Northern Ireland’s motorcycle road races set to vanish over insurance costs

Soaring insurance costs have led to the cancellation of most motorcycle road races in Northern Ireland for 2023.

The sport’s governing body, the Motorcycle Union of Ireland Ulster Centre (MCUIUC) released a statement on Thursday evening following an emergency meeting indicating that all events – including short circuit racing and trials – could not go ahead due to “unsustainable” costs for clubs.

Quotes for public liability insurance, which covers injury to people and damage to property, have tripled to £400,000.

Cancelled events across the North include the Cookstown 100, Tandragee 100, Armoy road races, Ulster Grand Prix and the Sunflower Trophy at Bishopscourt.

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However, organisers of the flagship North West 200 race (NW200) – Northern Ireland’s largest outdoor sporting event – released a statement on Friday saying it “had not given up the fight”.

The weeklong race takes place in May and generated more than £17 million to the economy last year.

Race launch events scheduled for next week are due to take place as the MCUI released a second statement on Friday saying it was preparing a rescue package and needed to raise £500,000.

“We cannot afford the premium hikes but nor can we afford to stop the events,” said MCUI chairman John Dillon.

“Members of the MCUIUC 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.”

Mr Dillion said that 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. MCUIUC licence holders have always and continue to punch well above their weight and we are proud to have many world champions that come from Northern Ireland.

“These world champions, the likes of Joey Dunlop and more recently Jonathan Rea, are ambassadors not only for our sport but for Northern Ireland as well.”

The Coleraine and District Motor Club, which is responsible for arranging the North West races, said they “have been working tirelessly to mitigate the pressure created by these extra costs”:

“The club was confident it could manage the initial premium increase, but with other events unable to do so the transfer of extra charges to the North West 200 created an unsustainable financial burden.

“The organisers of the NW200 have not given up the fight. We cannot afford to lose an event that has been running for over 90 years and plays such a vital role in the economy of the north coast area.

“We have been overwhelmed by the messages and offers of support we have received today and whilst we understand the decision taken by the MCUI (UC), the Coleraine and District Motor club will continue in its efforts to stage the North West 200 on May 7th-13th.”

Similar fate

Sean Bissett, president of Motorcycling Ireland, said road races in the Republic could face a similar fate as those in the North. They are waiting to receive an insurance quote for their races and expect to receive it next week.

“We haven’t been quoted yet, but the Ulster Centre were quoted in the region of €480,000. It wasn’t the price that was the issue, it was the excess. The excess was €300,000 so in essence, you would almost be underwriting yourself,” he said.

Mr Bissett said there have been a number of “major incidents” at races in the Republic that resulted in insurance claims over the past five years.

“It means now when we go looking for a new broker, they look for our five-year claims and they find it very unattractive,” he added.

In the Republic, there are around 120 events per year and six major road races that take place in various counties including Meath, Dublin and Tipperary.

“Every one of these races, you have 200 riders, maybe 150 officials at it and 20,000 spectators. They’re a big loss for them areas. We’re like a moving circus from town to town for the tourism in the areas,” Mr Bissett said.

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Party MLA Mike Nesbitt, who chairs the Stormont All-Party Group on Sport and Recreation, said the issue should be addressed by government.

“I understand last year’s North West 200 pumped £17.4 million into the local economy, 110,000 visited the races on the Saturday alone, nearly a quarter of visitors were from out of state, creating nearly 65,000 bed nights,” he told the BBC.

“This is another compelling reason to get Stormont back up and running.”

Six riders were killed in the Isle of Man TT races and one rider in the Republic last year.