2021 WSBK Round At Misano Will Actually Have Spectators

The Misano leg of the World Superbike (WSBK) championship authorized up to 5,007 daily admissions. Tickets for each of the days were made available to the public, albeit with limited capacities in play. 

For the third stage of the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, spectators could experience the action in person and on one of the event’s most-loved circuits. Health and safety protocols were strictly followed during the weekend, and the race organizers have cleared up the parameters with the Italian government to return to certain normalcy in the world of motorsport. 

Albeit in limited numbers, the President of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, stated that admitting several spectators for the WSBK round was excellent news, encouraging future organizers to follow suit after the dramatic happenings brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, health and safety were an utmost priority for the president. 

Giovanni Copioli, president of the Italian Motorcycle Federation (FMI), also expressed that the FMI worked with other institutions and the circuit to send a powerful message of recovery, not just for two-wheeled motorsports, but for all motorsports in general. 

As for health and safety protocols, there are certain checks that are needed before spectators can, well, spectate the event in person. 

• Certification of Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, valid fifteen days after the first dose
• Certification of Recovery, valid if the patient recovered six months prior to the event 
• Negative Rapid Antigen test results for SARS-CoV-2 virus, valid within 48 hours 

It’s a sign of progress amidst a pandemic, and health and safety protocols have developed more compared to last year. If Misano is one of the first motorsports events to accommodate spectators, then it could be likely that another leg or event could follow and open admissions to the public once again. That remains to be seen however since other countries appear to still be struggling to pin down the COVID-19 pandemic like in Sepang, Malaysia for MotoGP.