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Coronavirus – B. Nogier (Renault Sport Racing): “Worried for our teams”

The Commercial Director of Renault Sport Racing, Benoît Nogier, does not hide his concern about the financial health of the teams present in Formula Renault Eurocup in the event of a prolongation of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Published on 17/03/2020 à 14:57

Medhi Casaurang

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Coronavirus – B. Nogier (Renault Sport Racing): “Worried for our teams”

Like other disciplines, we imagine that Formula Renault Eurocup is impacted by all these postponements…
Of course. We managed to do the first two days of testing in Valencia, which is already good news. But the first race of the season scheduled for Monza (Italy) was moved to Hockenheim (Germany) in October. The real question is when racing will be able to resume.

 

Because the more events we cancel, the more complicated it will be financially for everyone. If Silverstone (Great Britain) does not take place at the beginning of May, we already have ideas for postponement. But if we had to cancel the entire first part of the season, that would be problematic.

But we're not there. We try to be as responsive as possible, because the circuits are already very busy. We really want to maintain the 10 events in the program. The problem is likely to intensify as postponements continue.

Can you quantify the potential losses?
It is still too early to estimate it, but we are working on it. It's the same for everyone. If we were to cancel races, drivers would only pay three-quarters of their season, and teams would only get 75% of their income for this year. So the shortfall would be significant for everyone.

 

As a promoter linked to a large automobile group, we have stronger kidneys and we will try to support our teams in these difficult times. This is the advantage we have over more independent promoters. But he can have very serious economic consequences. Customer competition in general is linked to companies and sponsors, so at some point some will stop donating if the races do not take place…

Are you worried ?
I am very, very worried about our teams especially. The financial situation is difficult and many teams, especially small structures, will have difficulty absorbing all this. Everything is under control for the moment, but if in July-August, we haven't driven yet, we will really have to worry.
 

Medhi Casaurang

Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!

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