Spectators wishing to attend Bennetts British Superbike events in August have been dealt a blow today by new guidelines and will not be allowed in.

It means the opening event at Donington Park and then the Snetterton race later in the month will be run behind closed doors.

A statement from series and circuit owner MSV reads:

MSV has followed the government’s guidance at every stage in our event planning. Regrettably, in our most recent consultation with DCMS, their interpretation of the definition of Elite Sport has widened to include Bennetts BSB (and BTCC), as the leading national championships in the UK.

This position coincides with the government’s decision to postpone any further test events with spectators at Elite Sport fixtures. Unfortunately this classification means that these events must now follow the government’s Elite Sport pathway, with spectators presently unable to attend.

In line with the wording of Elite Sport guidance, we have not considered these events to be Elite Sport, with the guidance focussed towards sports such as Premier League football and Rugby League, which tends to attract huge crowds, mostly in stadiums, and typically rely on public transport.

By contrast, circuit venues are by their very nature wide-open spaces like parks, with ample room to enable social distancing across dozens of spectator viewing areas. To be clear, the decision not to allow spectators at Bennetts BSB events has nothing to do with MSV’s comprehensive Covid-Secure procedures for keeping our customers and staff safe.

We hope that we will be able to welcome spectators back to these events soon, and will maintain a dialogue with DCMS and our local authorities to pursue that agenda, always with public health as a priority. We will provide further updates on Bennetts BSB events beyond August in due course.

We understand that this news will be hugely disappointing and difficult to understand, and we are so sorry for the inconvenience this will cause. We were really looking forward to welcoming fans to these events and have worked extremely hard to provide a totally safe environment, liaising closely with local partners, so this development is very frustrating for the entire team at MSV.

We politely ask that customers do not contact us regarding their tickets - we intend to email all affected purchaserstoday with further details, including how to claim a full refund. Venue Season Pass holders will be contacted in the next few weeks with details on how we intend to manage their bookings.