Brakes slammed on for Wales Rally
The Wales Rally has been cancelled for the first time in more than 50 years due to uncertainty owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 76th staging of the prized FIA World Rally Championship event was due to take place from October 29 to November 1 as the penultimate stage in the sport’s calendar.
Organisers have made the call to cancel the popular event, which can attract up to 100,000 spectators, due to question marks surrounding travel and mass gatherings.
“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly,” said David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK.
“This is not the appropriate time for us to be planning for and promoting an event that brings tens of thousands of visitors, many from outside the country, into rural Welsh communities.”
It has only previously been stopped by World War Two in 1940, the Suez Crisis of 1957 and the resulting rationing in petrol and the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in 1967.
