PEOPLE POWER

Back in February, news broke that many events in Northern Ireland would be cancelled for 2023, including short-circuit racing, trials and road-racing events.

Cancelled events included the Cookstown 100, Tandragee 100, Armoy Race of Legends, the Ulster Grand Prix and the Sunflower, held at Bishopscourt. Right from the start the organisers of the fantastically popular North West 200 race – held on the 8.9 mile course between ‘The Triangle’ of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine – were quick to say that they were ‘pursuing every avenue to make this year’s event happen…’

So why were they cancelled? Money: the cost of public liability insurance at such events is now north of almost half a million pounds – and that’s the tip of the iceberg as race organisers would be expected to pay out many hundreds of thousands of pounds on any claim made against them. The outlook was bleak, but then in came people power. By the middle of March and with many fans realising they’d enjoyed free racing for years, crowdfunding secured the various events’ futures.

Thankfully action at the Isle of Man TT was never in doubt but these recent events have shown the problems road-racing faces today. And when it comes to action, this year things are delicately poised, with the current Kings of the course still in action and favourites for wins while they are being pressed from behind by the up-and-coming riders. And of course we still have a few of the old guard, the likes of John McGuinness and Ian Hutchinson (who won his first Manx race 20 years ago now) who could still spring a surprise.

In this issue of Island Racer we’ve tried to give you the latest information on the entry list for 2023 while also giving you a number of historical features that we hope you enjoy. It goes without saying that ‘everything was correct at the time of going to press.’

As I write this, we’re just weeks away from experiencing all the thrills that the Isle of Man TT event can give us, so it’s just left for me to say, once more: ‘have a terrific, exciting and safe TT!’