Race boss thinks Italian GP ‘safe’

Angelo Sticchi Damiani should think – with no vaccine yet in place and those Italians packed tight in the grandstands, what could possibly go wrong?

(GMM) The president of Italy's automobile club is hopeful the race at Monza can go ahead in September.

The country is currently the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but Automobile Club d'Italia chief Angelo Sticchi Damiani has an upbeat outlook for racing fans.

"I think and hope that the Monza race is in a fairly safe period," he told Corriere dello Sport.

"We plan to start again with Azerbaijan in June, then there should be other races in the same month, then by July and August some of the five postponed races should be rescheduled.

"At the end of the month there will be Belgium and then us. In this situation, a race already with a date is less at risk than the postponed ones, because in those cases they need a date, the ability of the teams to travel, all the logistics.

"But for us there is a lot of optimism. We think Monza can take place normally and that indeed there can be a greater involvement by the public," Sticchi Damiani added.

"After the withdrawal crisis, there are people who will want to be there to feel the roar of the engines. I think Monza is a fairly achievable goal."