Cancellations

It is with extreme disappointment that Autospeed have to announce the cancellation of the following planned events:

Wed 14 April        Smeatharpe (Open Track Day) - postponed - will rearrange in due course
Fri 16 April          Smeatharpe (race meeting)
Sun 18 April       St Day (race meeting)
Sat 24 April              Smeatharpe (race meeting)

Four weeks ago, Autospeed were given full approval by the respective Local Authorities to plan ahead for racing with a crowd once the nation had reached Step 2 of the easing of lockdown restrictions (ie after 12 April).  Those plans have progressed well, with a series of well attended Open Track Days and a steady take-up of tickets by race fans eager to be entertained.

However, new guidelines as issued by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) were published at 16:30 on 9 April.  This has resulted in the Local Authorities having to review their original decision.  Autospeed have continued to maintain regular contact with the Local Authorities.  Autospeed were devastated to learn that during the morning of 13 April, the Local Authority for Smeatharpe had been inundated with concerns and complaints.

Autospeed have now been advised that race meetings cannot be accepted with spectators until Step 3 of the easing of lockdown restrictions (ie after 17 May).

It is the very ethos of Autospeed that short oval racing is built on a foundation of the triangle of harmony – Drivers + Spectators + Promotion.  Without any one of those elements, the event does not function as it should.  It has been a tough enough decision to run the Open Track Days behind closed doors, and thus Autospeed currently have no plans to run race meetings behind closed doors.

Make no mistake, Autospeed are completely distraught at having to bring about these cancellations, and whilst attaching no blame at all to the relevant Local Authorities, there is an annoyance at the unhelpful timing of the revised guidelines, leaving a mountain of problems to overcome less than 72 hours from the planned race meeting which was to herald the start of the 2021 season.

Further news will follow regarding revised fixtures, forthcoming Open Track Days and driver bookings.  Racegoers are reassured that tickets purchased can be rolled forward to a subsequent race meeting.  We would ask that all involved respect that Autospeed will work on this as expeditiously as possible, and provide more information in due course.

As a final thought, please note the difficulty in understanding the situation is underlined by this comparison:

From Step 2 (12 April)
Smeatharpe Stadium would be permitted to hold an event such as a Steam Fair or a Food & Drink Festival, and up to 4,000 attendees could pay to make a visit.
Yet…
Smeatharpe Stadium is not permitted to hold a Stock Car racing event (which is its core business), if there were, say, 750-1000 spectators paying to come and watch.