The opening rounds of the 2020 DTM calendar have been placed in jeopardy in the wake of government decisions in both Germany and Belgium to ban all mass gatherings in their respective countries until the end of August.
Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès and German chancellor Angela Merkel both announced on Wednesday that they would be taking these measures to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Norisring is currently slated to host the season opener on July 11-12. The circuit is located in the province of Bavaria, which has seen the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany.
The following round at Zolder, held on August 8-9, is now also a question mark. Formula One, DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship all have major events scheduled in Belgium, but no decision has been made on either of those. The SRO’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, which was due to be held mere weeks before the Zolder DTM round, has already been postponed.
If both the Norisring and Zolder rounds were not to take place, the DTM season would likely kick off at the Igora Drive facility in St. Petersburg, Russia on August 1-2. Brands Hatch would then host the second round on August 22-23.
