Just like every other global sport, Motorsports has been shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in the last month, we've seen the gradual return of our favorite racing teams and drivers.
Formula 1, NASCAR, and Vintage Motorsport events are tip-toeing back onto the tracks we know and love, following as many safety regulations and guidelines as possible.
Formula 1
With an extremely tight schedule, the Formula 1 2020 season finally began on July 3rd with a double header two weeks at Austria's Red Bull Ring, an unusual but not unprecedented situation. Despite being on the same track, bursts of rain during the second week's qualifying kept things dynamic and exciting for fans watching from home.
Like all sporting events attempting to run during the pandemic, drivers, pit crews, and crew all follow strict mask-wearing guidelines. Most teams even spent the extra dollar to get color-coordinated masks; after all, what's another hundred on Ferrari's $463 million budget?
Stands at both the Austrian and Hungarian tracks were empty, and even the on-hand staff, which typically flood the starting grid during pre-race, seemed to be running a skeleton crew.
As an attempt to keep fans interested in the sport without fans being present, Formula 1 has taken to Twitter with their first ever virtual 'Fan Stand'. While some sports like Baseball and Basketball tried cardboard cutouts and mannequins to bolster the empty stands, Sky Sports featured tweets of support and clips of fans cheering on their favorite drivers from a big screen looking over the track at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Formula 1 boss Ross Brawn said shortly after the Styrian Grand Prix that "There will be positive tests, I'm sure of it," and he was right. They saw their first two positive tests on July 17th, but took quick action to "remove from operations and isolate" these individuals. You can read all about the precautions and rules Formula 1 are now operating under in 5 Steps F1 is taking to ensure racing is safe.
NASCAR
NASCAR has been running pretty consistently through the pandemic, taking a hiatus due to Covid-19 beginning in March. The sport returned to an empty track on May 17th at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
Like Formula 1, they are taking precautions like fever-checking and wearing protective gear. They will also be staying within driving distance of South Carolina headquarters, meaning no hotels or plane tickets need to be purchased.
Even with all the precautions taken, Driver Jimmie Johnson tested positive for Covid-19 on July 3rd, and had to miss the Brickyard 500. In the last week, both Team Peske and Stewart-Haas both had positive cases.
It's difficult to say whether these positive results are due to their regulations or the fact that NASCAR is centered in the United States, where the virus is still rampant and spreading faster than ever. Regardless, if they don't take the problem as seriously as possible, they could see another, months-long break from the sport.
Vintage Motorsports and Racing Schools
Vintage Motorsports has never had the same trouble with big crowds and packed raceways that big events like NASCAR and Formula 1 have. Nevertheless, they have also been halted by the Coronavirus, and racing only recently returned to Sonoma Raceway at Sear's Point on July 10th for the CSRG David Love Vintage Race.
What Vintage events lack in fan density, they make up for in high-risk demographics. Older cars typically draw older generations of fans and drivers, and it is not uncommon to find that nearly one third of the paddock is 50 years and older. They may still drive like they're 25, but they don't carry the same immune system.
Despite the risk, track staff were happy to get work. Speaking with one of the raceway employees, he says it was great timing; with events returning to the raceway, he went from not working at all to working 24 hour weekends. Even so, he was happy to be there, if only to see these old shoe boxes zip around the track.
When all is said and done, however, the racing is still about the people. The full day of racing was fun, but this weekend event was all about reconnecting and catching up. The pandemic turned the whole world upside down, and everyone needed to check in and see how people were feeling, coping, and surviving.
"At least you don't have to wear a mask when you wear the helmet," one driver told me. Even with the masks, the smells of old motors and sounds of the racetrack helped me forget about the pandemic, if only for a time.
You can read more about this CSRG event from Z-Car-Blog's Race Report: David Love Vintage Races.
The Future of Covid-19 Motorsports
Luckily for Motorsports of all kinds, racing is uniquely suited for the Coivd-19 era. Unlike most sports, where athletes are in close contact with each other for hours on end, racecar drivers are separated from each other by their vehicles, and pit crews tend to already wear helmets that accomplish the same purpose.
NASCAR president Steve Phelps told the Washington Post that drivers and staff already wear protective gear like helmets, head socks, and gloves. In this way, they are ahead of the game.
If Motorsports continue to keep their staff, drivers, and crew safe, we could see Motorsports succeed where other sports have failed. F1's first event of the season landed a record 752,000 viewers on ESPN, showing that fans are more interested than ever in watching Formula 1. While the stands may remain empty, the racing fanbases will continue to grow.
For more articles and fiction, go to My Scribbles. Originally published on Medium.
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