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Public attendance cancelled for Silverstone season launch

TOCA, the BTCC series organiser, has announced that public attendance for tomorrow’s season launch at Silverstone has been cancelled following the latest advice regarding the coronavirus pandemic from the UK government.

The test session will go ahead as planned, with TOCA issuing the following statement:

Following the Government’s Coronavirus latest advice, BTCC Series Organiser, TOCA, and Silverstone have taken the decision to cancel public attendance at the BTCC Season Launch taking place at the circuit tomorrow (17 March).

TOCA and Silverstone are committed to assisting in any way to support the Government’s action plan, with the health and safety of our visitors and our team as our priority.

There has been no further information released regarding the first race weekend of the season, which is scheduled for Donington Park later this month.

However, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson advising against social contact that was ‘non-essential’ and with the government ‘no longer supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers in the way that we normally do’ in order to help protect the NHS, it is widely expected that there will be a delay to the start of the season – with the size of the BTCC paddock preventing racing from going on behind closed doors.

The latest government update on Monday evening had an immediate impact on a number of sporting events, with the Isle of Man TT amongst those to be cancelled.