Vaccinate or don’t race: NZ Motorsport events heading towards mandatory vaccinations

You will have to be fully vaccinated to compete in, officiate at, or watch live motorsport in New Zealand moving forward.

MotorSport New Zealand issued an email today to offer some clarity about how events will run ahead of December 3’s move into the traffic light system.

For events to go ahead with eased restrictions, attendees must prove they are fully vaccinated.

You do this by presenting your vaccine passport, or ‘My Vaccine Pass’.

MotorSport New Zealand’s email says proof of a negative Covid-19 test is “not currently being considered” as an alternative to revealing vaccination status.

It’s December 3 when Auckland moves into Red Light. The rest of the country moves into the traffic light system the same day but has its status confirmed on Monday.

Under Red Light, events using Vaccine Certificates can have either A) up to 100 people or B) the maximum number of people who could occupy the space with one-metre physical distancing.

Under Orange Light, there are zero gathering-size limits for events using Vaccine Certificates. The same is true for Green Light.

It is not until Green Light where outdoor events can go ahead without Vaccine Certificates. Importantly, the gathering size is still restricted to 100.

Therefore, it is relatively easy to suggest motorsport events in New Zealand will demand proof of vaccination to operate in the traffic light system.

This is only for everyone aged 12 and up.

Similarly, ‘workers’ who work at the event must also be fully vaccinated.

In a motorsport sense, ‘workers’ include MotorSport New Zealand-appointed officials, club-sourced officials, contractors, and venue staff.

‘Workers’ have until January 17 to be fully vaccinated.

MotorSport New Zealand is currently editing their Back in Motion Guidelines to reflect the changes.

They anticipate the document to be published with specific motorsport examples by early next week.

Earlier this month, it was announced MotorSport New Zealand were uniting with Speedway NZ, Motorcycling NZ, KartSport NZ and the NZ Drag Racing Association to make one set of guidelines on how racing resumes post-December 3.