Racing restarts at Kirkistown on Saturday 25th July.
Entries will only be taken on line.
No transponders for hire.
New phone number for contact with officials on the day
Context
The COVID-19 pandemic has had many serious consequences. 500 MRCI extends its sympathy to all who have suffered, and gratitude to those who have helped mitigate its impact.
Having cancelled events since March, we look forward to reopening Kirkistown Circuit to racing from Saturday 25 July 2020. However, virus-related risks remain and must be managed. Resumption of racing is ‘entirely conditional on robust protocols being in place, communicated, fully understood and complied with by all participants’ to quote Sport NI and the NI Executive.
This means significant changes to how 500 MRCI organises and runs meetings. The Club expects the co- operation of all, particularly competitors and their team members, in these challenging circumstances. We also want everyone to enjoy their racing, and the atmosphere that makes Kirkistown special.
This document was drafted by Wendy Young, enhanced with input from officials, and developed by the Club Council to bring together procedures which, if followed, will allow a safe return to competition. It deals specifically with Kirkistown and the 500 MRCI, will be updated as necessary, and should be read in combination with the following which provide more general guidance and apply with equal force:
- ‘Getting Back on Track, with Appendix for Guidance for RACE Venues and Event Organisers’ Motorsport UK, 18 May 2020.
- ‘A Framework to guide progression towards a resumption of sport and physical recreation in Northern Ireland’, Sport NI, 04 June 2020.
- ‘ReturntoSportUpdate’,SportNI,25June2020.
This version is for Competitors; a separate (similar) document will be sent to Officials and Marshals.
Updated Calendar
At present, we envisage six events in 2020:
- Race Meeting 25th July
- Sprint Event 1st August
- Race Meeting 19th August
- Race Meeting 26th September
- Race Meeting 17th October
- Sprint Event 31st October
All events for the remainder of 2020 (and perhaps beyond) will take place behind closed doors. Members of the public will NOT be admitted, and access to the circuit restricted to those directly involved.
Each event will be organised and run as outlined below.
500 MRCI Protocol for COVID-19 at Kirkistown
Risk Assessment
This document builds on generic guidance from Motorsport UK, Sport NI and others. Before the 25 July event a Risk Assessment process has been carried out by the 500 MRCI Council, with a series of virtual meetings focused on measures to mitigate risks from COVID-19. Following the 25 July race meeting (and subsequent events in 2020) this Risk Assessment will be reviewed, updated, and reflected in revised versions of this document, and the version for Officials and Marshals, where necessary.
How to Enter
Competitors should enter ONLY via the RALLYSCORE entry management system at www.rallyscore.net A link and instructions are provided at www.kirkistown.com
Please note that:
- Entering via Rallyscore includes self-declarations on your state of health, and the suitability of your car, which streamline the entry and scrutineering processes in current circumstances.
- Entries attempted by post, e-mail, telephone or other means will not be accepted.
- Entries which are not fully completed will automatically be rejected.
- Payment is made with your online entry. Entries will not be accepted without payment.
- Entries must be made before the closing date of Friday 17 July for the 25 July meeting. There will be no exceptions, and anyone arriving on the day expecting to race will be turned away.
- 500MRCI will NO LONGER lend out transponders. YOUR transponder number must be correctly included with your entry. If the wrong transponder number is entered, no time will be recorded.
- Before competing for the first time in 2020, please e-mail a copy (or photo) of your race licence to . This will allow the Club to confirm that you hold an appropriate licence for your event.
- In the days leading up to each event, please re-read the self-declarations you made at the time of entry, and inform the Club of any changes. If COVID-19 symptoms appear you MUST NOT come to the circuit, regardless of what was previously declared.
- There will be no signatures on licence upgrade cards this season.
On Race Day
- Access to events at Kirkistown in 2020 will be restricted to competitors and team members only, and team personnel should be limited to the absolute minimum necessary (not spectators). These events are CLOSED to the general public, and access will be strictly controlled at the gate.
- Throughout the day, from arrival at the circuit until the last competitor leaves, now-familiar measures to minimise the spread of COVID-19 will require your full cooperation. These include social distancing, regular handwashing or use of hand sanitiser, and PPE where necessary. Obvious signage will reinforce each message at key locations.
- Signing-on at the circuit is not required, as the self-declaration form covers that. However, please bring your 2020 competition licence and club membership card as spot checks may be made.
- Drivers’ Briefings will be conducted at the Control Tower, class-by-class, to enable social distancing. Others than drivers and officials directly involved, no others should join these (distanced) groups.
- Official Programmes will be posted in prominent locations, in a simplified version, and available electronically (but not issued on the day in printed form). List of competitors can be seen on the Rallyscore website and posted at www.kirkistown.com prior to each event.
- At Race Administration, the Secretary of the Meeting will be happy as ever to answer questions. However, please wait to be invited into the office and maintain social distancing.
- Access to the Control Tower will be restricted to relevant officials. The upstairs door of the Control Tower will be kept locked during the event, and accessed only by use of a key pad.
- To maintain social distancing, any competitor wishing to contact Timekeepers or Clerk of Course may do so only by the use of a dedicated mobile telephone number 0778 334 6787. Queries will be answered as quickly as possible, and parties will be informed of the outcome of any formal process at the judicial stage.
- Media involvement will be limited. Alan Drysdale has been asked to provide a basic commentary service, primarily to inform competitors and to convey announcements.
COVID-19 Officers
- 500MRCI has appointed Rory O’Neill and Duncan McGregor as COVID-19 Officers to ensure that Motorsport UK guidelines are implemented, liaise with stakeholders, and monitor the COVID-19 situation locally. As a condition of a return to racing Kirkistown, Duncan and Rory are obliged to report to the Clerk of the Course any violations of this Protocol. Consequent actions may include disqualification from the event.
- Rory and Duncan are supported in this role by (and will provide feedback to) Dr Paul Trafford, chairman of the Medical Committee of Motorsport UK, as its COVID-19 Medical Officer.
- Duties of COVID-19 Officers will be updated where necessary for future meetings.
Scrutineering
- Until further notice, no scrutineering will take place on the Friday evening prior to each event.
- As each competitor will have completed a Pre-Event Scrutineering declaration, physical pre-event scrutineering will be limited.
- Throughout the event, scrutineers may carry out random checks on cars from each race (as well as helmets and complete race suits) to ensure that they match the information declared.
In the Paddock
- Social distancing among everyone at the circuit is crucial, in line with latest Government guidelines. In specific situations where team-members are temporarily unable to maintain social distance, competitors are responsible for providing appropriate PPE to ensure that those involved are able to work safely.
- Where two or more vehicles share the same awning or paddock space, there must be adequate distance between vehicles to allow them to be worked upon with social distancing.
- Sharing of tools and equipment should be avoided. In exceptional circumstances, sanitisation must take place between different users.
- Grid positions will continue to be shared with relevant officials on WhatsApp.
- It is each competitor’s responsibility to ensure that a transponder is fitted and working. Please remember that transponders will NOT be available from 500MRCI.
- Away from the track, minimising risk from COVID-19 is the shared responsibility of everyone. Face masks / coverings must be worn where social distancing is not practical (e.g. mechanics working together on a car, or physical checks as part of scrutineering).
- Those staying on-site overnight are NOT permitted to share accommodation unless they are from the same household. Guests or friends must make their own arrangements, or stay elsewhere.
- Providing food and drinks for team members and others directly involved with a competition vehicle is permitted, provided social distancing and other safety measures are respected.
Medical Support
- Medical support will be provided at the circuit as ever. However, the medical centre is primarily for competitors and should not be used as a drop-in centre for minor injuries. Competitors should carry a first aid kit to deal with minor injuries themselves.
- Anyone feeling unwell with COVID-19-like symptoms should NOT attend the medical centre; rather they should inform Race Administration of their concern before leaving the circuit to contact their doctor or call the NHS helpline 111.
On the Circuit
- On-track rules and regulations remain unchanged, together with Motorsport UK’s ‘Blue Book’.
- Track limits, in particular, still apply.
- Should your vehicle stop trackside as a result of a problem or an incident you will be approached by a marshal from the front of your car (where possible). The marshal will look for your ‘thumbs up’ signal to indicate to that you are well and do not require assistance. Failure to do this will be understood to mean that you need additional help (causing unnecessary delay if not). You may need to help marshals move your vehicle.
- At the end of each session all vehicles must go to Parc Fermé. Once there you may get out of your vehicle but remember to observe social distancing at all times. No other people will be admitted to Parc Fermé. The scrutineers will retain any vehicles they wish to check and send others back to the paddock.
- Qualifying times and race results will NOT be printed out at events, but will be available via online via the myLaps website or via the URL timing.rhwright.co.uk.
After the Race
- It may be necessary to undertake judicial action to deal with people breaching the regulations. In order to observe social distancing, these actions will take place in the Marshals’ Room which has more than adequate space. This means that penalties will be announced verbally but then sent to you electronically and any protests or appeals must be submitted electronically. Any fees or fines payable will be taken electronically.
- Any competitor wishing to make a protest should do this via a dedicated mobile telephone number0778 334 6787. The parties will be informed of the outcome at judicial stage.
- Trophies will be left on a table in the garage beside the race office with names displayed on the boxes. Winners are responsible for collecting their own trophies.
- The safety of everyone at the event will be uppermost in the minds of the organisers at all times. Procedures to deal with on-track incidents may differ from previous experience, and will follow Motorsport UK guidelines.
These rules are mandatory. They apply in the context of a serious pandemic, and have been developed with reference to guidelines from Motorsport UK and the NI Executive. Failure to comply may result in an entry being denied or a competitor being disqualified from the event.
Competitors are responsible for their own actions, as well as the actions of team members or others accompanying them to Kirkistown. COVID-19 adds additional risk to our sport. By attending the circuit, competitors and others are deemed to acknowledge and accept this additional risk. If anyone does not feel safe or comfortable in the circumstances outlined above, they should not attend the event.
As always but particularly now, 500 MRCI is grateful to the members and competitors who make our race meetings so successful.
Feedback and suggestions to improve this document, or the procedures it describes, are welcome. Please email
Thank you for your understanding, we wish you very enjoyable race meeting.
PAUL McMORRAN Chair, 500MRCI RICHARD YOUNG Events Co-ordinator