LOCKDOWNS & SO ON...

As you will all have no doubt seen & heard, the current National Lockdown situation has an earliest possible end date of 23rd February 2021.

With the benefit of our experiences last year, we know that things can change very fast from good to bad and also from bad to good, so we must be prepared for all possibilities.

This end date falls perilously close to our pre-season testing at Donington Park on 28th February, which provokes several immediate questions:-

1) If the Lockdown ends on 23rd February will the event go ahead?

That depends a great deal on what the National Lockdown is replaced with. If we go back to the Tier 1-4 system, it would depend which tier North West Leicestershire falls into at that time.
If it falls into a tier that makes events like ours permissible, it would be our intention to run it provided the A&E at QMC Nottingham has no urgent issues with it.
Obviously, if either of the above meant that the event was not permitted to happen under government, local authority or NHS regulations, the event would be cancelled.

2) What happens to riders entry fees if it is cancelled or postponed?

We do not intend processing any payments until the situation is much clearer, so no funds will be taken until at least 23rd February and only then if it is clear that the event can run.
If the National Lockdown is replaced by a tier system that means some riders cannot attend due to their home being in a tier where non-essential travel is banned, those riders would either not have their payments processed or would have those funds repaid directly

(no credit notes, just straightforward repayment).

If things then changed between the 23rd & 27th February that meant the event was not permitted to take place, refunds would be given

(no credit notes, just straightforward repayment).

3) What about the actual race meetings scheduled to commence at Brands Hatch on 26th March 2021?

We will not open entries for this event until at least 24th February so that we have a much clearer idea of the national situation at that point in time.
Even once entries are open, we will not process any payments for testing or racing until we are reasonably confident the event will happen on schedule (your completed entry form is simply securing your grid slot at that time).
We are very optimistic that given the lead in time to this event (currently 11 weeks) and the ongoing vaccine rollout that is scheduled by the government to have protected those most vulnerable in our society by the end of February, that the situation should have improved enough to make this event viable on this Covid Secure venue.

So the underlying message is:-
"Relax and comply with the current regulations"

We will be ready to go as soon as it is considered safe & responsible to do so by our governing body.

Until we are reasonably confident that any event will happen, your entry fees for racing & testing are at no financial risk at all.

The venues have all worked extremely hard to provide Covid Secure environments and we demonstrated last year that we can run safe events even under very strict regulations.

We are busily processing registrations, providing ACU Licence Unique codes, planning our events, issuing race numbers and getting ready for a great season.

We will keep you all posted at regular intervals and you will be contacted a few days before the first events entry forms go live.
Kind Regards & Stay Safe

The TGB Team