Spa 6H set to be held behind closed doors

The Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the prospective next round in the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship, looks set to be run behind closed doors according to series CEO Gerard Neveu.

The Belgian round of the championship had previously been postponed from its original April slot to a revised date in August, two weeks ahead of Formula One’s Belgian Grand Prix.

The Belgian government gave the green light for the Grand Prix to be held behind closed doors on Friday, and Neveu told Sportscar365 that he is aiming for the same prospect for the WEC round.

“We have two big meetings in the summer: for the ELMS this is in July at Paul Ricard and for WEC [it’s] at Spa in the middle of August,” he said. “For all these events, in the summer, the plan is to do [them] behind closed doors at this moment because we have no other option.

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“We are working very strongly in the process to apply these behind closed doors. We will make a final announcement in early June.”

“We have to wait to know if there is not a second wave [of coronavirus cases]. If not, all the governments will be more flexible including the borders and customs in Europe.”

The race at Spa had previously been in jeopardy after the Belgian government announced a ban on mass gatherings through August, but it appears as though the event will now go unaffected. Neveu, who is also responsible for the European Le Mans Series, does express concern over the ELMS’ round at Paul Ricard.

“If there is any change, the most concern we can have is about Paul Ricard,” Neveu continued. “It looks like by August, in Spa, everything is perfectly aligned.

“Formula 1 confirmed this morning that they will do the Grand Prix at the start of August behind closed doors, and we are in exactly the same situation two weeks before.

“Regarding Paul Ricard in July, that’s the one where we have to be careful because we have to make sure that the Italian, German, English teams and so on can cross the border and join.”