Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Mugello, 2012

Moto GP cancels Mugello round as F1 eyes potential extra Italian race

2020 F1 season

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Moto GP has officially announced the cancellation of its race at the Mugello circuit, which has been tipped as a surprise addition to the F1 calendar.

The Tuscan venue was originally supposed to host Moto GP on May 31st. That was called off in April as the pandemic took hold, but the race remained on the series’ provisional calendar pending a new date. However the championship organisers today announced its Italian Grand Prix will not go ahead.

The development removes a potential obstacle to Formula 1 organising a race at the circuit in September. As RaceFans revealed on Monday, the championship has approached Ferrari about the possibility of holding a race at its track, which it has never previously raced at.

A race at Mugello in September would follow the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and allow Ferrari to mark their 1,000th appearance in a world championship race on home ground.

Mugello CEO Paolo Poli said the Moto GP race had been called off partly because it would not be possible to accommodate fans at the track. Formula 1 last week confirmed it will begin its season in July with a series of races in Europe, most if not all of which are expected to take place behind closed doors.

“Despite the communal effort made to find a practical solution, the impossibility of staging an event that is open to spectators, as well as the difficulties that have arisen from this exceptional situation, have not allowed us to find a new date for the Italian Grand Prix,” said Poli.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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9 comments on “Moto GP cancels Mugello round as F1 eyes potential extra Italian race”

  1. Mugello is generally packed with Rossi and Ducati fans so its quite reasonable in order to avoid chaos its better to cancel event.

  2. You get the feeling that if they do go all out to get Mugello to be Ferrari’s 1000th race, it’d be typical luck that at least one of the races between now and then will end up cancelled.

  3. If the race in Mugello actually does happen, Ferrari has an extra advantage. It’s their track, they can test the hell of the 2018 car with 2020 tyres and have al least some data on the tyres, other teams will have nothing till practice day. It will boost their chances for the win…untill they inevitably shoot themselves in the foot through bad strategy on race day…

    1. I think you’re thinking of Fiorano there bud.

    2. Wow, I must stand corrected! I never knew Ferrari owned Mugello too!

      I guess every day is a school day. :)

      As you were!

    3. @black @the-spuditron Yes, Ferrari owns the Mugello track, but the Fiorano one is what they use for the testing purpose since it’s literally within the factory-boundaries.

    4. @black no, Ferrari cannot test using 2020 tyres.

      The regulations explicitly state that if a team undertakes an event with one of their previous cars – in this case, the 2018 car – then that team has to use demo tyres that Pirelli manufactures solely for that purpose. It was introduced as a deliberate measure to prevent teams from gathering tyre data using older cars, so there would be nothing to gain for Ferrari.

      1. Still, the 2018 car (not that different from the 2020 one) and even with some demo tyres they can get a somewhat good picture of the set up of the car in this track, how much downforce to put on the wing, have the drivers do many laps to get used to the flow…things that every other team will have to find out come Friday practice if it’s dry. It’s small…but it is an advantage nonetheless.

        @jerejj I know about Fiorano, but since the own Mugello also why not use it to get some date on the exact track they’ll be racing? I’m sure they’ll find a way to lose the race even with that advantage :P

        1. @black I’d say the 2020 car is a significant departure from the 2018 car. The front wing regulations that came in for 2019 has changed fundamental handling and aero characteristics, and that is without considering Ferrari’s shift in design philosophy. I very much doubt Ferrari would gain anything that other teams won’t be able to during free practice. The only slight benefit might be for the drivers, as they can experiment with different lines and test kerbs etc. without other teams/drivers watching.

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