This year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place behind closed doors due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.
Last month ticket sales for the event were suspended as organisers at the time looked to reduce crowd numbers.
France has experienced an upturn in COVID-19 cases since mid-July with nearly 9500 reported in the last week.
“The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans will go down in the annals of history as, sadly, the world’s greatest endurance race will be run this year with no spectators trackside,” explained Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club l’Ouest.
“Over the last few weeks, we have looked at many ways in which we could hold our event in September with fans present, albeit in limited numbers.
“However, given the constraints involved in organising a festival-scale event over several days in the current situation, we have opted with the local government authorities to hold the race behind closed doors.
“There were still too many question marks regarding health and safety. We know that our fans will be as disappointed as we are by this decision but, with public health in the balance, it really wasn’t a difficult call to make.
“You don’t compromise where safety is concerned.”
Traditionally scheduled to take place in July, this year’s race will be held across the September 19-20 weekend.
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