Adria event delayed due to ongoing circuit works
The FIA World Touring Car Cup race meeting at Adria International Raceway, scheduled to take place on 31 July-1 August, has been postponed due to ongoing work at the circuit.
The Italian circuit had been due to host the 2020 WTCR finale, but was replaced by MotorLand Aragón due to the lengthy construction works. That work has been ongoing into 2021 but an inspection by the FIA revealed that the track extension and upgrade was not yet up to standard.
With more than two weeks required to complete the work, a joint decision was taken by promoter Eurosport Events and the circuit to postpone the event to a new date, which will be submitted to the FIA World Motor Sport Council once an appropriate date has been found.
Hungary will now host the next round of the season on 21-22 August.
“This is obviously not an easy decision to take as we recognise the disruption late changes to the calendar cause,” promoter François Ribeiro said, “but safety is always paramount and we simply could not risk the essential works running behind schedule and having to make a last-minute cancellation.
“Every effort is being made for the modifications to be completed as soon as possible for the necessary certification to be issued. This will enable all the pre-event preparations to continue and allow our stakeholders to prepare for WTCR Race of Italy with confidence.
“As a new addition to the WTCR calendar on a layout untried by all WTCR drivers in competition, racing at Adria is an intriguing prospect and we have no doubt the first WTCR Race of Italy will be a big success. For now, we can look back on three action-packed weekends in Germany, Portugal and Spain that produced six different winners from four different customer racing brands and six teams and look ahead with much excitement to WTCR Race of Hungary next month.”
Presently, there is a gap of nearly two months before the planned races in Hungary and Korea, although it remains to be seen whether the Asian leg of the season will take place due to ongoing restrictions in place thanks to COVID-19.
A decision on whether to push ahead is expected soon, with deadlines drawing closer for sea freight to carry cars and equipment from Europe. Should the Asian events be cancelled, then it is likely additional events will be scheduled on European soil, in a similar move to the one taken last year.
