To help your planning as well as our own in this time of uncertainty, we have adopted a policy of cancellation of all tours and products if the event is not officially confirmed 31 days prior to its start.
(We apologise for the necessary length of this)
Recently we have all experienced tremendous uncertainty surrounding attendance at 2021 sporting events.
Unfortunately there has been little clarity or standards on the question of whether or not spectators will be permitted at events, and under what circumstances.
Where "official" declarations are made, they frequently come far too late, if at all. For example, the MotoGP of Le Mans (14-16 May 2021) was declared to be "closed doors" only on 3 May, just 11 days before the start, and this declaration was made only in French on the Le Mans web site - not a source our clients are likely to follow. We are not at all blaming the circuit or organisers - who themselves are victims of the mutating circumstances - but this creates a practical problem for us all.
This uncertainty dramatically undermines time and travel planning of our customers -- which is itself further complicated by the needs of COVID testing, potential quarantine and return to home considerations. It also makes our job as organisers very complicated with suppliers all working to their own standards of commitment dates, payment requirements, cancellation policies; not to mention logistics and our own travel planning.
As a world leading provider of tours to these events, our number one priority (after safety of course) is our commitment to quality.
Thus we are announcing the implementation of our "31 Day Rule"
1/ If we do not have a firm commitment from an official source 31 days prior to the first day of the event (thus the Friday of a MotoGP) that an event will be open to spectators, possibly with restrictions, we will cancel our tours and products to this event.
We consider the circuit or the tournament organisers such as Dorna to be the only official sources.
2/ This notice - which should include any restrictions in place should it be a notification confirming the event - must be in writing, on a web site, newsletter or other quotable source (not a third party publication). We will cite this notification on our web site, so everyone interested will have a clear picture of what to expect.
3/ Any products we offer for this event will be adjusted as required to comply with with restrictions imposed. Anyone purchasing our products will need to accept these alterations and conditions if they attend.
We will advise which products may not be feasible (at the moment we do not expect any in-paddock products to be permitted, such as Team Experiences). We will accept provisional bookings of any product in doubt, however they will be on a request basis and no money will be accepted until such time as we can confirm the product.
4/ Any customer may elect for any reason to cancel their booking and may move any payments made to any other event in 2021 or 2022. This means that if there is any doubt you cannot attend an event owing to travel restrictions, you are free to change your booking. If you do not wish to attend because one of your products is restricted, you may move your entire booking, or just the portion of your booking that is infeasible.
5/ There will be a commitment deadline to exercise this free transfer, which will not be sooner than the 31 day cutoff. On or before the cutoff date we will inform you of your option date - which is likely to be only a few days following the cutoff.
6/ We cannot accept any liability should the official position change - for example if an event is confirmed, then later is blocked to spectators. If this happens we will make best efforts to transfer your booking, however this must be handled on an event-by-event basis as it will be dependent on our suppliers (hotels, ticket providers, etc)
7/ TO OUR SUPPLIERS: We regret that this uncertainty affects all of us in the value chain. As a general precondition to dealing with us, we will not commit to any non-refundable payment prior to the cutoff date, and then only if the event is firmly confirmed. You agree that any payments made prior to this shall be refunded or transferred to a following event at this venue. Our priority is to protect the investments of our customers, and we ask you cooperate with us to help manage this.
8/ If, owing to extreme restrictions (such as only a few grandstands being available) or other reasons, our tour attendance falls below a feasible minimum (usually about 8 people) we may decide to convert the tour to "self guided" -- offering tickets, accommodation and travel but without a PPT guide present (although on the phone). Should this occur you may opt to cancel/transfer your booking as per above irrespective of the option deadline.
To repeat for clarity - these rules are concerned with event ATTENDANCE - not simply whether the event happens (of course if the event itself is cancelled, the above provisions take hold)
Finally, we are committed to safety and should you attend any tour with us, you will need to comply with prevailing COVID protection practices. We will advise you prior to attendance, but these will include:
* mask wearing in public areas with people outside your party present
* adhering to local restrictions such as bar and restaurant attendance
* adhering to circuit restrictions, such as social distancing in grandstands and others as directed. Some circuits may require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test - we will advise.
Thanks again to our loyal customers riding out this storm with us! We'll be back at the races soon!!
These provisions override any conflicting terms and condition in our general or special terms.