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Rally GB cancelled for 2020
dunoonhotel • Jun 09, 2020
Decision to postpone until 2021 due to Coronavirus
COVID-19 FORCES CANCELLATION OF 2020 WALES RALLY GB
• Britain’s prized round of the FIA World Rally Championship halted
by global pandemic
• Illustrious annual motorsport event cancelled for the first time in
more than 50 years
• Decision taken due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding travel and
mass gatherings in unprecedented times
• Organisers will strive to deliver an ‘even bigger and better’
Wales Rally GB in 2021*
It is with great regret that the organisers of Wales Rally GB have today
(Tuesday) announced the cancellation of the UK’s long-running round of
the FIA World Rally Championship due to the unprecedented global
coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s 76th staging of the historic event had been due to run
from 29 October to 1 November as the penultimate round on the 2020 WRC
schedule and additionally was the concluding rounds of both the FIA
Junior World Rally Championship and British Rally Championship. With
such huge appeal, Wales Rally GB typically attracts numerous top-class
entries from around the globe and 100,000 spectators to competitive
speed tests set in the spectacular forests of mid and north Wales.
However, with continuing concerns over the evolution of COVID-19 and the
safety restrictions it has imposed on large-scale gatherings and
international travel, there are too many unknown factors to make the
organisation of such a sizeable sporting fixture a realistic, or
sensible, option in these uncertain times. As a result, Wales Rally GB
joins the escalating number of sporting events to have been cancelled,
along with many highlights on the 2020 Welsh calendar.
“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly but, in close
consultation with our chief funding partner the Welsh Government, it is
sadly one we are obliged to make in light of the ongoing global
coronavirus pandemic,” explained David Richards CBE, the Welsh-born
Chairman of Motorsport UK, governing body of UK motorsport and organiser
of Wales Rally GB.
“In recent years, the huge appeal of the latest generation of World
Rally Cars plus the presence of local star Elfyn Evans – a winner in
2017 – have drawn record crowds to the wonderful Welsh forests, but
this is not the appropriate time for us to be planning for and promoting
an event that brings tens of thousands of visitors, many from outside
the country, into rural Welsh communities.
“As the governing body of UK motorsport, our overriding responsibility
and absolute priority is always the safety of all involved whether they
be competitors, officials, spectators or the many thousands of
volunteers who share our passion for this sport, and we thank them all
for their ongoing support and enthusiasm in these difficult times. While
significant progress is being made to combat the virus, there remains
considerable uncertainty regarding mass gatherings, social distancing
and travel restrictions, plus the possibility of a resurgence of viral
transmission later in the year.
“We have been closely monitoring the guidance issued by Government and
it is becoming increasingly clear that it is impossible to make plans
with any certainty for such major events in the autumn. We therefore
have to accept, with an incredibly heavy heart, that cancelling this
year’s event is the only responsible and prudent option. We will
instead start focusing our attentions on creating an even bigger and
better world-class showcase for 2021.”
First run in 1932, Rally GB is one of just two rounds to have been a
permanent fixture in the annual FIA World Rally Championship since the
series’ inauguration back in 1973.
Before the advent of the WRC, the UK’s premier rally had only been
stopped by World War 2 in 1940, the Suez Crisis and resultant petrol
rationing in 1957 and the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in 1967.
The event has been set in Wales since 2000, with major title support
from the Welsh Assembly Government since 2003. Having initially been
based in the south of the country, it moved to a new home in the north
in 2013.
As well as attracting close to 100,000 visitors from all around the
world, Wales Rally GB annually generates in excess of £9m of economic
benefit for the region and in recent years has raised more than
£250,000 for local charities and good causes – a success story which
will now continue in 2021.
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