Coronavirus – The first two NES (ex-VLN) races canceled

The famous Nordschleife track will be able to live peacefully over the coming weekends. Indeed, the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NES), new name of the VLN championship, only contested on the German track, canceled its first two races, initially scheduled for March 21 and April 4.

This measure follows the Rhineland state directive banning any concentration of more than 75 people from Monday March 16 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Plusieurs équipes de pointe n’avaient pas attendu cette annonce pour retirer leur engagement. Ainsi, Manthey-Racing a ramené sa Porsche 911 GT3 vert pétante au garage, tandis que les deux Porsche de la formation hong-kongaise KCMG.

Due to the current situation around the topic coronavirus we have decided not to participate in the test and set-up drives of the @vln_de with our #Porsche #911GT3R, the starting number 911 #Grello pic.twitter.com/V6SdOeV6bD

— Manthey-Racing (@manthey_racing) March 13, 2020

“After careful monitoring of the situation over the last 48 hours, it has been decided that the health and safety of all drivers and team members is of the highest priority, particularly with the unpredictable developments of the coronavirus in Europe and the rest of the world, explains the owner of KCMG, Paul Ip.

Unfortunately, this left us with no choice but to postpone our participation in the NES until the situation became clearer. When it comes to the safety of our drivers and team members, KCMG will not take any risks. We look forward to resuming racing activities as soon as possible. »

The Nürburgring Endurance Series season will therefore not begin before April 18. The 24 Hours of the Nürburgring remain scheduled for May 21 to 24.