The Italian Government is to initiate new measures in fight against COVID-19 outbreak which could affect F1 and MotoGP.
With the COVID-19 outbreak already on a high in Italy, the Government has now asked for a lockdown of Lombardy region, expect for emergencies, as they try to contain the virus and not let it spread all-through the country, damaging further.
There are 11 province in the red zone category, they are Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Venice, Padua, Treviso, Asti and Alessandria. This affects not only the MotoGP paddock but also F1 as teams/riders are based here.
In terms of F1, Maranello falls in Modena region which is the home of Ferrari, while AlphaTauri, based in Faenza in the Ravenna region is safe but is only about 100 km from Modena. At the same time, Pirelli is headquartered in Milan with personnel, even though a lot of tyre work happen in Turkey.
Suppliers like Dallara falls in Parma which is under lockdown. Additionally, there are more Italian suppliers plus team members alike. It is the same case with regards to MotoGP too. The bigger news in the two-wheel side is for Valentino Rossi being in a lockdown risk.
He is based in Rimini which falls under red zone. Earlier in the day he was busy training in his ranch with MotoGP rivals Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli. At the same time, it seems like Andrea Dovizioso is fine as Forli-Cesena is not put under lockdown.
Among MotoGP teams, Aprilia’s factory is based in Noale which is closer to the red-zoned Padua and Venice region. Since Bologna is not on the list, it saves Ducati to an extent but the province is certainly close to other areas which is under lockdown.
The Italian Government has asked for minimum movement which will certainly limit travel, not just abroad but in the whole region. There is a provision for work travel but it doesn’t entail if traveling to other countries where F1 and MotoGP will take place, will be exempted.
This does puts MotoGP’s Americas GP under further risk after initial risk of the direction from Austin for not allowing mass gatherings. In terms of F1, travel for Australian GP is already underway as we gather but it is unclear if everyone is out already.
The quarantine will extend to affecting the junior categories too, whether it is Moto2 and Moto3 or Formula 2, Formula 3 and many other championships. The situation around COVID-19 is seemingly getting worse, especially with sporting events.
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Here’s the story from Italian website Repubblica: https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/03/07/news/coronavirus_chiusa_la_lombardia_e_11_province_-250570150/?refresh_ce
Here’s news on Rome Formula E being cancelled
Here’s the latest from MotoGP on re-scheduling Aragon, Thailand
Here’s latest from F1 Bahrain GP
[Note: With things change on a daily basis, kindly do not take everything has final word on the above, it may change tomorrow or the day after. The point of the article is to convey of the new measures which may/may not affect motor racing.]