A vote on an EU ruling on vehicle insurance, known as VNUK, which threatened the running of motorsport in Europe has gone in favour of motor racing.
The VNUK ruling determined vehicles run on private land had to be insured, following an incident in 2014 when a Slovenian farmer for whom the ruling was named after was injured by a reversing tractor.
This would have meant all competing machinery on race tracks would have to have been insured, something financially unviable given the nature of motorsport, while any on-track collisions could have been forced to have police involvement.
The Motorsport Industry Association has led the way in both Europe and the UK to have motorsport made exempt from the ruling, with this critical vote being the first step to achieving that aim.
Chris Aylett, MIA's CEO, told Motorsportweek.com: “Great news – success in the first stage of the MIA’s long battle to get motorsport out of the clutches of the EU’s VNUK-related insurance issue was secured today when motorsport-supportive amendments to the EU’s original proposals were agreed by the influential IMCO Committee of MEPs.
“These changes will now voted upon by the EU Parliament in February and then we move onto the next round to secure approval from the EU’s Council of Ministers at a date yet to be set.
“We’ve certainly ‘got our car onto the grid’ but no race is won on the first lap, plenty of hard work lies ahead to bring home victory and security for EU motorsport.”
While this development does not mean motorsport is wholly clear of this ruling, it is unlikely the EU Parliament will go against the initial IMCO Committee's vote.
