The re-emergence of the Coronavirus in the North Island of New Zealand has had an immediate impact on motorsport in the country.
It has forced cancellations or postponements of some events, while others are eagerly sweating on news updates to see if cases are climbing, and if the lockdown is going to extend beyond the current period.
But what sort of effect is that going to have on rallying moving forward?
Unsurprisingly, rallies scheduled for the early part of 2021 are already making their contingency plans.
The Otago Rally will kick off the New Zealand Rally Championship in April next year and should be pretty much guaranteed a quality field of national entries.
However, the event has long banked on their hugely successful classic rally and a host of international entries, particularly from Australia.
Similarly, the rally has traditionally invited a ‘star’ driver from Europe that does wonders for the rally’s international status.
The 2020 Otago Rally had received 31 international entries and was looking like being one of the hardest fought events in the rally’s history … until COVID-19 intervened!
If the current international border restrictions extend beyond the end of 2020, the rally’s plans for 2021 could be well and truly jeopardised.
“It’s hard to plan with any certainty, but we have been lucky that the Dunedin City Council has maintained their support for 2021,” Otago Rally event manager, Norman Oakley, said.
“At this stage, we will be hoping to run the rally very much as we intended for this year, but with the realistic expectation that overseas entrants may well be fewer in number, which means that we will have to adopt a slightly more conservative budget.
“If at all possible, we will be intending to have a ‘star’ driver (or two) from Europe, but clearly it’s difficult for anyone to make firm plans at the moment,” Oakley added.
Being without a ‘star’ driver not only has a significant impact on event publicity, but also on spectator numbers, accommodation beds filled, restaurant meals, fuel sales, and many other things that make a motorsport event of significant value to a local community.
Not to be deterred, however, Oakley and the Otago Sports Car Club team – and other events too – are planning for every eventuality.
“What we will be trying to do is start the NZRC off with a bang, and we will be trying to dream up some initiatives that will promote Dunedin and the region as much as possible,” Oakley explained.
“The event itself will still provide around 280km of special stages over two days, using much of what was planned for 2020, but likely with a few tweaks.”
All in all, the current situation provides a real challenge for event organisers.
Already reeling from their events being cancelled this year, they’re now facing the prospect of months of prolonged uncertainly as they build towards 2021.
One hundred days with no new COVID-19 cases may have made great reading in the press, but the last week has shown that the locomotive can quickly be derailed.
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