German F1 Grand Prix to allow up to 20,000 fans

[September 21, 2020]    BERLIN (Reuters) - Next month's Eifel Grand Prix at Germany's Nuerburgring track can have as many as 20,000 fans in attendance, local authorities said on Monday, with the region's coronavirus infections under control.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate is escorted by police as he walks over Germany's Formula One racing track Nuerburgring, Germany June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

"The permission for 20,000 fans is within the decision of the state that allows up to 20 percent of stadium capacity for major sports events if infection figures are inconspicuous and the public infrastructure allows for social distancing rules to be met," Ahrweiler district council said.

Tickets for the Oct. 11 race went on sale shortly after the decision. The Nuerburgring can normally accommodate more than 100,000 spectators.

Germany reported 922 more positive coronavirus cases on Monday with the overall death toll at 9,386.

The old Nuerburgring was a famous pre-World War Two venue for grand prix racing and the remodelled circuit last featured in the Formula One world championship in 2013. The circuit sank into insolvency in 2012 and changed ownership in 2014.

Six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton has won six of nine races this season and is 55 points clear of second-placed Valtteri Bottas in the standings with eight rounds remaining,

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

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