Next year's Isle of Man TT 'could be held later in summer 2021 or cancelled altogether'

The event was cancelled this year along with the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix plus the Southern 100 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle has stated that a final decision could be imminent as talks over the 2021 festival continue.

In response to a question at this week’s Covid-19 briefing on the Isle of Man on whether the prospect of a vaccination programme next year had raised hopes the TT could be run later in the summer, Minister Quayle said a number of options were being explored, from cancelling the event altogether to holding it on alternative dates.

“I will confirm we are discussing this in the Council of Ministers at this moment in time but I can’t announce a decision at this moment,” he said.

“We are going to try to make it as fairly imminently as possible once a conclusion has been reached and I will obviously update everyone, or the Minister for Enterprise [Laurence Skelly] will update when we can release that information.”

The Minister said the Manx government also had to consider the potential for clashes with the racing schedule elsewhere in the UK and whether a date change would suit teams and riders, and also if such a scenario would work for hotels, B&Bs and homestay providers on the island, as well as the Steam Packet ferry company.

The 2021 TT is currently scheduled to take place from May 29 to June 11.

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