March go-ahead for English motorsport
Club motorsport in England will be able to restart from the end of March, after the government outlined its planned roadmap for the easing of lockdown measures.
Since the turn of the year, only elite sport has been able to take place in the UK as a third national lockdown was implemented to combat a surge in coronavirus cases attributed to a new strain of the virus.
The ban on grassroots sport will continue until at least 29 March, and governing body Motorsport UK will not grant any event permits until after this date. March traditionally represents the start of the UK club racing season, and a number of events had been scheduled for next month.
The MG Car Club, British Automobile Racing Club and Classic Sports Car Club were the only organising clubs that had planned March circuit racing meetings, which will now not be able to run. The British Racing & Sports Car Club had already made the decision last month to cancel its two events scheduled over the 20-21 March weekend.
Motorsport UK CEO Hugh Chambers says the organisation is “extremely grateful” for the opportunity to restart non-elite motorsport from 29 March in England, and will give updates on events in the rest of the UK in due course.
“This will be very welcome news for our community, which extends from professional drivers and teams through to the grassroots of the sport, with tens of thousands of enthusiasts,” he said.
“Clearly, strict protocols still apply, as our sport needs to play its part in supporting the NHS and wider frontline community in keeping infection rates under control, and our restart guidance has enabled us to accomplish that objective on two previous occasions.
“I would like to thank the Motorsport UK community for their support during lockdown, and for their spirit and fortitude in keeping the sport together for when this announcement came. We now look forward to getting motorsport up and running at the end of March.”
The CSCC is “keeping our options open” about whether or not to reschedule its planned Snetterton opener. “For those of us who had booked to start early, we’re a bit gutted we’re going to miss an event,” said club director David Smitheram, who added it was good to have clarity over when racing can resume. “It’s always been a good meeting, and we already had about 300 entries, which was with over a month to go. It’s a bit of a blow but at least we know now.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that, if the vaccine programme continues successfully and there is not a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases, fans could begin returning to sporting events from 17 May. This date follows the first two British Touring Car Championship events, but is the week before the new British GT Championship opener.