The unofficial Round 1 (A.K.A. Round 2) of the Formula Drift Season will probably be in Atlanta Georgia.
Formula Drift themselves haven’t officially announced it but the City of Long Beach already made that decision for them. According to a press release the City of Long Beach dropped earlier yesterday (Mar. 12,2020) they are cancelling all upcoming events through the end of April, including Formula Drift from April 10-11 and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach the next week.
EVENTS CANCELLATION NOTICE: Long Beach cancels all large scale events through April 2020 to prevent the spread of #COVID19LongBeach. Cancellation will affect @GPLongBeach, @BeachStreets and others.
— City of Long Beach (@LongBeachCity) March 12, 2020
Get the full list of cancelled events here: https://t.co/0La0w51rIC pic.twitter.com/kKHNDXI90G
This doesn’t come as a surprise as California Governor Newsom ordered statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250 the day before. Newsom clarified that this wasn’t a light suggestion but is mandatory.
It’s noteworthy that Formula Drift also relies heavily on logistics from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. With the Grand prix cancelled, FD is gone, too.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd even if Gov. Newsom and the City of Long Beach somehow allowed Formula Drift to happen, like most events of this size, there are participants, suppliers, and fans coming from around the world from countries that outright ban travel outside of the country for the foreseeable future.
According to one Facebook thread on Maximum Driftcast, where I first saw this announcement, Italian Pro Drifting Driver Federico Sceriffo can’t even come over if he wanted to.
As per someone who spoke to Federico relayed,
“…even if he flew out yesterday he would of been quarantined for 14 days since he is from Northern Italy. His town is on lockdown; Fede and Simona are safe and taking all necessary precautions.”
Those that purchased tickets can fully expect to get a 100 percent refund from Formula Drift when an official announcement is made. But I wouldn’t take my word for it as it explicitly states on their website that “All Sales are final. No refunds.” So, it’s within Formula Drift’s right to not give you any monies back. (although, that’d totally be not the right move.)
Noteworthy to teams is that now everyone has more than enough time to prepare for the next round in, as mentioned, Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s a bad situation for everyone, no need to mention that. Many Formula Drift drivers depend on these events to show off their sponsors, to keep their skills sharp, and to have some one-on-one time with fans. For a handful of drivers, this is their fulltime profession, driving.
If you support Formula Drift as a sport, consider spending a portion of the money you budgeted for this event, if you planned to go,and buy some merch from your favorite driver and/or their sponsors. At the very least, show them some love on social media.
Together, we’ll all get through this.
