BRASELTON, Ga. – Officials from Historic Sportscar Racing and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta have announced that the 43rd HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has been cancelled for 2020.
One of HSR’s blockbuster events, this year’s Mitty was scheduled to take place April 23-26 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Preliminary plans call for a shift of the 43rd running of the HSR Mitty to the same weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in April, 2021.
“We held out hope as long as we could, but this week’s national expansion of social distancing through the end of April, and the overriding need to join our colleague motorsports organizations around the world in the fight against the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, made cancellation the only real choice,” said HSR President David Hinton. “We want to thank Geoff Lee, his team at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and, of course, our HSR competitors and fans for their incredible cooperation and patience the last few weeks. These are unprecedented and trying times we are going through, but together we will indeed make it through it.”
HSR returns to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta later this year for the annual HSR Fall Historics. Originally on the calendar for Sept. 23-26, the HSR event is now moving to a to-be-determined date in the fall in support of a recent IMSA schedule change that moved Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s Motul Petit Le Mans back one week to a later October date. All of the schedule changes have been a result of across-the-board cooperation by motorsports governing bodies around the world in response to the novel coronavirus.
“The HSR Mitty has been a staple at Michelin Raceway for almost as long as the race track has been in existence, so the decision to cancel The Mitty this year was not taken lightly, said Lee, President of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. “However, with the current fight against the global pandemic that has left almost nothing, including the world of motorsports, untouched, there was no real choice but to prioritize the health and safety of all fans and competitors and cancel the event for 2020. We look forward to picking back up with The Mitty – an absolute fan favorite and enduring spring tradition – in 2021.”
Alternative 2020 dates were discussed at length for the 43rd HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, but part of the event’s strong following for more than 40 years has been its traditional Spring date in April.
“The HSR Mitty has practically become a motorsports rite of Spring,” Hinton said. “Holding the race any other time but in April just wouldn’t feel like the Mitty. We will be back stronger than ever in April, 2021.”