Are we entering a new era?
03/22/2020
We lived for over 2000 years with the "before Christ" and "after Christ" era. Then, for us classic car enthusiasts, there was still a clear difference between pre-war and post-war cars.
Will the era of "before Covid-19" and "after Covid-19" soon be ushered in? Will all cars from 1899 to 2019, from the Schnauferl to the Taycan, now be placed in the same category? Will the group of youngtimers be dropped for the moment and only reignite after years of "post-Covid-19"?
We do not know. But anything is possible now.
There have been car races since July 22, 1894. The journey from Paris to Rouen went down in history as the very first car race. Since then, there have only been major interruptions in motorsport due to the two world wars, which paralyzed life just as much as the virus has now. One Italian said on TV: "In war, you at least have the chance to defend yourself, but here and now you are pretty much powerless."
The world has come to a complete standstill and nobody knows for how long! Racing drivers, mechanics, journalists, photographers - they are all sitting somewhere at the moment, waiting patiently for the moment when life slowly and tenaciously returns to normal.
Yesterday, a certain Ayrton Senna would have celebrated his 60th birthday. He took the sun out of the sky with his death on May 1, 1994. The motorsport world stood still, but only for a brief moment. The show must go on.
The revolutionary Lotus 72 celebrated its 50th anniversary and on September 5, 1970, the Austrian Jochen Rindt had a fatal accident in Monza; in one of these Lotus 72s and very soon half a century ago. The whole of Austria mourned the loss of its great idol, the only posthumous world champion, and now they have to sit at home under curfew (in Tyrol) and ORF occasionally broadcasts old live broadcasts of historic F1 races for entertainment.
The Monaco GP is not taking place, who would have thought that. Not even the death of the Prince had the power to postpone the race for a whole year. The same applies to the Indy 500 pasta pot race, which has been taking place since 1911 and is always held on Memorial Day. The Indianapolis 500 has also been postponed until September.
When you look at the racing calendar from September onwards, it almost makes you sick. The total madness of today's fast-paced life is then supposed to just rattle on again as if nothing had happened at all. The whole year with all its championships is then to be made up in around four months. How is that supposed to work?
