Körfez Events Cancelled

The motorsport events planned for the Körfez Race Track in November and December have been cancelled following the 'New Coronavirus Measures' issued by the General Directorate of Provincial Administration of the Turkish Ministry of Interior on 18 November 2020.The Turkish Automobile Sports Federation's statement on the matter reads as follows: "As is known, under the short calendar announced in Bulletin 2020/05 dated 23 October 2020, it was announced that, subject to compliance with Covid-19 measures, three events each would be held in our rally, circuit racing, off-road, baja, karting and drifting disciplines, with the Izmit Körfez circuit as the base.

This year, our Federation organised the WRC Rally Turkey and, most recently, the Formula 1 DHL Turkish GP, in line with instructions from state authorities who regarded these events as important for promoting our country and for the sustainability of international events; it subsequently obtained permission from the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports to hold the national events mentioned above. Since that date, all the necessary documentation and course preparations for these events have been carried out meticulously, and the TOSFED Sporting Commission has continued its work to stage them.
However, owing to the measures announced by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 17 November 2020 and communicated in the 'New Coronavirus Measures' letter issued by the General Directorate of Provincial Administration of the Ministry of Interior on 18 November 2020, together with sunset now falling at around 17:30, it is no longer possible to run these events within the previously announced programmes and timetables. Furthermore, taking the view that human health comes before everything else, it is considered that organising these events while the epidemic is worsening in this way could increase the risk of transmission for our competitors, team members, officials and media representatives alike. It has also been noted with regret that case numbers in Körfez district of Kocaeli have risen significantly over the past three weeks. In line with the opinions of our TOSFED Medical Commission, consideration was also given to the possibility of financial burden for our competitors should the epidemic worsen further in the coming period and the remaining rounds of the cup events, which could be started this weekend, then be impossible to hold later. Finally, a recommendation was received from the Public Health Directorate of the Kocaeli Provincial Health Directorate, whose views and approval we had sought on this matter. In this context, the Sporting Commission, which assessed the matter in terms of the welfare of competitors, racing teams, officials and our sport more broadly, and consulted the relevant stakeholders, issued a recommendation. Following its approval by the TOSFED Board of Directors, it has been decided to cancel the events announced in Bulletin 2020/05 dated 23 October 2020 that were planned to take place before the end of 2020.

Our Federation will closely follow the course of the epidemic and the decisions and measures taken by our state accordingly, and will continue its work to ensure events can be organised again for all our disciplines at the earliest opportunity in 2021, and will keep announcing developments in this regard. We take this opportunity to wish good health to everyone in our community and to remind everyone once again of the importance of observing the rules on hygiene, masks and social distancing. This is respectfully announced to the public and to our community."