The Vauxhall International North West 200 has been cancelled for the second time in three years after torrential downpours on Saturday led to unsafe conditions for racing.

One Supersport was held, which had to be halted on the third lap when four riders crashed, escaping serious injury.

Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop was declared the winner from Bruce Anstey and Lee Johnston after the result was taken based on positions at the end of the second lap.

A series of delays were implemented before racing was officially called off by event director Mervyn Whyte shortly after 3pm.

A day that promised so much ended in bitter disappointment for the organisers, fans and competitors.

The North West 200 - Ulster’s largest outdoor sporting occasion - was also abandoned in 2011, when heavy rain, a hoax bomb alert and an oil spill overshadowed the famous international road race.

An emotional Whyte said afterwards that he was left with no option after carrying out a final course inspection accompanied by experienced riders John McGuinness, Michael Rutter and Stuart Easton.

Parts of the 8.9-mile circuit were virtually flooded after prolonged rain, with no prospect of an improvement in the conditions as the day wore on.


“The weather has beaten us today,” said Whyte. “We had thought that we would get some racing in if things improved mid-afternoon but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

“We’ve done a massive amount of work around the course with three road sweepers out there to try and clear the water but there’s so much surface water that it was impossible to keep it clear.

“The elements have beaten us,” he added. “It was particularly bad from Church Corner right through to York Corner.

“The forecast shows no ease up in the rain at all through until seven or eight o’clock tonight and I’m not prepared to take any chances at all because rider safety is the number one priority.”

A clearly angry Whyte reiterated his plea for a more flexible Road Closing Order to enable organisers to switch racing to a different day should poor weather be forecast in the future.

He also hit out at the ‘pittance’ the event receives from the Government compared to other events of a similar stature in Northern Ireland.

“The Road Closing Order we have here doesn’t allow things to change,” he said.

“If we had more flexibility then we could have closed the roads for three hours on Friday and had some racing because we knew Saturday would be bad.

“We got £70,000 from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board this year and it’s a disgrace the amount of money that the North West 200 receives compared to other events.

“The event puts a massive amount into the local economy and the Northern Ireland economy, yet we get a small, paltry figure from the Government,” he added.

“It doesn’t help us to run this event and the Government needs to give us more support and more flexible Road Closing Orders.”


Kyle White
.