Motorsport UK, the governing body for motorsport in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has cancelled all racing events under its control until the end of April.

This will impact (of those events not already postponed or cancelled) the BRDC British Formula 3 pre-season test and season opening races at Oulton Park on April 9-13, as well as the BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 season opener at Silverstone a week later on April 18-19.

David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK, explained, ?Clearly we live in challenging times and exceptional measures are required. The decision to suspend Motorsport UK permits on a temporary basis is not one that was taken lightly as the industry employs many thousands of people.

“However we have an over-riding responsibility to our members and the friends and families of our community. Furthermore, our social responsibilities extend to the broader population and the potential drain on valuable public health resources on which we are all reliant.

?The situation is very fluid and we will continue to monitor developments over the coming weeks and hope that we can resume the annual motorsport calendar at the opportune moment.

“In the immediate short term our efforts need to be focused on ensuring that the industry that backs up the sport has the financial support that it requires from the Government in order that it can be sustained beyond this extraordinary scenario.?

The first junior single-seater event now scheduled to take place in the UK is the National FF1600 round at Snetterton on May 2-3.