The eight best motorsport events of 2021

Motorsport series around the world responded brilliantly to the health crisis in 2020, showing characteristic resilience and an ability to adapt quickly to the challenges we all faced. That racing happened at all was a blessing and a welcome distraction, but in the majority of cases it all happened behind closed doors. TV coverage was a saviour, but for all of us it can never be the same as actually being there to see it all play out in the metal.

Now hopes are high that in 2021, perhaps even when the new season begins, fans will be allowed to return to spectator banks and grandstands, at least in some number. And when we can, there’s so much to look forward to. Here, we pick out some of the new additions and a few perennial favourites that will surely tempt race-goers to flock back – if and when they are allowed.

Goodwood’s illustrious trio

It would be remiss not to mention the trio of highlights from any British motorsport season. Key dates for your diaries are: the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard on 8^th-11^th July, the Goodwood Revival on 17^th-19^th September and, first up, the Goodwood Members’ Meeting on 15^th and 16^th May. The latter is much later than its usual curtain-raising spring slot, to give more time for restrictions to be lifted and allow spectators to return to the Motor Circuit. Five months from now, what will the world be like? Optimism beats pessimism any day of the week.

BTCC back with a bang

One man who would certainly agree with that sentiment is Alan Gow, the ringmaster of Britain’s premier racing series, the British Touring Car Championship. When we spoke to him back in December, the Australian refused to be downbeat about the new year – after the hardest season of his life.

“I’m very confident about next year,” he said. “Certainly by the first round at Easter” – 4^th April at Brands Hatch – “there will be spectators. The mood of the nation is lifting, particularly with the vaccine. There will be social distancing rules until the whole country is out of the woods. But I don’t have any concerns about that. As long as we can have spectators back, and teams can have their hospitality back, we’ll be fine.”

The BTCC is back to its best these days as a fresh generation of talent headed by Laser Tools’ new double champion Ash Sutton, Dynamics Honda’s Dan Cammish and rapid Scot Rory Butcher take on the establish stars headlined by four-time champion Colin Turkington. A nine-weekend season in just 16 weeks made for essential viewing on ITV4 last year, but everyone in the BTCC missed the buzz of the crowds. The series’ loyal followers will surely return in their droves if Gow’s optimism proves well placed.

W Series out of mothballs

Remember this? Unlike most international race series, the all-female W Series chose to freeze-frame in 2020 after its inaugural season the year before, in the hope it could hit the ground at full pelt for its sophomore season. It’s certainly set up to do so, following confirmation that W Series is moving up from its support slot to the DTM with an eight-round calendar of dates on the bill at Formula 1 grands prix.

The first round takes place at the French GP at the end of June, before W Series travels to Austria – and makes its Silverstone debut on 17^th July. Jamie Chadwick, the first W Series champion, has been confirmed to defend a title she won back in August 2019, and the 22-year-old – who is also racing in the new off-road electric Extreme E series – will be among those looking for some home support at the British GP.

The F1 deal means W Series is well placed to re-establish itself after its hiatus. The complaints about a series based around segregation haven’t disappeared completely, but speak to anyone who competes in the series and they tell you all they see is an opportunity to race – and earn decent prize money. Neither are points to be sniffed at.

Formula E returns to London

Sadly, the seventh season of Formula E has already suffered a setback because of the ongoing health crisis. The opening rounds in Santiago, Chile were due to run on 16^th and 17^th January, but have now been postponed. New dates after the February rounds due to take place in Saudi Arabia have yet to be confirmed – but how can they be with the coronavirus still at large? Everything at this early stage of the year must carry the caveat of a big TBC asterisk.

But by 24^th and 25^th July, when Formula E is due to return to race in London for the first time since 2016, there’s surely every reason to believe fans will be allowed to witness this new addition to the calendar first-hand. Races around a new track based in and around the ExCel complex in London’s docklands were due to run last year, until the pandemic forced an inevitable cancellation. This time, the London ePrix is scheduled to offer a double-header climax to Formula E’s first season as a bona fide FIA World Championship. That means more than usual will be at stake for the impressive roster of international star drivers and car makers who race in the all-electric series.

Sure, the London rounds will mark series departures for both Audi and BMW, who are quitting as works entities after 2021 – but strength in depth is not yet a problem for a form of motorsport that simply cannot be dismissed as a modern-age fad.

Rally GB saved – but is it really?

Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship was among the many cancellations in 2020, but somewhat against expectations the event has a date to return this year. Sadly, however, there has to be a big asterisk against the new summer slot of 19^th-22^nd August.

The problem is funding, Motorsport UK boss Hugh Chambers admitting when the 2021 WRC calendar was announced that he was “grateful” the event has been included, despite huge question marks remaining on how the event will be run – and where. The talk has all been about a move from Wales to Northern Ireland this year, but the politics and economics of a region committing to something as significant as a WRC round cannot be underestimated – especially at the moment. Nothing is certain as the WRC prepares for the Monte Carlo Rally season opener on 21^st-24^th January– if the traditional season opener itself is allowed to go ahead.

Zandvoort to make up for false start

One return that looks much more certain is the Dutch Grand Prix. Formula 1 was supposed to be heading back to Zandvoort last year, but the promoters were forced to keep their powder dry in the wake of the pandemic. Now the circuit in the sand dunes of the North Sea coast is scheduled for 5^th September – and for British fans chasing a slice of European action, it’s a race that should be a huge draw.

Even without the Max Verstappen factor, the Dutch love their motorsport and the atmosphere should be electric at a circuit that now features that intriguing final banked turn. Will it really help modern F1 cars overtake using a DRS-assisted slingshot on the run down to Tarzan? If the design works, Zandvoort could well be one of the highlights of the F1 season.

September. Nine months away. That’s an awful long time, given the state of the world right now. Let’s hope by then our current plight is nothing but an increasingly distant bad memory.

Goodwood images by Drew Gibson and Jayson Fong, other images courtesy of Motorsport Images.