PAUL LAWRENCE

“Cancellation of Isle of Man has caused anger”

The last-minute cancellation of Rally Isle of Man has caused widespread, shock, sadness, dismay and downright anger among the historic rallying fraternity.

As a friend of mine commented on Sunday, when the news broke: “I’ve been done up like a Manx kipper.” He was going over to spectate, as usual, and is now at least £500 out of pocket on flights, hotel and car hire. My situation is much the same: ‘No refunds or credit given’, it says on my ferry booking, which was £288.50 paid in full on December 9.

However, my loss is much less than that of the crews who have entered the rally. Entry fees will be refunded in full, apparently, but that is only part of the situation. Ferries, flights and hotels are likely to be wasted money and there is much to add to that. Service crews, time off work and the shuffling of business commitments will all be impacted and it’s a fair bet that many crews will be out of pocket by several thousand pounds.

Then, spare a thought for the three Japanese Mini crews who have supported the event in recent times. They shipped their cars weeks ago and booked long-haul flights. I hate to think how much they will end up losing.

So what has gone wrong? It seems that the road closure order problem with the island’s Department of Infrastructure, which reared its ugly head some weeks ago, was not as nailed down as the organisers hoped or even led the sport to believe. Some reference was also made to a lack of paid entries: the list on the event website shows 110 entries, which is 30 down on the last two years but comparable to 2015. Once the anger and frustration has died down a little, it would be good to know the true facts behind the situation that has probably cost the rallying fraternity up to half a million pounds.

I’m not thrilled at my own financial loss, but I’m far more disappointed that I won’t be going to one of my favourite rallies. Everything has been booked for months and final planning was well under way. Maps and stage times have, as ever, been studied with relish and all was set for the ferry out of Liverpool next Wednesday. Family life and work schedules have been shuffled around this important date, and it has all been wasted.

So what next for the Rally Isle of Man? The organisers have boldly confirmed the date for a bounce back in 2019, but who is going enter and which championships are going to risk putting the event in their schedule? Selling a return in 2019 is going to be desperately difficult, even to me, and I’ve always been a massive advocate for rallying on the Isle of Man. It all just makes me incredibly sad.