THE Armoy Motorcycle Road Racing Club has arranged the setting up of a vaccination centre at the Community Hall in Armoy on Thursday 29thJuly, as part of a number of safety measures, the day before racing starts in Armoy, which will see hundreds of spectators head to the small County Antrim village.
With the recent call for young people to get vaccinated and in line with current guidelines, the Club is hoping that this will go some way in helping the wider community. A mobile vaccination clinic will set up in the local Armoy Community Hall, Tilly Molly’s, on Thursday 29th July from 10am to 5pm. They are asking primarily for those within the 18 to 29-year-old age group to come forward and get vaccinated.
The Clerk of the Course, Bill Kennedy MBE explains that this is part of the wider community safety plan; “Running a road race in any normal year has its challenges; this year has had multiple layers of safety added to it which have included numerous meetings and engagements with many public bodies to ensure all risk assessments are completed to a satisfactory standard. Each year we want to run the road races as safely as possible.
“A normal year sees us building a circuit where we ensure that walls, trees and other infrastructures are reviewed, and measures implemented like safety bales. Other parts include looking at every bump in the road. There are many, many aspects to ensure that a road race is as safe as it can be. This year the pandemic has brought about a multidimensional risk assessment, where numbers, road racers, sponsors and just about everything in the road race is impacted.
“So today I ask those attending, for their own safety and for the safety of others, to abide by the regulations, the instructions, the advice and we encourage everyone to play their part – only then will we have a great two days’ racing. We know how to put a race on and what we are asking is for people to play their part in making sure we can, first of all, run and secondly, that we have two days of great racing because we have abided by all the guidelines.
“There are a few basics; if you have Covid 19 symptoms do not attend; if you have just returned from outside the common travel area within the last ten days – you must not attend. Please bring your own mask and sanitiser; however sanitising stations will be located in designated areas. You must adhere to social distancing regulations and to the event signage guidelines and information.
“We are also asking spectators to be at the event one hour and in situ before the road closes. On Saturday we are asking people to be there at 9ambefore the road closes at 10am and on Friday the road closes at 12.30pm. This will allow us to carry out all the safety requirements in good time prior to the racing. We are also conscious that people will be coming from further afield and staying locally but they will be coming from all directions Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballycastle and Ballymena – have your wristbands at the ready in order to be directed to the right car park and viewing area. Please do leave plenty of time. We are also asking people not to move around, find you safe place to view the road racing and stay there and more importantly stay off the road – the race track!
“Once we abide by all the various guidance, I’m sure that we are going to see one of the best year’s racing at Armoy. The entries have been phenomenal; the grids are full and that’s including the feature race, the Bayview Hotel Race of Legends. With our very own eight times winner Michael Dunlop on a Synetiq BMW Motorrad, Davey Todd on Wilson Craig Racing’s Honda CBR, Joey Thompson on a BMW, Paul Jordan with Burrows by RK Racing Suzuki alongside teammate Mike Browne, Adam McClean and Darryl Tweed both with McAdoo Racing and then from Ireland we have some great riders including Michael Sweeney, Derek McGee and Derek Sheils. And there are many more.”
This event was enabled by funding from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council. For more information on Armoy Road Races, visit www.armoyroadraces.com or search for ‘AMRRC’ on Facebook or follow on twitter @ArmoyRoadRaces.
