All Irish road racing has been cancelled for 2023, this is due to soaring insurance costs, public liability insurance has been quoted at £400,000, therefore no NW200, Tandragee 100, Cookstown 100, UGP amongst others. This is a huge blow for everyone involved in Irish road racing and local economies. I understand that trials and motocross events are not affected. I hope things improve for 2024, however for this year it is bleak. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.
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
On a more positive note slick tyres are allowed at this years TT for a number of classes, who previously had to run road legal race tyres, i.e. Supercorsa's and Racetech's. Will the S100 and MGP follow the same route Isle of Man TT Races© - Technical Director Dave Hagen explains…technical tweaks for tt 2023 (iomttraces.com).
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
Hi Sandi, you raise some interesting points and I agree with you, personally I think a lot of companies have unjustifiably blamed Covid for all manner of things, including extortionate price hikes, as you say an awful lot of motorsports events have disappeared over the years, rallies, trials, motocross, grass track, etc etc, our Scarborough Road Racing was cancelled for a few years due to excessive insurance costs and facility updates, thankfully it is now back with us, I love my "print" publications and resist digital, I am the same with books, I prefer them to reading via my laptop. Events do need to modernise I fully understand that, however I doubt some are progress. Interestingly a few years ago the Isle Of Man Government gave residents a vote on the introduction of a national speed limit (pressure from the Manx Police), the residents strongly rejected any such legislation. I was reading an article this week in my weekly copy (paper that is) of Ian Hutchinson on the TT, a really interesting article, I have had a fair few conversations with Hutchy over the years and he is a really nice guy, but then again all road racing men and women are friendly and approachable. I started riding on an ex WW2 despatch riders bike in around 64 (a baptism of fire) and passed my test in 67, and a lot of changes and legislation have been introduced since then, some better some worse, but I have been blessed with those "golden years". The link shows the reason behind the slick tyre introduction. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker. RIDER NEWS | TT TECH | TT+ LIVE PASS (mailchi.mp)
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
A very positive move for rider safety at the TT MGP and S100, at the speeds we reach these days good certified kit is essential. I foresee that we will have new lap and race records at all events, watch out for Davey Todd. ACU Events as the Single Race Organiser for all road races on the Isle of Man are providing advance notice that as part of a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) review, competitor personal protective equipment was reviewed for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix with measures brought in for the two events on the Snaefell Mountain Course in 2022. ACU Events has decided that for the Southern 100 Road Races to be consistent with the SMS, the same standards need to be applied to the July races to allow the event to continue. The new regulations will be part of the 2023 Supplementary Regulations that will be available shortly and cover Helmets; Leathers; Back & Chest Protectors; Gloves; Boots and Identification Discs. ENDS 13th February 2023
