COMMENT: New motorcycle registrations off to a good start ................................. Page 4
Complete range of made in Italy brake discs from Newfren .............................................................................................. Page 12
Landport Batteries, "a quarter of a century to be proud of" .................................................................................................. Page 14
Mitas Terra Force-MX competition tyres ................................................................................................................................................... Page 18
Industry welcomes EU Parliament's
position on inappropriate effects of
Motor Insurance Directive (MID) on
Motorcycle Sports
ne of the primary
barriers to consumer
entry
into
the
motorcycle market -
youth riders and others - is, of
course, cost. One of the
significant cost factors, especially
for youth riders, has always been
the cost of insurance, with
younger consumers, trained and
experienced or learning, being
faced with, as has always been
the case, what often appear to be
disproportionately high and
discriminatory insurance rates
and conditions.
One of the most important ways in
which motorcycling reaches potential
consumers is through motorcycle
sport, and amateur entry into
motorcycle racing is a critical pathway
into developing future race stars and
feeding enthusiasm for life-long
engagement with motorcycles as a
transport and leisure option of choice.
In May 2018 the European
Commission proposed to undertake a
O
review of the upcoming Motor
Insurance Directive (MID), a
portmanteau legislative act that aims
to " strengthen the rules on motor
insurance and better protect victims of
motor vehicle accidents".
In its legislative proposal, the European
Commission proposed to clarify the
IMCO
recommends
motorsport vehicle
exclusion
scope of this Directive based on some
recent case law arising from
judgements in the European Union
Court of Justice.
This resulted in a proposal to include
motorsports in the scope of the
Directive, without making an
appropriate distinction between
vehicles used in traffic and non-traffic
situations, with the likely danger that
entry into amateur motorcycle racing
(especially) would have become
prohibitively expensive and complex,
especially at the sport's youth entry
level.
However, the good news is that the
European Parliament appears to have
recognised this and told the European
Commission to reconsider the
implications of its motor insurance
industry proposals on motorsport in
general, including on motorcycle
racing.
A coalition of organisations led by the
International Automobile Federation
(FIA), which brings together the
European Association of Motorcycle
Manufacturers (ACEM), the
International Motorcycle Federation
(FIM) and the All-Terrain Vehicle
Industry European Association
(ATVEA), expressed their concerns
about the damaging consequences of
the Commission's proposal for
motorsports in Europe.
During the arising parliamentary
discussions, the members of the
Continues on page 8 >>>
APR/MAY ’19
ISSUE #148
STATZONE 6-7
64-page
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AMERICAN REPORT
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