”It’s Scary” — Car World Faces Uncertain Future in Wake of COVID-19
Races, rallies and meets struggle to adapt to a new normal in the age of coronavirus.
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen | @zoomy575m
Happy Race Day, especially to illustrator Will Pierce for making dozens of his incredible drawings available for children to print out and color during home-stay.
You can find our Ask A Millennial! feature with Will from last July right here.
First and foremost, please stay safe and do everything you can to care for your loved ones and yourselves.
It goes without saying that the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic has caused incredible stress and strain on our lifestyle, economy and society.
Every car meet, gathering and especially motorsport for at least the next several months has been postponed or canceled. This is a huge blow to fans and the culture.
But the long-term effects will be much more far-reaching and devastating. Over the past week I’ve spoken with shows that are shutting down, photographers with canceled gigs and builders who suddenly find themselves with no clients.
For an industry built on in-person events, and having recently found a receptive and thriving audience with which to do so, it is nearly a death sentence.
“We spent the entire day canceling every aspect of the event including hotels, karting, restaurants, clubs,” said Aimee Shackleford, head of the GearOne Agency that runs the Fuel Run rally in Miami in late March each year.
She also called event sponsors and more than 50 participants to let them know the party was off. It’s the same story for races and meets all over the country, from small local gatherings to huge pro motorsports events that bring tens of millions in revenue to their local economies. The hit this causes will be astronomical, and it’s unclear exactly what conditions will exist, and who’s left standing, when it’s all over.
For now, we’ll continue to report on the fallout and efforts to rebuild.
“We are here on the sidelines every day seeing if we need to cancel events that are months away,” Shackleford said.
Culture
I contributed to this Edmunds.com article on how to properly clean your car to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Hope you find it helpful.
My research and book were cited in this Automotive Map article on millennial car culture. Nicely done piece that I think effectively highlights a lot of the differences and reasons behind them.
Coronavirus even got the Wienermobile canceled! Now it’s gone too far.
Autoweek suggests six racing games to help you stay sane under quarantine.
In the midst of all this, The Drive is looking for an eSports reporter. Get on that.
Is the Gran Turismo simulated FIAGTC series slowing down? It doesn’t appear so. They announced Mazda as an official partner in the 2020 Manufacturer Series.
When you put a bunch of college students in charge of a Porsche Boxster, they will turn it into a shooting brake. Tale as old as time.
Not all Coronas are bad. Here’s Murilee Martin from Autoweek with a great story and reminder of the Toyota legend.
I now long for large group meets. Trust In The Machine checks in with a beautiful tribute to Radwood Austin from a few weeks back.
You guys know how I feel about off-road Miatas (very pro!) but this one spotted near me is on another level.
Video Reel
The off-road game SnowRunner is preparing to launch on multiple consoles. Upgrade your vehicle to tackle Michigan, Alaska and Russia.
Friend of the newsletter Natasha Adams took her lifted Lexus LS to the desert and got a little more than she bargained for (listen for the scream). But the LS took it in stride and kept going because Toyota.
All-time NBA great Dirk Nowitzki had to call a former teammate for help when he took his minivan off-road and got stuck:
Your fire extinguisher going off… inside your car… in the middle of a race… while you’re being interviewed… is not ideal.
YouTuber Emelia Hartford tool delivery of her brand new C8 Corvette and immediately started making hilarious videos about it.
Race Results
If there was ever a time for online racing to gain traction as a real motorsport, it’s now.
Mass cancellations caused many drivers to immediately shift to virtual competition. Some are already well-known in the space, while others are looking to break in. Already, tons of events have popped up to fill the void left by IRL (in real life) racing.
On Sunday there were two main events:
The Race All-Star eSports Battle featuring F1’s Max Verstappen and Indycar’s Felix Rosenqvist taking on pro gamers;
And Not The Aus GP with Lando Norris, Esteban Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne racing celebrities and gamers, hosted by the Veloce Esports team.
Veloce was the big winner. The official stream totaled more than 2 million views. At one point #NotTheAusGP was the No. 4 top trend on Twitter and Norris’ livestream was the No. 1 viewed post on Twitch.
Whichever way you look at it, this is a massive opportunity for online racing. During the events on Sunday I held a live discussion with Q&A from motorsport journalists Jonno Nicholson, Hazel Southwell and Andrea Cairone. We talked about what lies ahead for the fledgling sport and whether it can continue to attract players and fans in any real number.
Nicholson pointed to the 50,000 live viewers during The Race event and big-name sponsorships as signs of growth to come. Southwell said that Veloce leaned into what makes esports different from real racing, which made it a better overall viewing experience. Cairone, despite genuine efforts, just couldn’t get into it.
Maybe some fans will immediately be on board and others, like Cairone, will be sent digging through the archives for old racing footage instead. I think esports teams will take those odds — it’s definitely true that younger fans are much more willing to watch gaming than older ones, which bodes well for the future.
We’ll have a lot more chances to watch online racing soon. Stay tuned to our Twitter for updates and schedules.
I really enjoyed doing the live discussion thread, too! Let me know if you’re down to join next time. What should our topics be?
Meanwhile, a recent online racing competition to join the official McLaren team drew more than 10 million viewers. The larger esports world is starting to take notice.
Indy racer Pippa Mann entertained fans by digitally signing any photo they sent her way. Great way to connect with the people in a time of uncertainty:
Circuit of the Americas in Texas laid off half its staff and canceled several events in response to the outbreak. Even in a global pandemic, this was an extreme measure.
Lewis Hamilton apparently used Google Maps for the first time?
What happens when you give bored F1 fans nothing to do for a weekend:
And Finally…
Friend of the newsletter Tony Scott suggested throwing a virtual car show on Twitter and immediately got 200 responses of owners’ vehicles. Car culture will never die!
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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