Green light given for racing on city streets
Big Harry to talk about career
COVENTRY will be the first place in the UK to host competitive motorsport in its city centre for almost 30 years, it has been revealed.
Motofest Coventry will be held on June 2 and June 3 this year, and the event has been granted a motorsport licence to allow drivers to race against the clock during time trials on the city’s roads.
The decision of the Motor Sport Association also clears the way for Motofest Coventry to host sprints and specialist road rally stages at the festival in the future.
A series of time trial events, drawn from the British Automobile Racing Club’s (BARC) various championship series, will be hosted on roads in Coventry city centre during Motofest.
The unique city centre sprint circuit will be carved out of Coventry’s ring road.
It will be the first time competitive motorsport has been hosted on a UK city centre circuit since the Birmingham Superprix in 1990, after the Motor Sport Association’s (MSA) agreed to issue a licence for the Motofest Coventry 2018 event.
Motofest Coventry has been working closely with the MSA and Coventry City Council to host a competition event since April 2017 when the MSA, and its sister governing body for two-wheel UK motorsport, the AutoCycle Union (ACU), were made the authorising bodies for closed road motorsport events.
James Noble, Motofest Coventry festival director, said: “Motofest Coventry is very excited and proud to be at the forefront of bringing competitive motorsport back to UK city centre roads.
“We have made no secret of our desire to host competitive motorsport on the Coventry Ring Road COVENTRY City will play host to Harry Redknapp at the latest of the club’s “an evening with” events.
It will be held on Thursday, March 22 at the Ricoh Arena.
Places are available to book for £55, or a VIP Package is available for £80.
Redknapp will be the guest in the Premium Lounge at the Ricoh Arena where he will speak about his career as a player at the likes of West Ham and Bournemouth – before going on to manage Bournemouth, West Ham, Southampton, Portsmouth, Tottenham and most recently Birmingham City.
Details on the club web- and we are now in a position to make this a reality.
“The Motofest Coventry team would like to thank the MSA, Coventry City Council and the BARC for all their support and assistance in enabling us to bring competitive motorsports to Coventry, the UK’s spiritual home of motoring.
“After Coventry’s recent winning of City of Culture status, being the first to host competitive motorsport since the legislation changes is another superb achievement for the city.
“We look forward to putting on a great show filled with the thrills and excitement you would expect of the UK’s largest free urban motorsport festival.”
Since 2010 the MSA has called for a change in the law to allow local authorities to suspend the Road Traffic Act for authorised motorsport events, without requiring individual Acts of Parliament.
Primary legislation providing the framework for closed-road motorsport site read: “Both packages include three course dining, while the VIP package includes a complimentary drink on arrival and access to an exclusive area prior to the event where guests can meet and mingle with Harry and have a photo with him.
“CCFC Season Ticket holders who book a standard package in the first 2 weeks of sale will be entered into a draw for 2 VIP packages for the event. Meanwhile, all CCFC Season Ticket holders will be entered into a draw for 2 free standard packages for the evening.”
It adds: “As a speaker, Redknapp is passionate and enthusiastic, and his vast experience as both a was passed in the 2015 Deregulation Act and since then the MSA has worked closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) on the secondary legislation required to make this framework available to event organisers. This comprises an impact assessment with the commencement order.
The commencement order names the MSA and its sister governing body for two-wheel UK motorsport, the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), as the two authorising bodies for closed-road motorsport events from April 10, 2017 and onward.
Motofest Coventry is a two-day festival dedicated to the city’s motoring heritage, which this year takes place on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3.
There will be a range of automotive activities taking place from pop-up and demonstration events to static displays and fringe events at Motofest Coventry, now the largest free urban motorsport festival in the UK. player and sports speaker have provided him with an in-depth knowledge of football, tactics and teamwork – all of which compliment his work as a manager. His insight into life both on and off the pitch is incredibly enlightening, whilst, thanks to the peaks and troughs of his long-standing career, Harry speaks openly about adversity, determination and ambition as a man who has faced and experienced both.”
book a place, call Coventry City on 024 7699 1987 (Option 2) or book online at eticketing.co.uk/ CCFC from 10am on Monday.All bookings are subject to a £1 booking fee per ticket plus postage.