‘This decision has not been taken lightly…’  - Cookstown 100 postponed

The upcoming Cookstown 100 races have been rescheduled for September to become the latest motorsport event to be affected by the coronavirus spread.

The Northern Ireland event was due to take place on April 24/25 but with tighter restrictions on movement and large gatherings of people in an effort to stem the spread of the virus, the decision was taken to call it off for now. Instead, a provisional date of 11/12 September 2020 has been ‘pencilled in’.

The move will cast fresh doubt on the North West 200 – which is due to take place in Northern Ireland on 10-16 May – after organisers releases a statement saying it was going ahead as planned. However, it added it was monitoring the situation daily.

Similarly, the 2020 Isle of Man TT in June is also now increasingly under threat from the fast-changing situation. In February organisers said the event was still going ahead, but it too was prepared to take action if necessary.

Statement from the Cookstown & District Motorcycle Club

“After long discussions held between the directors of Cookstown & District Motorcycle club (Road Racing) Ltd, it is with the deepest regret that the decision has been made to postpone the Cookstown 100 races which were to be held on the 24th /25th April 2020 to later in the year, with a provisional date being pencilled in for the 11th /12th of September 2020, subject to approval by relevant authorities.

“We have made this decision on a precautionary basis due to the situation which faces us all with the current coronavirus outbreak. We feel that with the outbreak predicted to get worse in the forthcoming weeks, it is in the best interests of riders, spectators and the general public within the area to take this approach and act with due care and attention for anyone who may have been attending the event.

“Please note that this decision has been not been taken lightly but we feel that it is important to let the competitors/teams and travelling spectators know at the earliest opportunity, so they can make alternative arrangements or possibly transfer any bookings which they have made. We would also like to thank our sponsors for their understanding at this hard time.

“We would also like to stress that this decision has been made on a voluntary basis, and has not been a directive from any organisation.

“I would also like to inform the public, that all other events planned in conjunction with race week, such as soapbox event, vintage motorcycle run, church service and press night are cancelled also until further notice.”