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The Long Beach IndyCar race – scheduled as round three of the 2020 season on the weekend of April 17-19 – has been called off amid the coronavirus situation.
The event organisers announced the decision shortly after Long Beach city authorities declared that any events with an estimated attendance of 250 people or higher were prohibited until at least the end of April.
There have so far been four confirmed cases of coronavirus in Long Beach.
The statement from the Grand Prix of Long Beach said: “In light of today’s announcement from the City of Long Beach prohibiting all large-scale events in the City through April 30, 2020, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will not take place as scheduled on April 17-19.
“While we recognise that this is a serious inconvenience for our loyal attendees, sponsors and other clients, nevertheless, this action is consistent with our primary objective of assuring the public’s safety and well-being at our event.”
IndyCar is currently pressing ahead with its season-opener in St Petersburg this weekend, but has announced that the event will be closed to spectators and all but essential personnel.
It is also condensing IndyCar Series on-track sessions into just Saturday and Sunday.
There is currently no news on whether round two at Barber Motorsports Park on the first weekend of April will take place.
The Long Beach organisers added that they would ideally like their event to take place at a later date, but accepted this may not be possible.
“We are in conversation with the City of Long Beach, various race sanctioning bodies and the Long Beach Convention Center to discuss the viability of rescheduling this event at a later time in the year,” the statement continued.
“If that is not possible, then we look forward to presenting the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16-18, 2021. Further details about possible refunds or credits will be forthcoming.”
