2021 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship
With the challenges of Covid continuing, the 2021 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship has been called off, with racing teams facing many difficulties with travel, alongside the varying local regulations in force.
Differing quarantine procedures, lack of flights, and many other roadblocks have made it impossible for the Asian grid to re-assemble for 2021. As such it’s just been officially confirmed that the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will not be held in 2021.
The ARRC season had been planned as a six-round competition, kicking off in Malaysia with two rounds in June, before moving to China’s Zhuhai International Circuit in August, The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia in September and finishing off the year with two rounds at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
In June both Chinese and Australian rounds were cancelled due to Covid, while the season opener in Sepang had originally been delayed.
Ron Hogg – Two Wheels Motor Racing Director
“I would like to start off by expressing our gratitude to the Thai government and especially to the Chang International Circuit. Working together, we have left no stones unturned in our bid to bring the grid together in 2021. We especially want to thank the Chang International Circuit , the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Federation Motor Sports Club of Thailand. With the help of these agencies, we can confirm that we were trying as hard as possible up to the last moment. We worked hard to make it happen. However, not everything is within our control. Restrictions among the Asian countries are more stringent as compared to the other regions like Europe. Bringing the grid together will be a very costly affair, especially with the required quarantine procedures when teams return home to their respective countries. Therefore, we believe that it would be better to consolidate all our resources to kick start the 2022 season. Rest assured, plans for 2022 will be announced in due time. In the meantime we would also like to say thank you to all our partners, teams, riders and our fans. Stay strong, stay safe, let’s get ready to roar next year!”
Stephan Carapiet – FIM Asia President
“The FIM Asia supports the decision of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship to call off the 2021 season. Asia is a more populous region as compared to the other parts of the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Asian governments are imposing stricter restrictions with regards to international sporting events. Matters were made worse with regulations that seem to be constantly in flux. I am just as disappointed as everyone else about this inevitable decision. However, let’s look forward to a great year in 2022.”
Source: MCNews.com.au