Japan test amid crisis 'very strange'

Tatiana Calderon

(GMM) Tatiana Calderon says it was "very strange" to travel to Japan amid the coronavirus crisis to test her new Super Formula car for 2020.

All around the world, the pandemic has brought sport and most other normal activities to a standstill.

But the Super Formula series pushed ahead with a pre-season test.

"It was completely crazy," Calderon, also an Alfa Romeo test driver, told Blick when asked about her trip from the coronavirus hotspot of Spain to Japan.

"The situation in Spain is tense, but my new team in Japan ensured that the test would take place," she told the Swiss newspaper.

"Fortunately, there was no quarantine for us like for Italians and the Chinese when entering Japan."

Continuing to describe the atmosphere at the Fuji track, she said of the test: "Very strange. Everyone wore masks. But I'm glad to have been able to get to know my new car, my new team and a new track.

"It was great to be able to be in the car again in this global crisis. Who knows how long this is going to last," Calderon said.

"The plane from Tokyo was organized by the Spanish embassy, and it was said to be the last for possibly a very long time. It was bizarre," she described.

"The huge airport was completely deserted. There were a maximum of 100 people on the plane, all spaced out and everyone wearing masks and gloves.

"It was very strange, almost scary. Thank god everything worked out.

"Madrid is a ghost town with no buses. My sister and I had to take two taxis from the airport because they can only take one person at a time. Crazy," she added.

Calderon had hoped to get some time at the wheel of the 2020 Alfa Romeo this year, but she admits that is "probably impossible" now.

"The main thing now is that all the teams survive this crisis as unscathed as possible," she said.