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Foot and Mouth Halts
Rallies All Over The UK
Like most competitors
in the UK at present, Mark
II Motorsport is
enduring a frustrating time.
Driver Mark Welch had this
to say: - "According to the Motor Sports Association,
over 300 events have been postponed or cancelled
since MSA restrictions were introduced as a direct
result of the Foot and Mouth crisis". In fact,
again according to the MSA, hardest hit of all
events are rallies, with some 128 events affected
so far, including the opening 2 rounds of the
British Rally Championship. Indeed, during March,
less than 15% of all the 370 events scheduled
took place, and this includes karting, circuit
racing, off road events and autotests. With further
foot and mouth cases being reported daily, its
difficult to see an end to the crisis in the short
term, and it looks as though rallying will be
on hold until well into the summer at the earliest.
As far as Mark
II are concerned,
the time is being used productively with their
Escort in the workshops of Gartrac undergoing
an extensive rebuild, and the hunt for a replacement
to the WRC in full swing. "This is an unfortunate
set of circumstances affecting all competitors,"
said Welch. "However, the actions instigated by
the MSA are right and proper given the seriousness
of the situation". "Rallying will recover more
quickly than the unfortunate farmers whose livelihood
is being destroyed".
One alternative for the team
is to head across the water to Belgium and France,
but this is seen as an action to be considered
at a later date, as it will impact on the team's
budget.
More News Soon.
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