Coronavirus: All motorcycle road races in Southern Ireland 'cancelled for foreseeable future'

The sport’s governing body in the south incorporates the Motorcycle Union of Ireland Southern Centre Ltd.

Already, the Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out road races including the Cookstown 100, Tandragee 100, North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Southern 100.

The Ulster Grand Prix will also not take place this year. In November, it was revealed that the Dundrod and District Club was facing debts estimated in the region of £300,000.

The Cookstown organisers hope to reschedule their race in Co Tyrone in September, while the Tandragee 100 and North West have been ‘postponed’, although no alternative dates for the events in 2020 have been suggested.

The organisers of the Enniskillen road races, first held in 2018, revealed in November that their event would not take place this year.

Motorcycling Ireland’s statement said simply: “All Motorcycling Ireland events are cancelled for the foreseeable future.”

The first road race in Southern Ireland was due to be the Kells meeting in Co Meath from June 20-21, but chairperson Johnny Farrelly announced last week that the race had been cancelled.

Following Motorcycling Ireland’s statement, the Faugheen 50 Road Races (July 18-19) also announced the cancellation of their meeting, while the Munster 100 in Cork (June 27-28) is also off.

The remaining road races in the Republic of Ireland are the Skerries 100 (July 4-5), Walderstown (July 11-12) and the East Coast Festival at Killalane, which was switched to new dates in August (8-9) from a traditional September slot.