Organizers for the Isle of Man TT announced on Monday that this year's run, scheduled for May 30 to June 13, has been cancelled.
The Isle of Man TT is the most famous and most dangerous motorcycle race in the world, but even it couldn't avoid falling victim to the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions on public gatherings across the Isle of Man mean the organizers were left with little other choice. They had hoped to postpone the race but determined this wouldn't be possible.
Fortunately for ticket holders, all tickets bought via the race's official website will be refunded.
Isle of Man TT 2015 and ride-along with Mark Higgins
At present, the Classic TT Races and Manx Grand Prix scheduled for late August at the Isle of Man will proceed as planned.
Numerous other events have either been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus. Organizers of Formula One have pushed the start of the 2020 season to late May, with this month's Australian Grand Prix cancelled and races in Bahrain, China and Vietnam all postponed. Formula E, IndyCar and MotoGP are also postponing races.
The Circuit of the Americas over the weekend also announced it will close and lay off staff due to restrictions on public gatherings of 250 or more people in Austin, Texas, where the racetrack and events center is located. Auto shows in Beijing and New York scheduled for April have also been postponed.
Automakers across the globe have also had to close plants, either due to social distancing requirements, parts constraints, or workers becoming infected. It hasn't happened yet in North America though automakers here, too, are taking precautions. For example, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors, together with the United Auto Workers, have formed a joint task force to monitor the evolving situation and implement strategies to help protect employees.
