It’s with a heavy heart I’ve finally relented to the crushing realities of SARS-CoV-2 and am updating the BTG blog accordingly. As a self-employed motorsports guy with 3 dependents, I have a very practical stake in the health of both the Nürburgring Nordschleife and its famous Touristenfahrten sessions. I have been dreading this post. But it’s time to face facts…
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OFFICIAL NÜRBURGRING STATEMENT:
All events, tourist drives and other driving courses cancelled until April 19.!
• This includes our formula courses, co-pilot rides and other offers.
• To be up to date, please can check the opening hours on our website.
• The basis for the decision is the ban on meetings in clubs, other sports and leisure facilities from the “general order to further contact-reducing measures due to the advent of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Rhineland-Palatinate”, by the District administration of Ahrweiler.
The official 2020 Nürburgring calendar of events is online here.
My personal view
There’s a public health crisis on the horizon, and its impact will be somewhere between huge and catastrophic. I’m not exaggerating; even if everybody went back to work on Monday with no further illness, the economic damage is already awful, and the human cost so far already dreadful. The stock market crashes alone will put 2020 in the history books.
We only have to look at China and Italy for proof of the magnitude of this disaster.
Plagues are bell curves, I learned that at age 13 in GCSE history, and I trust that it’s true. And at the peak of infection every single healthworker and hosptial bed might well be needed. In that situation, it seems selfish to keep ambulances and medical staff hanging around a racetrack while we choose to endanger ourselves.
In Germany both the federal and state government are swinging into action, and it was only a matter of time before the Nürburgring had to succumb to the inevitable. They tried to keep an air of normality last weekend, though attempts at keeping TF low-key *by gagging social media players) failed miserably. It actually felt a bit like Kar Freitag, super busy and very crowded both on track and off of it. With no football matches, no racing, no trackdays and nothing else to do, the one-way private-toll-road was busting at the seams.
Business wise, there’s not much I can do to earn money for the family right now. There’s no test driving, no racing, no taxis and no trackdays. So I’m driving from home:
2020 N24
This could be the start of something great. The more I think about, the more a September N24 makes sense. So I’ll let the Nürburgring themselves explain it:
BTG/Circuit Days Trackday April 8th/9th
We haven’t been personally contacted yet, let alone offered alternative dates. But we do have October 12th still booked and paid for, which should provide some overspill.
The moment we are contacted by the Nürburgring and have a plan, we will let everybody know their options!
JAGUAR RACE TAXI
So far we have postponed or rescheduled every booking for April to later in the year.
We are currently guided only by the official statements of the track owners and German government. They are planning on re-opening schools, shops and facilities on April 20th.
