MX Nationals delay 2021 season
By Andrew Hill on 25th Feb 21
Michelin MX Nationals powered by Milwaukee has announced they will delay the start of the 2021 season.
In a brief statement on social media, the organisers reassured followers that they still intend to run the series putting the blame for the delayed start of the motocross championship on the lockdown easing announcement laid out by the UK Government on Monday, February 22.
Part of that government announcement includes a provision for formally organised outdoor sport to begin again (for adults and under 18s) from March 29. However, it's subject to gathering limits.
"Round one at Hawkstone Park will not go ahead as planned," the statement said. However, it was not clear if that venue had been axed or if they were just moving the date.
MX Nationals say they are working hard "to adapt the schedule and get racing underway as soon as possible", and that for now, it's just a delay of an estimated four weeks.
The popular six-round British championship was due to get underway on April 3-4 at Hawkstone Park and conclude at Canada Heights on September 11-12. The four-week delay would put the start of the season in May, but that is unconfirmed at this time.
Pushing back the season to May makes sense when you consider the details of the government's fourth step of easing. From May 17, outdoor events will be allowed fan attendance with a capacity of either 50 per cent or 4,000 people, whichever is lower. These numbers would probably work well for the MX Nationals.
The organisers made no mention of venue changes so hopefully, we'll just see some dates shuffled around, which may allow for spectator attendance.
Although the UK Government hopes to remove all restrictions in England from June 21, devolved governments are taking their own routes out of lockdown. That means a different pace of unlocking may be experienced across the home nations, which will impact the Desertmartin round.
The second round, previously announced to be held at Desertmartin in Northern Ireland on April 24-25, will certainly see a change, but hopefully, will just be reshuffled.
With the MXGP schedule still in flux and the recent announcement on lockdown easing from the UK Government, it's likely we'll see further changes to the 2021 British motocross calendar.
We'll keep you updated as we get more.
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