ACO Monitoring Coronavirus Situation “Closely”

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest is “confident” that this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will go ahead as planned in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship organizer released a statement on Thursday confirming its position on the onset of the Covid-19 strain, which has resulted in the postponement and cancelation of other sporting events.

It comes a day after IMSA said it would be “actively monitoring” the global situation.

The 88th edition of Le Mans is scheduled to take place on Jun. 13-14 while the publicly-accessible test day and scrutineering checks will take place on the two prior weekends.

Last Saturday, France banned indoor events of more than 5,000 people in its efforts to contain the virus, of which more than 200 cases have been recorded in the country.

“We are monitoring the coronavirus situation closely,” read the ACO’s statement.

“For the moment, we have not been notified of any requirement to postpone or cancel any of our sporting events scheduled in the coming weeks. Our event calendar remains unchanged.

“We are confident the 24 Hours of Le Mans will go ahead as planned on Jun. 13-14.”

The sanctioning body added that contingency plans will be put into place if coronavirus restrictions prevent its events from taking place on their original dates.

“Please note that our priority is to maintain our published schedule for 2020,” it said. “However, should it be necessary to do so, we will reschedule events later in the year.

“In the event of a cancelation, tickets will be refunded.”