Northern Irish Road Racing In Peril
T
he sport of street sport-bike
racing is in crisis mode after
many of the organizing clubs in
Northern Ireland deemed it im
-
possible to run their events due
to soaring insurance costs.
The previous year has seen
public liability insurance pre-
miums soar to over $480,000
per issuance, a levy put almost
solely on the clubs themselves
and event sponsors. Canceled
events include the Cookstown
100, Tandragee 100, Armoy Race
of Legends, Ulster Grand Prix,
and Sunflower Trophy at Bishop
-
scourt.
At this stage, the North West
200 and the Isle of Man TT are still
going ahead for 2023, although
the Ulster Superbike Champion
-
ship, a series where many of the
NW200 and TT's stars race, will
not go ahead this year.
Following the emergency
meeting of various clubs, stake
and shareholders, the Motor
-
cycle Union of Ireland has said
they will pursue every avenue
possible to save road racing
events, but noted any rescue
package will need to be in ex-
cess of $600,000.
Speaking to crash.net, Motor-
cycle Union of Ireland chairman
John Dillon said, "We cannot
afford the premium hikes but nor
can we afford to stop the events.
Members of the MCUI (UC)
board and I are now urgently
pursuing a series of options and
sources including the launch of
a crowd funding campaign.
"If racing doesn't take place
in 2023, not only will it be nearly
impossible to bring it back in
2024, we will also lose the new
riders coming through the ranks.
"There has been a ground
-
swell of support from across all
sections of the media and it is
clear that we have the support of
all race fans making the option
of crowd funding a real option to
save our sport.
"Additionally, it will become in
-
creasingly difficult for the MCUI
(UC) to provide licenses and in-
surance cover for existing riders
to compete overseas because of
revenue losses.
"Motorcycle racing, especially
road racing, is unique on the
island of Ireland. It is part of our
culture and heritage, and we've
been racing on roads for over
100 years. MCUI (UC) license
holders have always and con
-
tinue to punch well above their
weight and we are proud to have
many world champions that
come from Northern Ireland."
CN
P48
WIND
IN THE
Davey Todd leads the way
at the Armoy Grand Prix.
It appears this branch
of road racing's days are
numbered.
PHOTO: ROD NEILL
