The Auto-Cycle Union has welcomed the launch of a UK government consultation that would allow motorsport events to take place on closed public roads in the United Kingdom.

At present, only the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Northern Ireland and Ireland permit road closures.

The Oliver’s Mount races in Scarborough run on a parkland course.

The UK’s Road Traffic Act states that it is illegal to organise or participate in a race or trial of speed on the public highway, but the ACU (the governing body for motorcycle sport in the UK) have assisted the Motor Sports Association in pushing successive governments to devolve power to local authorities to enable them to suspend the Road Traffic Act without having to resort to an Act of Parliament.

Such an amendment would enable competitive motor sport events such as road racing, sprints and hill climbs to take place on closed public roads.

The ACU is now calling on the two-wheeled community to respond to the consultation and demonstrate what it describes as the huge groundswell of support there is for these proposals.

The ACU has produced a guide to the process and provided some template answers. See http://www.acu.org.uk/News/2014/02/Gover...tor-Sport/

It is hard to determine what kind of effect such a change in legislation would have on the Isle of Man and the TT in particular.

On one hand it may enhance the current road racing set-up if yet more interest was instigated through the country.

Alternatively it could prove detrimental if a number of half-decent courses were established, leading to the TT and MGP losing its ‘uniqueness’.

In truth, such a radical change in the UK’s Road Traffic Act is unlikely to occur with any great impact and the likelihood of anything more than a three or four-mile long course being set-up will be no threat to the Isle of Man’s current healthy set-up.

Over the years there have been talks of major road courses through the mountain regions of Argentina and Japan, while the Isle of Man authorities were involved in intensive negotiations regarding the setting up of a TT World Series a couple of years ago.

It all seems to have gone quiet on that front at the moment.

There could well be more credence in the idea of road racing throughout the UK, but we will have to see firstly how the consultation process pans out and what the UK Government believes any subsequent change to the Road Traffic Act would have on the community and the economy, if any.




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