North West 200 boss Mervyn Whyte has welcomed the royal assent given to the amended road closures bill which will allow much needed flexibility to his event and other Irish races that can be badly affected by rain.

“We are pleased that this progress has been made which will allow us the flexibility we requested after bad weather forced the abandonment of the North West 200 in 2013,” said Whyte.

“Hopefully we will never again encounter the adverse weather we experienced last May but the provision within the new legislation that provides us with the opportunity to switch from a ‘stipulated race or practice day’ to a ‘contingency day’ will allow us to respond effectively if it should occur again.”

“We appreciate the efforts of Minister Kennedy, the Department of Regional Development and of MLAs to bring about these changes which will be of benefit to all road races in Northern Ireland.”