Longer wait for rallying as motorsport targets phased return
Irish motorsport is targeting a phased return to action from July 20, in keeping with government guidelines, with rallying not returning until at least August 10.
A statement read: The Motor Sport Council decided at a meeting last night to extend the suspension of all Motorsport Ireland permitted events until the 20th July 2020 in alignment with the Government Roadmap for Reopening, Phase 4. Rally events will not be considered until after the 10th August 2020 as they fall under Phase 5 of the guidelines.”
The Motor Sport Council acknowledged those dates may have to be revised if there are changes to government policy.
It added: “The Motor Sport Council does not see our sport returning completely at that time, but in a phased manner which will be done in agreement with our individual clubs.
“The calendar for the remainder of 2020 will stay intact, however any club that feels they should not run an event in their locality will be free to withdraw that event from the calendar. Once we have a clear picture of what the remainder of the year looks like we will be in a position to possibly fill any gaps with events that were cancelled but are still in a position to run later in the year.
“The running of a motorsport event involves the support of several stakeholders and we will need their support for our sport to return. Some of them may not be in a position to give so freely of their time and some may have suffered financial hardship so all of these topics will be discussed when we can assemble the event organisers as a group. We are a voluntary organisation and will continue to be that so no one will be forced to participate at any stage, it is a case of “Health First”.
The statement continued: “Government guidelines will at all times dictate what and when it happens, but the Taoiseach has laid out a road to return and when it is appropriate, motorsport will do so. We will continue to give ourselves options as we are only entering the fifth month of the year and to do anything else would be previous. It is our hope that we will see the return of some events in 2020 but it cannot be guaranteed at this time. We will continue to review the situation based on governmental data and look to be prepared when the time is right.
“We are in constant communication with Sport Ireland and the Minister for Sport and Tourism. We are conscious of the large economic impact that Motorsport has on our communities nationally and will play our role at the appropriate time in contributing to Ireland’s recovery.”
