Manx Grand Prix set to be shorter from 2013

More classic races and a reduced duration could be key features of a revamped Manx Grand Prix from 2013.

The comments were made by Motorcycle News (MCN) sports editor Gary Pinchin in an article last week in which he even suggested the new event might leave little room for the amateur racer and see the modern bikes – which currently make up well over half the race entries – sidelined.

Chief executive of the Department of Economic Development Colin Kniveton said the event would have to change. He told MCN the costs of running the MGP over the Mountain Course were much the same as running the TT but the event simply did not attract the same return in terms of visitor numbers.


He said:

‘The analogy is that it’s a bit like preparing Old Trafford for a Man United v Arsenal Premiership game and a week later you incur the same costs preparing it for a Charlton v Huddersfield game. I’m not putting anyone down who races in the Manx but the players in the Charlton game won’t have the same attraction as Rooney and Van Persie.’

Mr Kniveton said the exact way forward still needed to be agreed with the Manx Motorcycle Club, which owns the Manx Grand Prix brand, but he told MCN heritage and history were key elements which seemed to have emerged from their discussion groups, which took place earlier in the year.

He added there was also a view to run the event over a shorter timescale but they hoped to cash in on the TT brand to attract more visitors over for it.

The department instigated a review of the Manx Grand Prix earlier this year which looked at the estimated economic return compared with the level of outlay from the government to support the event.

It found the event cost the government about £1.1m and when this was offset against income generated via such avenues as VAT for example the overall loss was about £300,000. The survey also found the event generated about £5.9m of income in the Manx economy as a whole, however Mr Kniveton said a return nearer to £10m was needed to justify the level of subsidy given.

Mr Kniveton said there was currently no wider awareness of the MGP and this made sponsorship difficult.

When the results of the event’s economic review were announced Mr Kniveton said changes would have to be made because the government subsidy could not be justified on the basis of current figures, but he told MCN the exercise was not about ending the MGP but about securing its future.

Clerk of the course for the Manx Grand Prix Phil Taubman declined to comment on the proposals ahead of a meeting between the Manx Motorcycle Club and the Department of Economic Development, scheduled for Monday (yesterday).

By John Turner


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