North West 200 race chief Mervyn Whyte calls for 'government intervention' to safeguard NI motorcycling

A last-minute insurance deal was announced on Wednesday after a reduced quote, down by almost £100,000 to £315,000, was agreed by the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland Ulster Centre.

This, combined with a fundraising campaign that has raised more than £92,000, has pulled the sport back from the brink after all road races, short circuit events and trials meetings were cancelled last month.

However, the North West was only able to meet its contribution of £140,000 to the insurance costs thanks to the generosity of Co. Tyrone businessman Derek Keys.

On Thursday, NW200 chief Whyte said the same situation cannot be allowed to materialise in 2024.

“At this point in time the priority is to get the North West 200 run in 2023 because we’re only around seven weeks out from the event,” he said.

“Then when everything is over, we need to look at how we move forward because the insurance rates are probably not going to come down.

“It will need a massive amount of work to see where we are in relation to paying for insurance in the future, and this is where I feel that we are going to need government intervention to keep motorcycle racing going in this country.

“The problem is that nothing could be done this time because there is no functioning government in Northern Ireland,” he added.

“But something needs to happen in the future in terms of government intervention to help manage the situation otherwise it will continue to be a struggle.”

Underlining the importance of Mr Keys’ financial support, Whyte said: “Derek wanted to come in and help us, so it’s unreal how the whole thing happened and we’re obviously very grateful to him.

“Not only did his intervention save the North West 200, it also saved motorcycling in Northern Ireland because the other events could only go ahead if the North West was able to run. He was the saviour of the whole thing to an extent.”

The NW200 will take place from May 9-13.