Motorsport and the Coronavirus

[Moneyseeker]

There is also the limit travel notice in force still after the 29th of March. Personally I think clubs should show a level of public responsibility and not try and hold events until after the April step change at the earliest. We can see the dates ahead of us and all now have a good idea of when and what we can run.

I don't think clubs should be encouraging members to tool around the country and meet up to conduct what is a leisure activity/hobby and I am speaking as someone who works on motoring/motorsport events for a national organisation.

I know everyone is itching to get going and preparers need to get cashflow from racers, but it is a waiting game and the more we continue to stick to the rules and the more people are vaccinated, the more likely the roadmap will run as planned - or as some speculate in todays papers - perhaps slightly earlier.

[coppice]

But the travel limit is nonsense. Travel by car creates no risk of infection . The only thing that creates that risk is close contact with other people , especially in confined spaces . My travelling by car alone , or with the person in my bubble , creates no risk.

I realise that we are stuck with this but whilst I do recognise the need for great caution in unlocking restrictions on human contact I am growing very weary indeed of complying with a rule which has no sensible foundation .

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

There is also the limit travel notice in force still after the 29th of March. Personally I think clubs should show a level of public responsibility and not try and hold events until after the April step change at the earliest. We can see the dates ahead of us and all now have a good idea of when and what we can run.

I don't think clubs should be encouraging members to tool around the country and meet up to conduct what is a leisure activity/hobby and I am speaking as someone who works on motoring/motorsport events for a national organisation.

I know everyone is itching to get going and preparers need to get cashflow from racers, but it is a waiting game and the more we continue to stick to the rules and the more people are vaccinated, the more likely the roadmap will run as planned - or as some speculate in todays papers - perhaps slightly earlier.

The camping and caravan club have advised that their camp sites will not be open until 12 April at the earliest and that even then facility blocks will not be open until 17 May. What this means is that campers must have their own self contained toilet facilities.
Now, I appreciate that this is the Camping and caravan club’s advice regarding their own sites, and not for eg MSVs or Silverstones or Trac Mons but it does indicate the way the wind is blowing!

Are motorsport events viable between 29 March 12 April if only available to locally based competitors?
Are they viable between 12 April and 17 May if you can’t book a hotel and can only stay over if you can afford to book your own holiday let or have your own motorhome?

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by coppice

But the travel limit is nonsense. Travel by car creates no risk of infection . The only thing that creates that risk is close contact with other people , especially in confined spaces . My travelling by car alone , or with the person in my bubble , creates no risk.

I realise that we are stuck with this but whilst I do recognise the need for great caution in unlocking restrictions on human contact I am growing very weary indeed of complying with a rule which has no sensible foundation .

Travel by car in principle does not create a risk, but it certainly does increase the potential for risk in that one may be more likely to haven accident or a car breakdown that requires outside assistance therefore increasing the risk.

I admit that I have become very risk averse because of Covid meaning that I haven't even seen my children or grandchildren since 2019, and surely that is far more important than going to watch a few cars going around a track.

[john ruston]

Mike don’t get to logical about this.
We spent yesterday trying to sort out getting people to Monte Carlo for historics which is still to be cancelled.
Anyone else thinking about taking cars?
I think it’s better to stay here in Blighty but others have different ideas.

[coppice]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Travel by car in principle does not create a risk, but it certainly does increase the potential for risk in that one may be more likely to haven accident or a car breakdown that requires outside assistance therefore increasing the risk.

I admit that I have become very risk averse because of Covid meaning that I haven't even seen my children or grandchildren since 2019, and surely that is far more important than going to watch a few cars going around a track.

Accidents and breakdowns are relatively rare per mile travelled (I'm managing one of each in the last 700,000miles ) and are just as likely to happen en route by car to Tesco's, a vaccination centre or the Post Office , or even by slipping on the footpath .

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by coppice

Accidents and breakdowns are relatively rare per mile travelled (I'm managing one of each in the last 700,000miles ) and are just as likely to happen en route by car to Tesco's, a vaccination centre or the Post Office , or even by slipping on the footpath .

This may well be true for you, and the trips that you mention are what I would deem to be necessary. However, I truly don't believe that a car journey to watch motor racing, or as has been mentioned elsewhere, people being fined for going airplane spotting, to be classified by any stretch of the imagination to be necessary trips, although they might be good for the mind.

[coppice]

I am uncomfortable at living in a society in which I have to justify my journey to the authorities. It is absurd . I absolutely respect social distancing and the need for care in any human interaction and I am delighted to have had my first jab.

But why I should be criminalised for driving solo to a hill climb 30 miles away , to stand in a windy and sparsely peopled field utterly escapes me. It is arrant nonsense.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by coppice

I am uncomfortable at living in a society in which I have to justify my journey to the authorities. It is absurd . I absolutely respect social distancing and the need for care in any human interaction and I am delighted to have had my first jab.

But why I should be criminalised for driving solo to a hill climb 30 miles away , to stand in a windy and sparsely peopled field utterly escapes me. It is arrant nonsense.

But it doesn’t matter what we think if those are the rules.

I might think it’s nonsense that the speed limit on a quiet motorway in good weather is only 70mph but if I go 80 then I accept that I may get caught and fined.

I may think it’s nonsense that I can go for a walk with my dogs but can’t walk round a golf course hitting a little white ball, but those are the rules and society expects me to comply.

It’s a bu993r but it’s tough.

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by andy97

Richard, might be worth letting the CSCC office and wider membership know about that e-mail. It would be useful if we had some clarity on what was allowed or not, and the club may need to make a judgement on what it thinks the entry levels might be.

Good point, mate - I've messaged the Club. The point about the travel message only being revised to "stay local" is of course relevant.



It looks like Scotland will be slower than England to open up, although Sturgeon has been less clear on the detail, but I fear the Knockhill event on 1/2 May must also be in jeopardy.


Mike - I understand your concern - and equally Coppice's point about travel being only a slight risk of being a spreading agent. I think more pertinent is that (idiotic enforcement of "rules" such as you can't sit on a park bench aside) it is generally accepted that the risk of transmission outdoors - particularly if everyone in the paddock is masked - is extremely low - indeed one expert was stating last week that there was no recorded case of anyone contracting the disease from the "crowded beach" scenarios we saw last year. He may well have been over-stating the case, but motorsport has generally been diligent in protecting its participants.

EDIT: Just had a reply from CSCC " you are right about both events (Oulton and Knockhill) and accommodation concerns, rest assured it's our no.1 priority at present. " As I thought they are on the case, but what they can do, I don't know.

I note that CSCC have also just issued a warning to people NOT to book or attend testing sessions prior to March 29th.

[coppice]

Originally Posted by andy97

But it doesn’t matter what we think if those are the rules.

I might think it’s nonsense that the speed limit on a quiet motorway in good weather is only 70mph but if I go 80 then I accept that I may get caught and fined.

I may think it’s nonsense that I can go for a walk with my dogs but can’t walk round a golf course hitting a little white ball, but those are the rules and society expects me to comply.

It’s a bu993r but it’s tough.

I know that - but as far as I know it hasn't yet become illegal to point out absurdity ? It is insane that I can go fishing , as I will be doing tomorrow , but you can't play golf. I don't like passively accepting rules which make no sense - other wise we start drifting to 'just obeying orders , sir ' . Obviously I am not going to tilt at the 70mph limit windmill - that ship has long since sailed - but the current Covid rules are temporary and I'll be buggered if I can't point out manifest nonsenses in them .

[andy97]

Originally Posted by coppice

It is insane that I can go fishing , as I will be doing tomorrow , but you can't play golf.

Agree, but by the same token, I have to accept it leave it to the governing body to complain about it (which they have) and get on with it.

[Derwent]

I don't blame the government at all. They have to have general rules to apply to all without all sorts of exceptions. Most clubs sports will attract participants from a small area, motor sport usually involves people travelling a long way. I am happy not to travel until June if we can get rid the virus once and for all.
Living in the Lake District, we did very well at containing the virus at a low level until thousands of people decided to come here for day trips etc and brought it with them.
Surely a couple of more months staying at home is not much to ask?

[S griffin]

We have to take the rough with the smooth. At least things are looking up now. I do wonder if it would be best to delay a few more national motorsport events for a couple of months, but we'll see. The problem is some series will be more important than others.

I think the current timeframe for moving things forward should work. Of course some don't need to travel, so that helps, as others have need to for work. So things should move forward. We can't wait forever, we need things to pick up in good time and signs are we should be back to normal before too long

[midgetman]

I look at it this way. I've been restricted in what I do for 1/59th of my life, and if the restrictions mean it won't be 1/30th or worse then hey, it's not that bad missing motor racing. It's not much in the grand scheme of things. There'll be some anomalies but the rules have been drawn up by fair minded people trying to do their best - whether that's good enough or not is a different discussion.

I'm not a conspiracist, I don't think the world government is trying to put in a new world order. I don't believe an untried vaccine is monitoring us through a chip sponsored by Bill Gates. I just think that various governments around the world are trying their hardest to contain a very nasty illness while balancing it against the everyday needs of the community.

I'd love to go racing, but if we look across The Pond where there has been mostly unfettered activity we can see that doesn't really work either. So on the whole I'd rather have my "freedom" curtailed to keep numbers in the health service manageable (so if I do hurt myself they have capacity to treat me). That's a deal I'm prepared to make.

FWIW a friend of mine is an undertaker, he's been a bit quiet through February. We're getting there, won't be long now.

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[Mike Crow]

Originally Posted by midgetman

I look at it this way. I've been restricted in what I do for 1/59th of my life, and if the restrictions mean it won't be 1/30th or worse then hey, it's not that bad missing motor racing. It's not much in the grand scheme of things. There'll be some anomalies but the rules have been drawn up by fair minded people trying to do their best - whether that's good enough or not is a different discussion.

I'm not a conspiracist, I don't think the world government is trying to put in a new world order. I don't believe an untried vaccine is monitoring us through a chip sponsored by Bill Gates. I just think that various governments around the world are trying their hardest to contain a very nasty illness while balancing it against the everyday needs of the community.

I'd love to go racing, but if we look across The Pond where there has been mostly unfettered activity we can see that doesn't really work either. So on the whole I'd rather have my "freedom" curtailed to keep numbers in the health service manageable (so if I do hurt myself they have capacity to treat me). That's a deal I'm prepared to make.

FWIW a friend of mine is an undertaker, he's been a bit quiet through February. We're getting there, won't be long now.

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Well said!

[Mike Harte]

I'm with you, Max. Having had to live under a far more restrictive regime for nigh on 4 months last year, and having a close understanding of the havoc that Covid-19 reeks, not being able to go and watch motor racing for a few mores, and that's all it is, is a tiny price to pay to protect others especially the NHS.

The strain and real danger our wonderful doctors, nurses and ancillary staff have been under and have been in since the start of last year is something that is so under-appreciated by too many.

There are far worse things happening in this world that puts these small and hopefully short-lived attacks on our personal freedoms. And yes, there may be some anomalies in the rules, but we just have to live with them for just a few more weeks.

[Lancsbreaker]

I think a lot would be happy not to go to watch motorsport, but to be able to participate....... but I'm not going to beat myself up about it - if MSUK and CSCC are happy that we can do it, presumably after MSUK have conferred with Government, then I'll be there like a shot, desperately trying to squeeze into my racesuit...., but if not - so be it.

[dwh43scale]

Given the way the circuits handled things for non-Elite motorsport last year, I'd be happy to go back as soon as we can this year. At a track as a spectator with modest crowds where I decide where to walk (within reason) I felt as safe, if not safer than at the local supermarket or park where keeping a distance seems a challenge for some people.
It's therefore somewhat frustrating to see regular reports of parties, large gatherings and such like ...

[Paul D]

Originally Posted by midgetman

I look at it this way. I've been restricted in what I do for 1/59th of my life, and if the restrictions mean it won't be 1/30th or worse then hey, it's not that bad missing motor racing.
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But Max, I've been restricted in what I do for just over half of my life - or, to put it another way, since I met my wife!

Seriously though, as others have said, some of the rules don't make much sense: I can take the dog for a walk, but only once a day? It's outside, I'm on my own (if you don't count the dog) and I most likely won't come within 10 feet of anyone else, or if I do, it will be momentarily as I pass them going the other way. Also, this one walk could be for two hours, but it can't be two ten minute walks? Doesn't really make any sense does it?

I think some common sense has to be applied to the rules, and also everyone should take some personal responsibility for their actions. Sadly, though, this is when the problems begin, as there appears to be an awful lot of idiots and selfish morons out there, and I suppose if you're in government - which none of us on here are (I imagine) - then you have to legislate for the lowest common denominator. And as we've all seen over the last year, that's pretty low!

Having said all that, I'm willing to practice what I preach and go racing again as soon as the powers that be say we can. I'll apply common sense to my actions, just as we did last year, and hope that others do much the same. And I have to say that, with one or two notable exceptions, most competitors did follow the guidelines most of the time last year from what I experienced, and allowing for the application of the aforementioned common sense.

I accept that maybe it's not yet time to be staying in a hotel frequented by however many others, but I don't see how I pose much of a risk to anyone else if I stay at a circuit overnight in my own motorhome (a bit of an optimistic moniker in my own case!) accompanied only by someone I live with - and certainly I'm posing a lot less risk than if I was to, for example, go ambling around my local busy supermarket or do any one of the myriad other things which we are allowed to do.

With this in mind, I've entered Oulton on April 10th. If it's allowed to go ahead, then I'll be there - if it's not, then I won't, it'll be c'est la vie and I'll wait until such time as we are allowed out to play.

[midgetman]

I think the problem is, the rules have to be set for the lowest common denominator. We here are all genuinely sensible, and take good care. Others aren't so.

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[andy97]

And, of course, going racing is “common sense”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bank managers and wives may not agree!

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by andy97

And, of course, going racing is “common sense”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bank managers and wives may not agree!

It is for me. It pays my mortgage and stops me draining the public purse with furlough.

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[Malcolm Smith]

CSCC Knockhill

I see that CSCC have moved their event from May to 3rd & 4th July.
Looking forward to it. Hope grids don't suffer as it is only a week after Spa.

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Smith

CSCC Knockhill

I see that CSCC have moved their event from May to 3rd & 4th July.
Looking forward to it. Hope grids don't suffer as it is only a week after Spa.

Yeah, just changed my accommodation booking from May to July.....Spa was never really on the cards for us