Stéphane Ratel: “A plan in place to guarantee a 10-race championship”

Cancellation of the Monza round in GT World Challenge Europe, postponement of the Easter Cups in FFSAGT, SRO Motorsports unfortunately does not escape the coronavirus pandemic wave which is forcing organizers to reshape their calendars according to the decisions taken by governments to stem the spread of the virus.

But we cannot blame the entity for Stéphane Ratel its “preventive” action, without waiting for the situation to worsen. From the first noticeable effects of what was then called an epidemic, SRO Motorsports had put forward a plan B in the face of a possible cancellation of Monza, transforming the Barcelona Sprint final into a final Endurance in October, with Imola concluding the Sprint season at the beginning of November.

Faced with the latest developments, and the increasingly drastic measures announced around the world, the boss wishes to reassure the GT3 microcosm.

“We worked to anticipate everything as early as possible, explains Stéphane Ratel. This is why we announced that we had made arrangements in the event of Monza being cancelled. When this became the case, we put our plan into action.

Now we are providing for cancellations until June and we already have a plan in place to guarantee – to absolutely guarantee – that we will have a 10 round championship. This is what this exceptional grid fully deserves.

One option is to maintain the current schedule and run temporarily without spectators until it is safe to do so. However, as we have up to 2 people working at a normal Endurance event, this will adhere to any restrictions imposed by public authorities.

Another option is to set up a calendar with 10 events starting in June. In any case, our teams must know that their business is secure with a full schedule for the season.

Overall, the SRO policy is to follow the recommendations of the FIA. We will respect the instructions of public authorities and we will cancel events if drivers are not allowed to enter a country where the event is to take place.

We are working on contingency plans for Asia and America if all events are canceled through June. The same goes for the French and English championships. For now, we'll see how things play out. »