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EXEMPTION OF MOTORSPORT FROM THE MOTOR INSURANCE DIRECTIVE Motorsport has been opposing the Vnuk motor insurance ruling for several years due to the requirement of a wide range of mechanically-powered vehicles, including those driven on private land such as a racing circuit, to be insured. This would mean that any collision in European motorsport would be treated as a road traffic incident. Following the legal judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union in September 2014, the Vnuk ruling requires vehicles such as e-kick scooters or golf buggies to have insurance, even on private land.
The Act was adopted by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, and the amendments to the motor insurance Directive have been signed into law. The section on motorsport is the following:
‘This Directive shall not apply to the use of a vehicle in motorsport events and activities, including races, competitions, training, testing and demonstrations in a restricted and demarcated area in a Member State, where the Member State ensures that the organiser of the activity or any other party has taken out an alternative insurance or guarantee policy covering the damage to any third party, including spectators and other bystanders but not necessarily covering the damage to the participating drivers and their vehicles.’ (Art. 3b)
