A few days ago, on October 2 to be precise, the registered participants of the Targa Florio Classic, which was due to take place from October 10 to 13, 2013, were informed by email that the event would not be taking place.
The explanation given was the ongoing financial crisis in Italy, which had also hit the car industry at its core. According to the letter, the company behind the event, which had organized races, classic car rallies and car events for 15 years, was forced to cancel an event for the first time in its history. The reason for this was insolvency, as hoped-for investors had backed out.
This is a hard blow for the registered participants, as not only do they have relatively little chance of recovering the participation fee of EUR 4850 (EUR 4350 for early bookers) from the bankruptcy office, they also face the prospect of having to pay back the money.They are also faced with a shambles, as there were only a few days left until the event and hotels, vehicle transfers and the like had certainly already been organized (and paid for).
Last but not least, it is also a hard blow for a traditional event and other organizers will also have to deal with participants who have become cautious and are not simply prepared to pay large sums in advance.