DONESTIC RACING'S RETURN

A series of events at home gave us a glimpse of normality

As the year comes to an end and we face the reality of battling a new variant of Covid-19 and potential restrictions, it’s easy to forget now that at the beginning of 2021 there was doubt over whether we would have a season at all. After the lockdown was eased in March, a tentative return to road racing came in the form of a test event in the Mendips on April 18. Winner Conor McGoldrick of Primera-TeamJobs declared it a resounding success: “Everyone was eager to be on that start line,” he said. “There were [Covid-19] protocols at the start, but as soon as the racing started, it was back to normal.”

The National Road Series racing finally got going again in June after a break of nearly two years – and a stuttering start after a number of the early rounds were called off and the Lincoln Grand Prix postponed till October.