24 Hours of Le Mans Delayed Due to Coronavirus Fears

The famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France has been delayed until September 19, 2020, according to an official statement from the organizer of the race, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). The postponement is due to the rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic, which has at the time of this writing affected Europe severely, causing the suspension of travel across inter-European borders and other strict measures.

The decision was made in consultation with the French government, as well as the Féderation Internationale Automobile (FIA) and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) organizations. The original date for the race was June 13 and 14; the race will now be held on September 19 and 20.

Obviously this will have downstream impacts for related racing series. The FIA WEC, European Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup, and Ligier European Series will all change their schedules due to this postponement and will release updated calendars soon. The same can be said for the specific schedule for the delayed 2020 Le Mans race itself.

This is not the first time the race has been pushed back—the 1968 race was delayed until late September due to the “May 68” civil unrest and strikes that ground the French economy to a halt. And if the 2020 race ends up being canceled, a step the ACO hasn’t discussed in its latest announcement, it would also have precedent, albeit more dire. The 1936 race was canceled entirely due to massive general strikes in France after an election. And the race was canceled for a decade from 1939 to 1949 due to World War II and its aftermath.