MCI backs dirt action

The campaign to save Britain’s off road events has been given a huge boost by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) which has set aside £10,000 to fund the expected legal expenses.

The campaign is being run by the Land Access and Recreational Association (LARA)and is taking legal action against the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in a bid to get them to change the recently introduced farming subsidy regulations that effectively prevents farmers from allowing their land to be used for motorsport.

The regulations mean that any farmland that is used for motorsport of any kind will no longer be eligible for a subsidy. This has lead to events like trials and motocross being cancelled because farmers can’t afford to loose the money and event organisers can’t match the money that would be lost.

A spokesman for the MCIA said: “DEFRA have left the motorsport community with no choice but to initiate legal action, which is why MCI has today contributed £10,000 to the LARA Fighting Fund on behalf of the wholesale motorcycle trade. Off road motorcycle sport is facing its greatest ever crisis. We urge other motorsport and industry organisations and individuals to do the same and help LARA overturn DEFRA’s unfair and unjustified new regulations.”