Tourism chiefs on the Isle of Man have announced the cancellation of TT 2021.
It means that millions of road racing fans from around the world will be denied their fix for two years in a row due to the Covid19 pandemic.
“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,” said Laurence Skelly, MHK, Minister, Department for Enterprise.
“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.’
“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.
It is hoped to still deliver the 2021 Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix, which are scheduled to run from Saturday 21st August to Friday 3rd September. A final decision on whether those events will take place will be made in Spring 2021.
