IndyCar has announced the official cancellation of all the races taking place until the end of April due to COVID-19 outbreak.
IndyCar initially announced a condensed racing schedule for this weekend’s 2020 opener at St. Petersburg with no fans allowed but one day later, it has officially cancelled not only the opening round but all the races until the end of April.
This means the races in St. Petersburg (March 15), Birmingham (April 5), Long Beach (April 19) and Austin (April 26) won’t be held, with the 2020 IndyCar season likely to start in May – if situation improves – with the GMR Grand Prix (May 9).
The announcement from the championship comes just after NASCAR, which also postponed its two rounds at Atlanta and Homestead-Miami due to COVID-19 measures, after initially announcing that they will hold the races with no fans.
The full statement from IndyCar states:
“After careful consideration, including regular communication with our event promoters, health officials, and the city administrations in our respective race markets regarding COVID-19, we have made the decision to cancel all NTT IndyCar Series events through April.
“This begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which was to begin today and run through Sunday, March 15 and continues through the AutoNation IndyCar Challenge at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas which was to take place April 24-26.
“Although we are disappointed to delay the start to this INDYCAR season and will miss our incredible fans who support us each year in St. Petersburg, Birmingham, Long Beach, and Austin, the safety of our fans, participants, staff, partners, and media will always remain our top priority. We will continue to coordinate with public health experts and government officials as we determine the appropriate plans for resuming our schedule.”
Here’s what IndyCar drivers had said