 am and is filed under 2020 MotoGP Championship, coronavirus, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, MotoGP Jerez. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.