VOL. 56 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 5, 2019 P37
EUROPEAN
MOTORSPORT
SAVED BY COURT
DECISION
M
otorsport as we know it will
continue in Europe after a
landmark ruling by the European
Parliament to exempt competition
vehicles from EU's Motor Insur-
ance Directive (also known as
Vnuk).
The Directive would have
required all vehicles, be it cars,
motorcycles, trucks, to have a
form of road traffic insurance,
regardless of whether or not they
were designated for competition
use only.
No insurance of this kind is
commercially available in Europe,
and the directive dictated anyone
who wanted to race would need
insurance on their machines.
Thus, the MID could very well
have killed off motorcycle racing
and motorsport as we know it.
The European
Parliament com-
mittee responsible for the MID
voted unanimously to exempt
motorsport from the Directive by
32 votes in favor to two against.
The ruling is the result of exten-
sive lobbying by such groups as
the MCIA (Motorcycle Industry As-
sociation), UK bodies, including
the Auto Cycle Union, Motorsport
Industry Association and Depart-
ment for Transport, the FIA, FIM
and European Motorcycle Indus-
try Association.
The Motor Insurance Directive
came about after Slovenian farm-
er Damijan Vnuk was knocked off
a ladder by a reversing tractor in a
farmyard. Following this incident,
it declared all motorized vehicles—
sporting, recreational, personal or
commercial—required insurance.
"This is great news and a big
relief for motorsport of all types,"
said Tony Campbell, CEO of the
MCIA to MCN. "The potential im-
pact would have been catastroph-
ic and likely to result in the end of
motorsport as we know it." CN
Thanks to a little
sense and sensibility,
European racing like
the British Superbike
Championship,
is safe from EU
insurance red tape.
KTM 790 ADVENTURE
PRICED AT $12,499
O
ne of the most eagerly anticipated motorcycles
of 2019—the KTM 790 Adventure and Adven-
ture R—will go on sale in the U.S. for $12,499 and
$13,499, respectively.
That puts the machine KTM expects will become
one of, if not the best sellers in its lineup, on the favor-
able side against class stalwarts: the Triumph Tiger
800 XCx ($14,600), BMW F 850 GS ($14,295) and
larger displacement Honda Africa Twin ADV Sports
($15,099)—as Mugato from Zoolander would say, "the
midsize ADV segment is so hot right now." CN
Priced competitively, the 790 Adventures look like
they're going to be real weapons!
