SM 2020: Now ASS must decide 🎥
NO MORE RACES SOON As in other sports, the Swiss Automobile Championship is threatened with total cancellation in 2020. Only a few races in late summer and fall are still provisionally on the calendar. Drivers, fans and officials will have to come to terms with this: there will be no hillclimb racing in Oberhallau or anywhere else in Switzerland in 2020. Although the Federal Council is relaxing the [...]
Drivers, fans and officials will have to come to terms with the fact that there will be no hill climb in Oberhallau or anywhere else in Switzerland in 2020.
The Federal Council relaxes the measures against the spread of the coronavirus in a second step from May 11. However, events with more than 1000 people are still not allowed from then until the end of August. And much larger ones should not be allowed as long as there is no vaccine or medicine against Covid-19.
Flood of cancellations
As for all organizers of events of any kind, this also has consequences for Swiss motor racing. Thus, in the wake of the announcement of these restrictions, further races have been canceled.
The hill climbs of Ayent-Anzère, St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers, Châtel-St-Denis-Les Paccots and Oberhallau will not be held again until 2021.
Sascha Schlatter, club president of Bergrennen Oberhallau: "We don't want a ghost race. Without the fans in the village or in the Tarzan Curve, the unique atmosphere that makes our race so unique is missing."
Gurnigelrennen and Arosa Classic unrealistic
Like Les Paccots, the Gurnigel mountain race is not on the calendar until mid-September. But OC and club president Theo Bertschi does not consider its realization realistic, if only because of the planning uncertainty, even if relaxed measures would theoretically allow it.
Theo Bertschi: "I don't want to prejudge this decision. We will decide this next week in the board of directors. As I already stressed, we are taking absolutely no risks."
The conclusion is clear: there will be no hill climb and no Swiss hill climb championship in 2020.
And as far as the Arosa Classic Car at the beginning of September is concerned, there is also a great deal of skepticism in organizational circles as to whether it can be held for much longer.
Two anniversary races not until 2021
This can also be assumed with regard to the Swiss Slalom Championship. On May 1, as expected, the Ecurie du Nord announced the postponement of its 40th slalom, which was to take place at the end of June, to 2021.
Immediately following the latest decisions of the Federal Council on April 29, the organizer of Romont postponed the 50th staging of its slalom by one year. The two French organizers promise an even more beautiful anniversary.
Only two slaloms left
This leaves only the Drognens slalom in Romont from the end of September and the Ambri slalom in mid-October on the calendar. It is quite possible that these organizers will also pull the plug before they are required to do so by law due to the uncertain development of the health and economic situation throughout the country.
Also affected by the cancellation of the slaloms are the organizers of various one-make cups (Abarth, Porsche, Suzuki, Swiss Legends Cars), which will probably not be announced again until 2021. The mountain-heavy Renault Classic Cup is also affected.
Rallying and karting: wait and see
A big question mark must also be put behind the remaining rallies in neighboring France (Mont Blanc-Morzine) and Ticino (both in September) and Valais (October).
For karting, it depends on when and under what conditions the tracks in Wohlen, Lyss and Locarno will be opened for this purpose. Training sessions for individual athletes could be possible, but hardly any races.
The NSK must decide
Auto Sport Schweiz as the umbrella organization has indeed commented on the ongoing difficult situation and the associated problems in many areas in an interview with Director Patrick Falk. But not, what many active drivers, officials and fans are waiting for, about the consequences for the 2020 Swiss championships. Only the National Sports Commission can decide on that.
Due to the ban on meetings, there has been no NSK meeting for months, which will now probably happen in May in the form of a video conference. Without a race, the members have no choice but to declare the 2020 SM season over before it has begun. And at best to leave it to the individual organizers to carry out their race in the fall without predicates.
