MILLGROVE, ON (May 18, 2020)- The re-opening phase has begun, and Flamboro Speedway will be part of that – to a degree.
Mark Rinali, owner of Brighton Speedway, organized a group with race track and series promoters across the province of Ontario to connect with the government and health officials about racing. There was some headway made, as noted in the government’s release of Phase 1 Provincial Re-Opening.
Under the section titled Individual sports competitions without spectators, the government document stated, “Professional and amateur sport activity for individual/single competitors, including training and competition conducted by a recognized Provincial Sport Organization, National Sport Organization, or recognized national Provincial training centres (e.g., Canadian Sport Institute Ontario) with return to play protocols in place and no spectators, except for an accompanying guardian for a person under the age of 18 years.”
The detailed list underneath that speaking of which sports are allowed included specifically “car and motorcycle racing.”
While Flamboro Speedway will not be hosting any events without spectators in attendance for the foreseeable future, they are set to open the doors for racers to get practice ahead of the 2020 campaign.
The track released guidelines on across their various social media channels, detailing what racers must follow to be in compliance with both the government and health officials. Failure to comply with these rules will result in immediate removal of all team members, with no refund given.
The first practices will be scheduled for Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24, with future dates to come following the same format.
The gates will open at 1pm, with practice taking place from 2 pm to dusk. As of 8pm, the track will be closed and secured. A maximum of 20 cars will be allowed, and once that number is reached, the gates will be locked. All teams remaining in the outside parking area must practice social distancing, and remain with their own members.
The charge will be $50 per team, including one driver and four crew members – who must arrive together. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a legal guardian present, and counts as one of the four crew members.
Once inside the track, cars will be parked every third pad, and it will be a single-car practice with only one car on the track at a time. Each team must practice social distancing, and remain six feet apart from other teams. Please note that each team must be self-contained, and each team member must have a face mask & hand sanitizer.
Each team is responsible for their own garbage, as nothing can be left behind and the pad must be swept before leaving. No garbage cans will be provided, with both the concessions and garage closed; bathrooms will be open.
For the fans, be sure to check out the track’s Instagram feed on a daily basis as track announcer Gary Colling has been speaking with several different drivers and personalities about the sport. He recently spoke with Andy Kamrath on Monday, and will be speaking with Mike Schmidt on Tuesday.
Be sure to keep up with the latest by checking out Flamboro Speedway’s website at http://www.flamborospeedway.ca. You can also keep up via your favorite social networking website by following the speedway on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FlamboroSpdwy and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/flamborospeedway. Fans are encouraged to like the speedway’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Flamboro-Speedway-Authorized-Page-102328664646735/.
By: Ashley McCubbin
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