Cyrille Taesch Wahlen: “Providing visibility to our teams”

Why announce the 2020-2021 calendar so early?

Despite the difficult times we are all going through and the uncertainty we are operating in, we felt it was important to inform our teams and drivers of our initial plans and provide them with visibility regarding the upcoming season.

The health and well-being of our team, our competitors, our fans and all members of our paddock remain our priority. Therefore, we will continue to monitor the situation very closely, so as to be ready to react quickly and put a plan B in place if the situation requires it.

This season will end earlier than usual, why?

There are several reasons. In addition to having to seriously take into consideration the current difficult climate, we had to consider a whole combination of shipping constraints, availability of tracks and this while avoiding date conflicts with other important events in the region. We also had to take Chinese New Year into consideration (12 February 2021. Editor's note), which does not allow us to organize a race during a large part of the month of February.

See as well : The Asian Le Mans Series unveils its 2020-2021 calendar

Finishing earlier will also allow teams to repatriate their equipment to their base by boat (more than by plane. Editor’s note) before the start of the European, American or Australian championships.

Why don't you go back to The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia?

The entire paddock appreciated our trip to Australia and the attractive challenge that The Bend Motorsport Park offered to the drivers. Unfortunately, given the current global situation and the economic consequences that it is expected to cause, combined with logistical and scheduling constraints, we have had to make the difficult decision not to return there during our 2020-2021 campaign. But we fully intend to return to Australia and The Bend Motorsport Park as soon as possible.

© DPPI / Clément Marin