2021 North West 200 cancelled

The 2021 North West 200 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coleraine and District Motor Club Ltd announced the cancellation of the races, which were due to be held on 11-15 May, for the second year in a row. It joins the Isle of Man TT in being the second major international road race to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

The 2022 North West 200 is currently scheduled for 8-14 May.

“The official advice from government and public health officials has made it clear the effects of Coronavirus will remain with us for some considerable time to come, despite the roll out of the vaccination programme. In those circumstances, and after much consideration, the Club committee feels it would be impossible to run this year’s event,” read a statement from the Coleraine and District Motor Club.

“A contingency plan that involved delaying race week from May until August has been given full consideration. However, with so much time, expense and personnel involved in the planning and preparation of the NW200, the risk in pursuing such a plan is too great because of continued uncertainty around both the effects of the virus on our community and the extent of the restrictions aimed at suppressing it.

“The Coleraine Club’s main priority must be to ensure the safety and wellbeing of not only those involved in the event, but also the residents of the north coast area and further afield. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the organisers to limit the number of people who travel to the area during race week which, in turn, could pose a significant risk to the local population. That is a situation that cannot be contemplated.

“Although extremely disappointing, the decision to cancel the NW200 for the second year in a row is the only responsible course of action the Coleraine Club can take. We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of our loyal sponsors, officials and volunteers for their understanding and support.

“We also apologise for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation and hope that this timely intervention can assist the teams and competitors who would normally take part in to our event in making alternative plans.

“The Coleraine and District Motor Club would also like to thank everyone who has supported us by retaining their bookings through this difficult period. Our reservations team will be in contact in the coming weeks as we now look forward to 2022 when a provisional date of May 8-14 has been allocated for what we hope will be the return of race week at Ireland’s largest motorcycle sporting event.”

2021 Isle of Man TT cancelled

The Isle of Man Government has taken the decision to cancel the 2021 Isle of Man TT due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 edition was due to be held on 29 May – 12 June, but has now been cancelled for the second year in a row.

Minister for Enterprise, Laurence Skelly MHK said: “We do not underestimate the disappointment that this decision will cause to many people. However, we are making an early, logical decision to provide certainty and clarity to race fans and everyone else involved in the event.

“The TT relies on thousands of volunteers and officials across a wide range of organisations and we could not move responsibly towards a positive decision to proceed in planning for 2021, which would involve committing to welcoming tens of thousands of people to the Island in June, despite the progress towards a vaccination programme globally and on the Island.

“We evaluated all possible options including moving the TT to a date later in the year but there are complexities and risks, including scaling up of certain infrastructure and critical delivery elements of the TT, as well as existing resident and visitor travel in late August, which would cause further disruption to thousands of people.

“This decision has not been taken lightly but has been taken in the interests of the Island, the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors, and is in line with our ongoing pandemic strategy. However, whilst making this decision, it does not necessarily mean that we believe the Island’s borders will remain under the current restrictions as we hope to welcome visitors back to the Island at the earliest opportunity.

“To the fans around the world I would say that we are really sorry to have to make this decision, but that we sincerely hope that we will still see you at some point next year.”

It is hoped that the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix will be able to take place on their currently planned dates of 21 August – 3 September. A decision on this will take place in March 2021.

The 2022 Isle of Man TT is scheduled to be held on 28 May – 11 June.

Road Racing to be held on Isle of Wight in 2021

Road Racing is set to take place on the Isle of Wight in October 2021 on a 12.4-mile course following the creation of The Diamond Races.

The Diamond Races will be a four-day event, from Wednesday to Saturday, following the conclusion of the British Superbike championship season. The meeting will follow the rules of the ACU (Auto Cycle Union) and will have races for Superbike, Supersport and Lightweight machinery. There will also be a Sidecar demonstration, and an electric motorcycle category is set to follow in the future.

Practice will take place on the Wednesday and Thursday, with the races on the Saturday will be run under a time-trial format.

Paul Sandford, CEO and Co-Founder of the Diamond Races, said: “As an Isle of Wight local resident, I am very excited at the prospect of welcoming motorsport fans from across the globe to this beautiful island, for what is sure to be an unforgettable weekend of racing action and entertainment for the whole family.

“The Diamond Races is the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and planning by the whole team, and we’re very lucky to have the best of the best involved with its setup.

“No stone is being left unturned in striving to deliver a spectacular event which we have every reason to believe will be a regular back-stop to the island’s tourist season and put the Isle of Wight on the international motorcycle road racing map.”

Those involved in the formation of the event include Isle of Man TT clerk of the course Gary Thompson, TT winner Steve Plater, former Honda Racing Manager Neil Tuxworth, ex-BTCC driver James Kaye and three-time BTCC Champion Matt Neal.

North West 200 receives funding boost from local council

The North West 200 has received funding of more than £60,000 from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.

The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the boots in funding will help to ensure that the event will be able to go ahead in 2021.

Councilor Chris McCaw told Causeway Coast Community: “The NW200 is the most important event in the Borough and it is vital that it continues.

“I am happy that Council has voted this evening to provide the event with the full grant we had allocated to them, although sadly the event is not happening this year. I hope we will see it back in 2021.”

“This crucial money will cement the running of the International NW200 in 2021,” North Antrim MP Ian Paisley told BBC Sport.

“The North West was in the treacherous position that it was possibly not going to survive.

“But cross party support has guaranteed the funding for the event which is vital to the Northern Ireland economy.”

A number of international road racing events have been either cancelled or postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the Isle of Man TT.

Virtual Isle of Man TT announced

The Isle of Man TT has announced plans for its own eSports event that will allow experienced gamers to team up with professional riders.

As part of the ‘Virtual TT powered by Motul’ each team will comprise of one rider and one gamer who will each complete a lap of the TT circuit on Isle of Man TT: Ride on the Edge 2. Each team’s aggregated lap time will determine their position on the leaderboard, as they go head-to-head to determine who will be the ‘Virtual TT 2020 Champions’.

This year’s TT was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the Virtual TT will take place during race week on 6-13 June as part of the TT Lock-In event hosted by Chris Pritchard and two-time TT race winner Steve Plater.

Headlining the riders will be TT lap record holder Peter Hickman and local hero Conor Cummins.

The riders who will compete are:

• Peter Hickman
• Conor Cummins
• Jamie Coward
• Davey Todd
• Rennie Scaysbrook
• Julian Toniutti
• Raul Torras Martinez
• Mark Miller

Leading the gamers will be Aaron Hislop, son of 11-time TT race winner and two-time British Superbike champion Steve.

The gamers selected to compete are:

• Aaron Hislop
• Alex Petrov
• Stefy Bau
• Darrel Grundy
• Sara Leghari
• Kenny Lam
• Sam Tipper
• Louis Porter