At present, photographers wishing to cover motorcycle meetings held under the jurisdiction of the MCUI (UC) this year are required to cough up the sum to gain official press accreditation.

However, the ruling has been met with a fierce backlash, culminating in leading motorcycle event sponsor Adelaide Insurance Services threatening to withdraw its backing of the prestigious Enkalon Trophy race and Adelaide Masters round at Bishopscourt in the summer.

The Belfast company’s director, Sam Geddis, also warned that he would pull his support of next year’s Adelaide Motorcycle Awards and the Adelaide Motorcycle Festival at the King’s Hall unless the fee, which has increased from £10 last year, is scrapped.

Mr Geddis is concerned that his firm will lose out on valuable publicity after the Newtownards Chronicle and several photographers vowed not to cover pre-event press conferences relating to MCUI events in protest at the decision.

The sport’s governing body in the Republic, Motorcycling Ireland, has dropped its plans to charge photographers a proposed fee of 80 euros for press accreditation after a wave of criticism.

Ulster Centre chairman Jack Agnew told the News Letter during the week that Rule 14 of the MCUI’s Constitution stipulated that any decision passed at Inter Centre Conference level - as is the case with the accreditation charge - cannot be reversed unless a specially convened conference is held.

Rule 14 states that ‘The decision of a Conference shall be final and binding on the Centres/Bodies and shall, unless directed by the Conference, be effective immediately’.

But while the Ulster Centre steadfastly vowed to uphold Rule 14 of its Constitution, it opted to waive the fee for two photographers providing pictures for the MCUI website, Steve Freeburn and Mervyn McBride.

The perk was noted in the minutes of a Management Meeting of the Ulster Centre held on February 27, which read: ‘It was decided to grant Steve Freeburn, UC Webmaster, a free photographer’s pass to enable him to take photographs for the website.

‘It was also agreed to grant Mervyn McBride, who also provides photographs for the website, a photographer’s pass at a cost of £60 which will be refunded as expenses’.

Stephen Davison - regarded as the top road racing photographer in the country - described the revelation as a ‘joke’. “I have already applied for my pass and paid the £60 fee,” he said.

“Now I have seen the minutes of the recent meeting where the Management Committee of the MCUI (UC) decided to uphold the levy, basically stating that rules are rules. Then in the next breath they say that they are scrapping the £60 fee for two photographers who supply images for the Centre’s own website! When I read it I laughed, I just could not believe the hypocrisy.

“And to think that the thousands of pounds of sponsorship that Adelaide provide for bike racing in Ireland has been put in jeopardy over this issue. It is a joke.”

A statement issued last night by the MCUI (UC) confirmed it was holding a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue further.

Chairman Jack Agnew said: “This topic has created much controversy in various media outlets across the province, and a lot of negativity on some of the social network sites. I would hope that an accommodation can be agreed on Monday night, which will satisfy the majority of people within the sport and allow us all to move forward into the 2012 season in a positive manner.”

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