Tandragee 100 moves step closer to return in 2025 following positive news on resurfacing work
The Tandragee 100 has moved a step closer to a return to the road racing calendar in 2025 following confirmation that the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) plans to proceed with crucial resurfacing work on the North Armagh course.
The event was last held in 2022, with the issue over surface conditions ultimately forcing its cancellation over the past two seasons.
A statement from the organising North Armagh Club on Friday said: “On behalf of the North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club (Tarmac Section) Ltd it is with great pleasure I confirm that we have received some extremely welcome news from the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) this afternoon.
“In their press release today, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd ‘has announced his intention to proceed with resurfacing work later this year on a stretch of the A51’, which will enable us to progress our preparations for running the Tandragee 100 Motorcycle Road Races in 2025.
“We are extremely grateful to all those who have continued to work hard behind the scenes since our last event in 2022, to the Minister and all those within DfI who have made this possible.”
While welcoming the news, the organisers said the ‘hard work’ begins now as the club aims to secure funding to run the event next season and apply for the necessary Road Closing Order.
The statement added: “This is just the beginning of the hard work for us; we will now focus our full attention on securing the necessary financial resources and putting everything in place to enable us to apply for a Road Closing Order and undertake all the hundreds of activities that are needed to get the event up and running.
“As a Club we are delighted, and we are, as we have always been, committed to doing everything we can to bring this awe-inspiring event back in 2025.
“We also wish to take this opportunity to thank all our competitors, sponsors, landowners, volunteers and spectators for their continued support.”
The news is a welcome boost for the sport, which has been decimated in recent years following the Covid pandemic, with soaring insurance costs preventing any Irish road races from taking place in the Republic of Ireland since 2022.
In Northern Ireland, only three road races have taken place in 2023 and 2024, with the Cookstown 100, North West 200 and Armoy events forming a sparse calendar.