AFTER false starts enforced by the global pandemic, motorcycle road racing is set to take place on the isle of Wight, as a public consultation into the running of the event begins.
Shortly after been officially announced in 2020, the global pandemic really took hold, immediately throwing the first running of the event into jeopardy. Due to take place in October this year, it was hardly surprising that in February this year, the Diamond Races was officially postponed until 2022.
Now thought the Isle of Wight Road Races has been confirmed as taking place between the 20th and 23rd of April 2022. The course will follow the same route as the Diamond Races course we rode last year, meaning it is a 12.4-mile road course, taking in the villages of Chale, Shorwell and Brighstone, before heading off for a 200mph blast down the stunning Military Road.
Visordown rides the Isle of Wight Diamond Races Course
The Isle of Wight Road Races is still going to be an elite level road race and is being partly organised by the ACU Events and APL Events. The centre of the race paddock is set to be based on land at Atherfield.
A 6-week public consultation process now begins starting this Sunday (1st August). The purpose of the consultation is to advise residents and businesses on the timings, format and impact of the event. A public meeting will be held on the 12th of August to answer any questioned raised.
The Isle of Wight Road Races will require public road sections used for the race be closed for the duration. It’s proposed that roads will be closed from 10:30-15:15 and 17:00-20:30 on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st, 10:30-15:15 on Friday 22nd and 09:30-18:00 on Saturday 23rd April.
James Kaye, event promoter and British Touring Car Champion, who was also part of the Diamond Races team said:
“We felt it was sensible to wait until the after national restrictions had been lifted in England before sharing this announcement. We’ve had two false starts already due to the pandemic and we wanted to avoid further disappointment.
“The Isle of Wight is an ideal location for us to pioneer the use of carbon-neutral fuels that are less harmful to our environment. Our Biosphere status encourages us all to learn new ways in which we can live on our diverse and ecologically important island. The Isle of Wight Road Races will be at the forefront of promoting future energy technology”.
