The 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans postponed to the weekend of September 19-20

In a press release published on Monday March 16, ACO President Pierre Fillon (who has since reacted here) stated: “A decision will be made by April 15. We are carefully following the evolution of the various directives from the authorities. In all cases, we are confident, we will organize the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2020. »

Yes, but maybe not in June. Indeed, according to our information, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest did not ultimately wait until April 15 to decide and would have already made the decision to postpone its flagship event due to the pandemic induced by the Coronavirus which is currently affecting most of the world.

If nothing has been officially announced yet, we are heading towards a race on the weekend of September 19-20, just two weeks after the 24 Heures Moto. There is, therefore, a strong chance that the schedule will be completely overhauled, perhaps with the elimination of the Test Day, which traditionally takes place a week before the weigh-in.

This should not be without impact on the 2020 ELMS season (the 4 Hours of Silverstone are scheduled for September 5 and the 4 Hours of Spa on September 20) and even more on the 2020-2021 WEC campaign (supposed to starting on September 4 at Silverstone), the calendar of which should be completely or partially remodeled.

This is not the first time in history that the Sarthe double clock does not take place in June. Due to the events of May 68, the 36th edition was postponed to the weekend of September 28-29. As a reminder, victory went to the Ford GT40 Mk.I of Lucien Bianchi-Pedro Rodríguez fielded by John Wyer.

And if fortunately this time there is no question of outright suppression, let us remember that since its creation in 1923, the Le Mans classic has been canceled ten times. In 1936 due to the strike that hit the automobile industry, then from 1940 to 1948 due to the Second World War.