Closed road racing moves a step closer in the UK

The prospect of motor racing on closed roads in the UK has moved a step closer after the approval of a piece of legislation that will make it cheaper and easier to organise such events.

The government has approved a piece of primary legislation, called the Deregulation Bill, which contains a framework that eliminates the need for an expensive act of parliament to suspend the Road Traffic Act for each individual event.

Rob Jones, the chief executive of the Motor Sports Association, hailed the development. "“This landmark development is the result of a lot of hard work by a small handful of people behind the scenes, with vital backing from thousands of supporters within the British motor sport community," he said.

The UK motorsport governing body has been campaigning for several years for such a change.

The primary legislation still requires a final legislation to be passed before it becomes law, but the Motor Sports Association says it will work hard to ensure this happens as soon as possible following May's general election.