Isle of Man TT cancelled in 2021 as North West 200 faces postponement
It is the second successive year that the world-famous event has been called off as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak.
The news comes as a further setback for road racing, with the North West 200 – provisionally scheduled to take place from May 11-15 – set to be postponed until later in 2021, the News Letter understands.
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Hide AdThe official TT announcement was made on Monday during a government briefing.
Laurence Skelly, MHK, Minister, Department for Enterprise, Isle of Man Government, said: "We do not underestimate the disappointment that this decision will cause to many people. However, we are making an early and logical decision to provide certainty and clarity to race fans and everyone else involved in our event.
"The TT relies on thousands of volunteers and officials across a wide range of organisations and we could not move responsibly towards operating to that date and commit 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," he added.
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Hide Ad"We remain hopeful that the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix can take place later in the year and we look forward to welcoming visitors to our Island again."
The next TT Races will now take place in 2022, from Saturday 28th May to Saturday 11th June.
Paul Phillips, TT Business Development Manager, Isle of Man Government Department for Enterprise added: "Everyone involved with the TT is of course disappointed that the event has been cancelled in 2021, but it's a decision that has been made as early as possible so that everyone who is impacted can plan accordingly.
"I am sorry for all the fans, riders, teams and volunteers who will miss another year on the Island, but we as a team will be working hard to make sure that we come back with an even better event in 2022.
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Hide Ad"We are very grateful for the continued support and loyalty shown by all our partners, as well as the event’s fans worldwide, which is a testament to the passion that people have for the event."
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