Mid-Antrim 150: Clough course "not an option" should race return in future after second sabotage attack

Clerk of the Course Davy McCartney said holding the Irish national meeting at the 3.5-mile Clough venue in County Antrim was no longer an option after oil, nails and glass were spilled on sections of road in the early hours of Saturday, forcing the event to be called off.

It is the second time the Mid-Antrim 150 was cancelled because of sabotage after oil was also deliberately deposited on the course in 2011.

The weekend disruption occurred after the Mid-Antrim Club decided to run the national meeting – back on the calendar for the first time since 2016 – in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

McCartney, who is the chairman of the organising club, said: “The general feeling is that if the race ever did come back in the future, it won’t be on the Clough circuit – we would have no option.

“It’s hurtful and we’re emotionally and mentally drained with what has happened, but there was no way we could have predicted this.

“It’s hard to know if the heart is still in the club to try again because there are club members who have been working around this circuit since July, putting in countless hours and a lot of effort to make it happen.

“It seems to have been kerosene or diesel spilled on the road, and nails as well,” he added.

“This is what was used before in 2011 when the race was cancelled, and anyone wanting the same result would be aware of what they needed to do to force the race off.

“We tried to be as respectful as we could but you can’t please everybody, and we were stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

Police said a probe into the incident has been launched and appealed for information.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “An investigation is underway and officers would ask anyone with any information about this incident to call police in Ballymena on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 8 10-09-22.”