Organizers gave the decision thoughtful consideration but, in the end, the ‘no fans’ option seemed most sensible.
At first, it was NASCAR, then IndyCar, and a little later it was Formula 1. Now, the most famous endurance classic of them all–the 24 hours of Lemans, which is scheduled to be run on the weekend of September 19-20, won’t be run in front of spectators.
Most NASCAR races have been fan-less except for several that have been run with limited and managed attendance. Except for one recent race in Iowa, IndyCar hasn’t had fans in the stands. The Indianapolis 500, which will be run on August 15th this year instead of on Memorial Day weekend, won’t have spectators, either. And in Formula 1, no races have had fans in attendance so far in 2020.
So it’s no surprise that LeMans is following suit. Organizers had hoped for a different result, having moved the race from June to September. But as the event date drew closer, it was clear that the no-fans option needed to be implemented.
ACO President Pierre Fillon: The 88th 24-hours of Le Mans will go down in the annals of history as, sadly, the world’s greatest endurance race will be run this year with no spectators trackside.
Fillon explained. “Over the last few weeks, we have looked at many ways in which we could hold our event in September with fans present, albeit in limited numbers. However, given the constraints involved in organizing a festival-scale event over several days in the current situation, we have opted with the local government authorities to hold the race behind closed doors…. We know that our fans will be as disappointed as we are by this decision but, with public health in the balance, it wasn’t a difficult call to make. You don’t compromise where safety is concerned. Fans will not miss out altogether.”
Fillon added that all ticketed customers, campground reservations, and others involved would have their purchases refunded.
