The Motor Sports Association (MSA) has issued outline guidance documents for event organisers wishing to run closed-road events under new legislation that commenced on 10 April.

The legislation represents the culmination of a seven-year MSA campaign for a change in the law to allow local authorities to suspend the Road Traffic Act for authorised motorsport events, without requiring individual Acts of Parliament.

The commencement order names the MSA and its sister governing body for two-wheel UK motorsport, the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), as the two authorising bodies for closed-road events. The MSA has now produced three documents to assist prospective event organisers:

A guideline document outlining the application process
A flow diagram summarising the application process
An updated guide to track licensing to include closed-road venues in England.
These documents will remain in the Clubs & Organisers section of the Resource Centre on the msauk.org website.

Rob Jones, MSA Chief Executive, said: “The news that our campaign to bring closed-road motorsport to mainland Britain had taken a major step towards completion, with the publication of the commencement order for England, was met with great excitement by the UK motorsport community. Many were quick to imagine the kind of events that we might soon see on closed public roads, and some MSA-registered clubs will no doubt be starting to formulate their own plans.

“Westminster has entrusted the MSA to provide this new facility to those event organisers, who will appreciate the high level of responsibility and diligence that it entails. These guidance documents outline the process that they must follow and we look forward to receiving initial applications.”