The 2021 Isle of Man TT Races have been scuttled, latest COVID casualty. "The TT relies on thousands of volunteers and officials across a wide range of organizations 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,” said Laurence Skelly, MHK, Minister, Department for Enterprise, Isle of Man Government in announcing cancellation of the 2021 Isle of Man TT. This follows the COVID-caused shutdown in 2020.
“We do not underestimate the disappointment that this decision will cause to many people,” he noted. “However, we are making an early and logical decision to provide certainty and clarity to race fans and everyone else involved in our event.” Despite positive news due regarding vaccinations and planned roll out across the UK, the Isle of Man government are unable to predict exactly what that means for the travel and tourism sector; which has forced the cancellation. The Island’s borders currently remain shut.
“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,” concludes Minister Skelly. A new date for the 2022 TT has already been set which will see the event run from Saturday 28th May to Saturday 11th June, 2022.
Tribute to the 2020 TT that never was by Scott F Odell Art