I hate writing during times like these. I’m a Motorsport writer at my heart, but I’m not immune to the outside world and its impact. Two global conflicts, an election next week where a bottle of ranch dressing in fake tan has a reasonable chance to become President again, a government at home that feels a lot like the last one… I could go on.
Of course, one of the week’s biggest stories was the awful weather depression that hit Valencia and Eastern Spain. In some places, a year’s worth of rain fell in just a few hours. The videos shared on social media have been horrific and maybe the most startling, in-your-face indication yet of what climate change is doing to our world. 158 people have passed since, and sadly, there’ll likely be more.
On a smaller scale, I feel like we as a collective industry have failed when it comes to talking about the potential impact of climate change (and the politics that go with it) and what it could do to Motorsport. I know Sky Sports has led the charge with Cricket when it comes to the construction of bats, rising sea levels, and the nature of an outdoor sport being affected by rain. In Motorsport’s case, I fear it’ll likely be more events being called off by extreme weather and infrastructure damage that’ll raise the headlines like this week has.
The logistics around what happens next are brutal for everyone involved. I’d be shocked if Valencia goes ahead at this point. It’s a similar situation to what happened with F1 when the Emilia-Romagna region had similar horrendous flooding last spring. In both instances, running a Grand Prix would take away a huge amount of resources that could be better served in terms of a relief effort in the area.
The emergency services and a helicopter on site in case the worst happens across a race weekend, the amount of police and security, etc. Valencia’s the final round of the Championship in the sports home country, with 80-100,000 expected on Saturday and Sunday. And I’ve not even mentioned the damaged access roads to get to the circuit that has taken severe damage. It’s what has led to Formula E cancelling its pre-season test yesterday that was due next weekend, moving it to Jarama in Madrid instead.
MotoGP has said they’re committed to running the decider in Valencia for now, but it’s not their decision to make. You can’t jump the gun and call a race off early via Force Majeure (An Act of God), with all their commitments contractually. That boils down to the local government and right now, that shit is the complete opposite of a priority with power outages, hundreds of people still missing, the damage to the region’s infrastructure and transit and the potential threat of more rain coming over the weekend. Right now, there are far more important issues to deal with.
The alternatives? Difficult. Every option is a logistical nightmare. Sepang likely can’t double up with other bookings already in place for the track, and not having enough Michelin tyres to supply two weekends. And with the Red Sea still a no-go due to conflict in the Middle East, you need more time to start shipping more equipment over, such as tyres and fuel. Qatar and Portimao have been hinted at as the main alternatives, but having a free weekend, making sure you’re not loud enough to piss off the locals, organising marshals and volunteers on extremely short notice and dealing with potential ticket sales to fans are incredibly challenging elements that come with putting an event together.
It’s another bit of frustration for them, and the broadcasters too, who were sold a 22-race season that may only end up with 19 by the time we get to Christmas. Kazakhstan got cancelled due to lack of homologation, India got moved over promotional headaches, and now a title decider hangs in the balance with a likely rescheduling imminent. I hate to be cynical and talk about the money, but it’s what makes the sport go around.
I don’t envy the riders either. We’re in an incredibly tense Championship battle in Sepang right now, with Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin separated by just 17 points. It would be horrible for them to be racing tomorrow and Sunday not knowing if it’s the final round of the Championship or not, and the obvious mental challenges that come with affecting how you race.
The riders have handled this difficult situation with empathy and grace. Jorge Martin was the first to mention the difficulty of racing in Valencia, even if the track was good to go, and wondering if it was right to do with such a tragic loss of life. Marc Marquez mentioned the selfishness of putting on a race when a huge amount of people in Valencia don’t have a home to go back to. Pecco Bagania went one further and said he didn’t feel comfortable racing there at all, even if it cost him the Championship and threatened a boycott.
It’s always come from a good place with Pecco, Dennis Noyes mentioned on Twitter that he asked for Mugello 2021 to be cancelled when Jason Dupasquirer passed away during the weekend. We’re very fortunate the sport has grown up a bit from years past and we have some genuinely admirable people in the public eye who are thinking of the bigger picture. I wish many more of us in this community did the same.
I get it, the show must go on, we’re in the entertainment business as much as some don’t want to admit it. The minds of many aren’t in Sepang, they’re in Valencia. There are a lot of good people directly involved at the heart of this. I sincerely hope we can come up with a viable solution that can help out as many of them as possible.
Aspar’s launched a fundraising campaign to help the victims of the depression, if you can, please donate here. Thank you.
