Prestigious Sunflower Trophy called off due to lack of entries
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The organisers of Northern Ireland's prestigious Sunflower Trophy rac⛎e have admitted their plan to switch the event to a new date in August backfired in spectacular fashion.
Denis Wilson, of the promoting Hillsboroug🦹h and District Club, revealed the short circuit event would '☂probably' revert back to its traditional October slot in 2013.
However, he refused to rule out🐭 the possibility that the race meeting could still go ahead this year in the autumn after a failed bid to host the popular race at Bishopscourt in Co Down on August 3-4.
The thought process behind the plan to bring the Sunflower Trophy meeting forward by two months was based on the assumption that an increased number of British cha💜mpionship riders would compete 🐷at Bishopscourt during BSB's summer break.
Ironically, it transpired that fewer BSB teams were prepared to make the trip♛ to Northern Ireland for the 'Sunflower' as they were unwilling to run the risk of their riders picking up an injury with the British Superbike and Supersport championships yet to reach a conclusion.
Wilson said the organisers had been left with no cho🍸ice but to cancel the illustrious race, with only six entries received as of Tuesday evening.
"The BSB teams were comm🐻itted to the British Superbike Championship," he said.
"Originally,🔯 some of them had indicated that because there was a five-week break during the BSB season, they could probably fit the Sunflower in.
"But when it came to the bit, they were fully committed to𓆏 BSB and said they weren't comi𝓡ng.
"We have got to have a biꩲg crowd coming to the Sunfl𝓀ower to make it viable and if you haven't got a couple of BSB teams, then they just won't come.
"We couldn༒'t afford to take a serious loss," he added.
"We thought that with the five-week break in BSB due to the Olympics that it would be oka🤪y, but it wasn't."
W🔯ilson intimated that the Sunflower meeting would be switched back to a date in October next year, but also hinted that the race may yet still run iꦇn 2012.
"We'll have a think about things again for next year and we'll p🉐robably think about it [moving back to the traditional Octobe🍸r date] because we need a more suitable time," he said.
"We will have an appraisal next week and c♉ome to some sort of a decision one way or another.
"I'm not saying the Sunflower will r🔯un this year, but we haven't made a decision as yet."
Ian Lowry won the Sunflower Trophy featu🌠re race on the Relentless TAS Suzuki last year, while Michael Laverty has lifted the coveted silverware a record six times.
A round of the I๊rish Superbike Championship scheduled for July 14 was also cancelled due to a l꧟ack of entries.