Motorsport’s Lost Season

They say every day is a gift, but 2020 has been the gift that nobody wanted. The global response to Covid-19 has triggered changes akin to a dystopian novel, and the lives of many people have changed beyond comprehension. Somewhere way down the list of misery is the impact on motorsport, but I won’t apologise for writing about what is essentially a first-world problem.

When times are bad many people seek solace in their hobbies, but these distractions have been largely unavailable this year. Football fans have been unable to congregate in crowds and experience the emotional rewards of cheering on their chosen tribe. In addition to the gates of the football grounds remaining locked, the fans can’t decamp to the pub as consolation, as packed bars with large screen televisions are also off limits. It’s the same for the rugby fans and those who choose to while-away the afternoons watching cricket. Those who choose to play such sports themselves (and there is a large overlap of players and spectators) have also been restricted.

The Covid regulations in the UK have somewhat counterintuitively prevented impromptu games in the park with only organised team sports being allowed to proceed, subject to various measures. Amateur footballers haven’t been allowed to meet for a Sunday kickabout, but have been able to play as part of an organised league. I’m not sure why one game is perceived to be safe while the other is deemed to be mortally dangerous. I couldn’t care less about football or cricket but it was nice to walk past a Saturday morning game the other day. A brief reminder of what normal life was like. A few minutes after writing this paragraph a stricter month-long lockdown was announced so it won’t happen again for a while.

The impact on club motorsport has been especially severe. Unlike many other amateur sports, the financial commitments necessary to organise events are often substantial, so when faced with the uncertainty of the coming year most events planned for the first half of 2020 were cancelled early on. The costs of venue and equipment hire are incompatible with a landscape of rapidly changing laws and the various local, regional and national lockdowns. After the initial total lockdown was partially lifted, a few organisers found they were lucky to have events already scheduled which happened to fall at the right moment.

This year, I managed one hillclimb at Shelsley Walsh, a venue that is owned by the organising club, and a couple of single venue stage rallies where the respective clubs took the risk of cancellation. Due to the roaming nature of historic regularity events, the Historic Rally Car Register’s regularity championship was pulled as the various clubs were forced to cancel their events. Nobody can confidently plan a 120 mile road route with multiple private test venues and stops for coffee, lunch and dinner just at the moment. Even if you could secure the venues and take the financial risk, who knows if marshals and competitors would be able to travel on the day. As such, my historic car hasn’t turned a wheel in competition this year. My stage rally car has been used sparingly, but all the time it sits idle the date stamps on the seats, extinguishers and harnesses get closer to expiry with no use having come of them. First-world problems in the context of a global pandemic, I know, but disappointing nonetheless.

The diary for 2021 is currently empty and clubs will be nervous about committing to dates at this stage. The new November lockdown just decreased the chances of things returning to normal by early spring. This will be the first time in 20 years that I won’t renew my rally licence in time for the coming January. I’ll make do with the lowest level of clubman licence until further notice which will allow me to do some autotests and autosolos, probably the only events that are even potentially possible in the foreseeable future. If I can salvage anything positive from this ongoing fiasco, the money saved from 2020 will allow me to freshen up the historic car this winter. I’m just unsure what it’s being freshened up for. At some point I have to assume we’ll all get back to normal and motorsport will be a good canary in the coalmine for the general state of things, or to be more accurate a reverse-canary. Events will only start being planned again in earnest if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

In order to keep the gloom at bay, I recently found myself looking back at some old photographs and stumbled upon some shots I took of the LeJog long distance reliability trial in December 2018. It’s an event I’ve navigated on three times previously but two years ago I was content to lurk by a large puddle not far from home and watch the crews go by. I wouldn’t be so content now, I’d take any chance to get back out in competition. I didn’t publish the photos at the time because they’re far from technically perfect but now seems as good as any. Enjoy them as a reminder of what we’ve been missing and what we hope will come again. 2020 can get bent.