Questions & Answers
Please consider this questions and answers page as a live document. We will updating information as circumstances change and adding to the questions and answers as we continue to identify common themes.
If there is a question that has not been answered here, then please send it directly to the organisers office. We can either answer your questions directly or perhaps post the answer to this page.
Public consultation runs for 6 weeks from 1st August 2021.
Isle of Wight Road Races will be organised over 20th to 23rd April 2022.
Wednesday to Friday are practice days with the main race being held on Saturday.
Sunday will be held in reserve as a ‘rain day’ in case poor weather prevents running on the preceding days.
Classes of Racing
Our plan is to run the following classes of motorcycle at the Isle of Wight Road Races:
Superbike (with Superstock regulations) – motorcycles generally derived from standard production models with 1000cc engines.
Supersport – motorcycles that are lighter and less powerful than the Superbike and with a mix of 600cc four-cylinder and 675cc three-cylinder sports-based motorcycles.
Lightweight – twin cylinder 650cc machines derived from middleweight
road-going motorcycles adapted for racing.
Sidecars (Demonstration) – machines with purpose-built chassis for open-wheel car racing.
Electric Motorcycles (Demonstration)
– our intention is to involve electric motorcycles as part of our commitment towards becoming carbon neutral.
Race Format
The format will be similar to the famous Isle of Man TT Races:
Riders will set off at regular intervals; in pairs during practice and qualifying and singly during each race.
Competitors will be required to complete three, four or five laps of the course, depending on the class of motorcycle.
The event will require that the public road sections used for the race be closed for the racing period. These closures are proposed as follows:
Wednesday, 20th April and Thursday 21st April from 10.30 to 15.15 and 17.00 to 20.30
Friday, 22nd April from 10.30 to 15.15
Saturday, 23rd April from 9.30 to 18.00
The promoter and organiser are in direct contact with the Isle of Wight Council and the three Parish Councils covered by the event. This is to take onboard any local concerns regarding access to and from premises during the event.
If you have a specific concern and will be affected by the road closure then please email the promoter here: iwroadraces@gmail.com
The event organisers have been working closely with professional riders and the ACUE to investigate various options for the proposed IWRR. A shortlist of locations emerged from this process and have been thoroughly reviewed.
The preferred venue has been previously well publicised and is known as the ‘Chale Course’. This runs as a circuit between Chale, Chale Green, Kingston, Shorwell and Brighstone. The total length of the circuit is 12.4 miles.
A circuit map will be published on this website shortly.
IWRR will be working with Island Roads in order to prepare the course. These works will be undertaken at the expense of the promoter. The works programme will be organised to minimise disruption and are likely to include:
• White road markings – overpaint with non-slip paint.
• Raised kerbstone – paint alternatively black and white to warn riders.
• Manhole covers – replace with non-slip variety/treated with non-slip paint.
• Existing road sign posts – replacement with a ‘click in’ and ‘click out’ types to enable easy removal and replacement.
• Telegraph poles – one telegraph pole has been identified for relocation
• Steel posts along the Military Road – removal.
• Cat’s eyes around the course – removal for the event and their subsequent replacement.
The event itself should have no negative impact on the isle of Wight. The promoter will be in a dialogue with the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Beauty Steering Group with the aim of ensuring that any potential negative impact is addressed.
The Island’s unique UNESCO Biosphere status encourages us all to learn more about sustainable development. It is planned that the IWRR will be a proving ground for future energy. Partnerships are being developed that will place the IWRR at the forefront of sustainable fuels. “The Isle of Wight is an ideal location for us to pioneer the use of carbon-neutral fuels that are less harmful to our environment.
Our Biosphere status encourages us all to learn new ways in which we can live on our diverse and ecologically important island. The Isle of Wight Road Races will be at the forefront of promoting future energy technology,” commented the event promoter James Kaye.
The promoter is not aware of empirical evidence linking professional motor sport with poor driving or riding standards on public roads. In fact, professional riders and drivers are often used to promote safer driving and riding standards.
Speeding seems to be an issue across the whole Island as it is in other parts of the UK. It also involves tractors, coaches and cyclists as well as cars, vans and motorcycles.
The promoter has offered to work with appropriate agencies to see how IWRR might be used to promote safer and responsible driving and rider standards.
Isle of Wight Road Races is an Island-based event. Its aim is to establish a world class motorcycle racing spectacle on closed public roads. This is similar in concept to the famous TT Races that are held on the Isle of Man.
The organisers will use a provision of the Highways Act which allows the local Highways Authority to close sections of public road for speed events. There have been a small number of these events held elsewhere in England, but the Isle of Wight Road Races would be undertaken to an international standard.
IWRR will be professionally organised and have safety at its core. The safety of residents, businesses, spectators, officials and of course the competitors.
It is being held outside of the traditional tourism season to bring valuable revenue to the Isle of Wight. The TT Races bring more than £30m in revenue to the Isle of Man which in turn sustains hundreds of jobs on the Island.
James Kaye is the event promoter (promoter).
The motorcycle racing will be organised by ACU Events Ltd (ACUE).
Event management and production is APL Event (APL).
Please note that all public consultation is being undertaken by the event promoter and feedback should be directed to the promoter: iwroadraces@gmail.com
There has been a significant amount of consultation between the event organisers and various responsible organisations over the past year. This has included, but is not limited to: Isle of Wight Council, Island Roads, various Parish Councils, the MP, many residents, local businesses, the AONB, the National Trust, Visit Isle of Wight.
Many months have been lost in the event planning due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Now that national restrictions have been lifted, it is again possible to organise sporting events like the IWRR in 2022.
On that basis the dates and venue have been announced and a new public consultation period initiated. This will initially run from 1st August 2021 for a period of six weeks.
This public consultation is especially important if you live or work close to the proposed event location. You might rightly be concerned over access to your property, event safety and any number of other matters.
As part of the public consultation the promoter will:
- Organise a public meeting at the Wilberforce Hall, Brighstone on Thursday 12th August from 15.00 to 19.00 to share information about the event and receive feedback in person (this has been extended from 18.00)
**This is a drop-in community meeting, so please choose a time to suit yourself. - Publish a resident’s information leaflet that confirms important facts and information. Printed copies are available to pick up at Shorwell Stores, Chale Service Station and Brighstone Newsagents.
- Liaise with Parish Councils and other organisations to further share information and receive feedback.
- Maintain this website to continually update interested parties as well as distributing a regular email newsletter.
How can I share my feedback?
You can either:
Email your comments directly to the IWRR promoter using the email: iwroadraces@gmail.com
Complete a feedback form in person at the public consultation meeting on 12th August 2021.
Please note that it is the Promoter of this event that is responsible for public consultation and not the National Governing Body for motorcycle sport – the ACU, or the Race Organiser – ACUE nor indeed the Isle of Wight Council
Safety is our main priority. The event organiser and promoter intend to deliver a safe event and its plans will be scrutinised by the Isle of Wight Safety Advisory Group.
IWRR will be run in accordance with established rules and regulations for Road Racing overseen by the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) which is the governing body for the sport in the UK. ‘In accordance with the ACU’s National Sporting Code, article 3.26; The Organiser of an ACU Event held on an International/European permit shall prepare a Safety Plan in addition to the Risk Assessment unless the relevant ACU Sport Committee specifies otherwise. The Safety Plan is to be confirmed as completed to the Permit Issuing Authority one month prior to the start of the event.’
Those who live and work close to or on the course may have specific concerns and access requirements. The course will be subject to a risk assessment and Event Safety Plan and the organisers will take these requirements into considerations.
‘The ACUE and the promoter needs to take ‘reasonable care’ to ensure any ‘reasonably foreseeable risks’ are managed to all parties to whom a duty of care is owed. This includes for example, land and property owners, members of the public (invited to spectate or not), marshals, officials, first aid, emergency response teams and of course all competitors.’
Residents and businesses can contact the promoter by email: iwroadraces@gmail.com
IWRR has a dedicated email address for receiving questions and feedback. Please use the contact form on this website or email iwroadraces@gmail.com
It might not be possible for everyone to receive a personal response, but all will be recorded as part of the consultation. Where appropriate answers will be posted on this page so that the information is available to everyone.
There are a number of ways to show your support:
Email the promoter using: iwroadraces@gmail.com positive feedback is welcome.
Sign up for our email updates, the link is on the home page.
Join our social media pages, the links are all on the home page.
