Image: Supplied.

This year’s Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (ATC) has been cancelled due to COVID-19, with border restrictions causing a number of associated events to be dropped by organisers.

With the MotoGP rounds in Thailand and Malaysia both cancelled recently, plus travel restrictions making additional rounds unable to go ahead, only the Qatar round has been contested in 2020.

Every rider who was set to compete in the cup this season will automatically have an available spot on the 2021 grid. Any remaining places in the 2021 cup will be filled by riders from national championships or racing schools across Asia and Oceania, with competitors chosen by the ATC selection committee.

This is due to the fact that the 2021 selection event, set to be held before the Malaysian GP in October at Sepang, cannot take place this season. A 2021 calendar will be announced following publication of 2021 dates or calendars for the championships alongside which the ATC often race, such as MotoGP, Malaysian Superbikes (MSBK) and Australian Superbike (ASBK).

In 2020, the focus for the riders will now move from on-track battles to virtual workshops aimed at improving some important skills off the bike. These will focus on communication and social media, as well the importance of the English language for those who are not native speakers. The first two workshops took place mid-July, with more organised for the coming weeks as the grid gear up for 2021.