Irish Road Racing

Yes a pretty sad state of affairs.
I heard that the insurance quote was triple the previous figure so how on earth can any company justify such a significant rise, or is it just pure greed and profiteering?

The loss of revenue to all could have serious implications to small businesses.

 

What a crock of sh*t! Insurance Co.'s really get up my pipe. They moan about increased claims and losses but they don't make losses, they just pass them on to their "customers".
Maybe the C&DMC can come up with a one off deal for the NW200? It'll be great if they can but don't hold your breath. Let's just hope the TT is unaffected.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/64598123

 

Bloody insurance company's, read organised crime.

 

In the same vein regarding insurance claims...... Not sure if that will be a positive step forward under the trees etc.

Given the varying weather conditions, even within one lap, I fail to see this being a good thing unless conditions are ideal and may just put the riders under more pressure.

 

I think there are a lot of motorcycle-related events that have gone by the wayside (no) thanks to insurance--and lawyers. We used to do a great fundraiser for a boxer rescue organization called Boxer Luv held up in Phoenix. It was a motorcycle "poker run" with multiple stops at which there would always be a few boxers with their foster family or someone from the organization. At the final destination there would be a band and a live and silent auction. We probably did the event four or five times until we were told it could no longer be held because some lawyers had told them the liability was too high.

 

Remember back in the 70's when you went to a racing circuit, bought your ticket, which said something like...
"Motorsport is Dangerous. You are present trackside entirely at your own risk". Well, the compensation culture put paid to that, "where there's blame there's a claim" and sadly people see a way to make a fast £$. Admittedly, street circuits like the TT, NW200 and many others on the Emerald Isle raise a different set of problems and risks and the potential for more and bigger claims which is one reason the insurance Co's are giving for their extortionate increase in premiums. With the economy as it is currently with double figure inflation one could expect premiums to increase but tripling the cost! Bullsh*t.

 

I don't know about you, @Iceman, but I've noticed that a number of motorcycle-related things have changed in the past several years. While some would say Covid is to blame, I think it just exacerbated the demise of a lot of racing events, rallies, even print motorcycle magazines. And, yes, the loss of those things has a broader effect on people and economies than most realize. I really never thought I'd see so many events disappear in my lifetime. I only started riding about a dozen years ago or so and figured I'd have years more to enjoy those motorcycle things I've come to love. I'll keep fingers crossed for things to improve for Irish road racing in 2024.

 

It's estimated the NW200 brought in £17M on top of normal tourism last year to the local economy on the north coast. That will take some replacing if the event doesn't run.

 

An interesting view here from Phil McCallen.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-64598513

I'm not sure how bringing the sport into the "modern digital" world would raise that much more revenue. Crowd funding maybe? We've had live streaming of the NW200 for a few years now along with TV highlights. Perhaps more live TV coverage could be investigated but such revenue doesn't help the local businesses who depend on the massive influx of visitors for their income. Revered as these events are among the road racing fanbase I don't think they will ever generate the interest that F1 and MotoGP does. Ardent road racing fans will obviously be really p*ssed off by the cancellations. For the local businesses, hotels, B&B's, bars, pubs, cafes etc it's an unmitigated disaster.

 

And all the while the poor insurance companies are taking it on the chin and making a loss...... oh yes

Now you would have to be naive to believe that one

 

You mean its not true.

 

So it would seem but for how long?
I went to a meeting regarding the access road collapsing (read landslip) and that really is another hot potato that no one wants to hold.... Is it Scarborough CC or North Yorkshire Highways or other to point the finger at here, but someone is going to have to fork out a significant amount for it at some point, or will they? Apparently over £100k has been spent on assessments already

 

Hi @Iceman. I completely agree with you about print, not only for magazines but also for books. Even though I am dictating this email on my iPad, I always prefer print. Thanks for the TT article! I read the whole page. Was that the end of the article or is there more? If there's more, I would love to read the rest of it please. It's really cool that you got to be around for the "golden years". I try to not regret that I entered the wonderful world of motorcycles lat(er) in life and to enjoy every time I'm blessed to get in the saddle.

Yes, all manner of organizations seem to have used Covid as an excuse for one thing or another. I'm still hearing it in the schools where I work. One of my colleagues recently made a comment about kids doing poorly and I kind of snapped. I said I'm tired of hearing that and it's about time that we start with where we are now and look forward otherwise we do the kids a disservice.

BTW, I don't seem to be able to open the link in your post. Could you please share it again? Thanks!

 

See if it works here @Sandi T

https://mailchi.mp/iomttraces/rider-news-tt-tech-tt-live-pass?e=91126249bf

 

Thanks, @Eldon. That links works perfectly.