We’ve all heard about the major sporting events getting cancelled over the past few weeks thanks to the dreaded Covid 19 coronavirus; Moto GP, WSBK, Le Mans 24 Hours – it’s one thing after the next. So it’s no surprise that there’s been call for one of the biggest motorcycle races in the world, the Isle of Man TT, to be called off – or at least postponed – by (some of) the indigenous folk on the rock.
Well here at FB towers we’ve been waiting with baited breath for an announcement about whether or not TT 2020 will go ahead and poor old Boothy, who’s had his entry in for months, doesn’t know what to do with himself.
The last time the Isle of Man went TT-less was back in 2001 when foot-and-mouth disease did its level best to stop anyone enjoying the countryside across the entire British Isles, now, 19 years later, could the outbreak of a new virus, once again, spoil our fun?
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Will it be cancelled? Will it be postponed? Will the Isle of Man go into lock-down? You can bet your bottom dollar that if the TT doesn’t go ahead there’ll be plenty of island-based business that really take a hit. The list of hotels, bars and restaurant that rely on the TT fortnight to bolster their annual turnover is almost as long as the 37 and three quarter mile circuit itself; a cancelation of the biggest event the island sees will, without doubt, cost millions.
So keen to find out the latest, we tuned into a press conference hold by the Chief Minister of the IOM, Howard Quayle, following a meeting of the council of ministers at Tynwald (the IOM government) this afternoon, who had this to say,
“The 2020 Isle of Man
TT is cancelled to protect our critical care services. The decision to cancel
has not been taken lightly and all options including postponement and delaying
the decision have been considered in detail. Representatives from the Isle of
Man Government will now discuss the implications with all relevant businesses,
stakeholders and individuals affected by this cancellation, which it recognises
will be significant.
‘With the visitor restriction
in place for the foreseeable future we wanted to make the decision now to give
businesses, visitors and all involved stakeholders time to manage the impact
going forward. The Isle of Man, and the Isle of Man TT, are faced with unique
challenges regarding COVID-19 and making this decision will provide certainty
to teams, competitors, sponsors and stakeholders of the event and to visitors
across the globe.
‘The decision also aims to
provide reassurance for our residents and healthcare professionals that the
health and well-being of the Isle of Man’s residents is the single biggest
priority and focus of this Government.”
Well there you go. Cancelled. Not postponed. Cancelled. I don’t know about you, but this virus is really, really starting to do my head in. When can we get back to living our lives?
We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed here at Fast Bikes hoping that, perhaps, the Classic TT at least goes ahead. We need to get our TT fix somewhere, and the PlayStation doesn’t quite cut it. Let’s all hope and pray that we have seen the worst of this Corona nonsense…
