On 21 February 2021 Motorsport UK announced to its community the news that its considerable efforts alongside the UK government to defeat the threat of the Vnuk insurance issue had been successful. Earlier that day, the Department for Transport had confirmed that it would be taking the necessary steps to exempt the UK – and consequently UK motorsport – from the implications of the EU Motor Insurance Directive. See the article here.

This news was met with enormous relief within our community – the EU rules would have meant any motorsport collision in the UK involving vehicles from karting to F1 would have been treated as regular road traffic accidents requiring insurance. The financial implications would have posed an existential threat to motorsport, risking tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

There remained some concern that implementation of the Vnuk law in Europe would affect UK members competing in Europe and significantly increase insurance premiums. Furthermore, businesses would have looked to pass the costs down their supply chains, which could have had an impact on motorsport businesses based in the UK.

In further positive news, on Tuesday 22 June the EU Commission announced that they would exclude all vehicles exclusively intended for motorsport from the Vnuk legislation. See the press release here.

There remains a need for clarity on the matter of dual-use vehicles (road registered car used in competition) and we will provide a further update once that becomes available. In the meantime, those competitors should actively check the extent of cover provided by organisers as part of their pre-Event preparations and entry process, and ensure that they have adequate valid insurance cover for all road use within the EU, as with the UK.