Kyle White: Irish road racing at precipice with no end in sight to current turmoil

Irish road racing is at a precipice as crushing insurance costs threaten to decimate the Northern Ireland motorcycling calendar in 2023.

An emergency meeting of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland (Ulster Centre) on Thursday night resulted in a decision to announce the cancellation of all road races, short circuits and trials meetings after public liability insurance for 2023 more than tripled.

The total insurance cost for all three disciplines in the sport has risen from £170,000 last year to £410,000 this year.

National road races were being asked for a contribution to the overall quote of more than £53,000 – up from the £16,850 they paid in 2022.

The North West 200 organisers saw their financial commitment soar from £30,800 to over £97,000, a figure that then rose to £150,000 when eight clubs announced their intention to cancel their events, placing an additional burden on those remaining.

On Friday, some hope was offered after the North West 200 organisers pledged to do all they could to run their event in May.

A rescue package is also being sought by the MCUI (UC), with a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign launched on Friday night.

But the overall outlook speaks to a sport in real jeopardy.

National road racing in particular has been in decline in recent years, with falling grid numbers and fewer of the sport’s top names taking part on a regular basis.

Organisers are battling ever-increasing costs associated with running their events and rely heavily on sales of race programmes for much of their income, with spectators largely able to enjoy a free day out at motorcycle road races in the absence of enforceable admission fees.

The only road race meeting legislated to raise money through admission charges is the Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod, but that has not been enough to prevent the event from falling into financial trouble.

In 2021, the Dundrod club entered into a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) with its creditors after accumulating debts in the region of £300,000.

While there is some short-term encouragement that the North West 200 could yet take place this year, it is becoming ever more of an uphill struggle to fund motorcycle races.

And there is no end in sight to the current turmoil.