The North West 200 was cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northern Ireland race team owner John Burrows says it is imperative the North West 200 goes ahead in 2021 following the cancellation of the Isle of Man TT for a second consecutive year.

The TT organisers confirmed on Monday that the world-famous event would not take place due to the ongoing impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, even with the progress of a vaccination programme in the UK.

It came as a hammer blow to riders, teams and fans on the back of the road racing season that never was in 2020, with only one Irish national meeting taking place with the Cookstown 100 in September, while Oliver’s Mount in Scarborough hosted the Barry Sheene Classic and Scarborough Gold Cup events.

It is understood the North West 200 – scheduled for May 11-15 – will be postponed until later next summer, although the debt-hit Ulster Grand Prix remains in jeopardy.

Burrows, who runs the Dungannon-based Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team, says Northern Ireland’s biggest road race is of crucial importance to sponsors and riders alike.

“It’s disappointing and it’s unprecedented for the TT not to happen two years in a row,” Burrows told the News Letter.

“We’ve lost the TT next year so I really hope that the North West 200 goes ahead because as a team owner, I really don’t want to lose a second major road race. It’s so important to have an event where you can showcase the team on the big stage and get important exposure for sponsors,” he added.

“If I’m selling myself to a sponsor then it’s on the back of the North West and TT, and then the smaller races factor in after that.

“I can’t see the North West happening in May, that’s for sure, so hopefully they will try and pick a date later on in the year: there has to be some spare dates in August.”

Burrows is a major supporter of the Irish national scene but the former racer admits he would consider re-thinking the rationale in running a team, if the TT was no longer the backbone of the road racing calendar.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a great supporter of Irish national road racing and I love our road races, but if the TT wasn’t there, then I would probably rethink whether or not I would run a team,” he said.

“I think everybody likes the highlight of the TT every year and it’s something unique. From a team point of view, the TT is extremely important to our main sponsor, RK Racing, and it’s seriously disappointing for Charlotte (Richardson) that the event has been cancelled again.

“Ultimately if there was no TT then I doubt her heart would be in it anymore, so of course it’s a very important event for a lot of reasons. Sadly, this is the situation we’re in at the moment but surely we will be back to normal in 2022.

“I’m disappointed like everyone and I did think that maybe they could have run the event over the Manx Grand Prix dates. I’m not completely sure why they didn’t hold the decision until the end of March or into April and then leave August as a possibility if the event couldn’t go ahead in June, possibly combined with the Manx Grand Prix,” added Burrows, who signed Paul Jordan for the national meetings and Cork prospect Mike Browne this year.

“On the other side of it, people are starting to spend money at this time of the year and finalise contracts with riders, so there are a lot of team budgets hanging on the TT too. If you have teams that bring a rider in specifically for the TT but give them a short circuit ride as well, they’re now able to plan things differently because essentially they might not need that rider now for 2021.

“It affects a lot of things in different ways.”