“SUNDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2025” : The 14th will be our super static show at West Bay Car Park, Portrush celebrating 66 years of mini! This amazing site will give a fantastic view of the Atlantic and is a perfect backdrop to the biggest Mini/MINI show in the country. Trade stands, autojumble and family entertainment will add to the fun of the day.
The Static Show will come to a close with a presentation of prizes donated by JKC Mini and the day will conclude with the Morelli’s Italian Ice-Cream Job Road Run!”
Portrush Air Show Cancelled : Today it has been confirmed that the 2020 Portrush Air Show (Airwaves) has been cancelled thanks to budget cuts by the Causeway Coast and Glens Council.
Somehow the council has found itself £68,000,000 in debt so in its wisdom has decided to cut one of the events that brings huge tourism to the area. Estimates suggest that the Portrush Air Show brings around £2,000,000 to Portrush and the North Coast annually in revenue. The Council funding the Air Show runs to the region of £240,000 – so remove £240k and loose £2 Million. How do these decision makers get in power, why do we vote them in and moreso how do they get their area £68 Million in debt?
The North Coast area of Northern Ireland should be buzzing just one year after The Open came to Royal Portrush Golf Club but instead Portrush is losing events and facilities that should have been securing money to the area and the Portrush Air Show is not all that has suffered.
Other Leisure and Environmental Services will be cut.
Rates will increase by 7.65%
New Parking Charges will be introduced.
Bins (Black) will now one be collected monthly.
So really what that means is all the good work and rejuvenation of Portrush in recent years is now wasted. The nostalgic reasons for visiting Portrush for local Northern Irish people is diminishing away to nothing as are the reasons for foreign visitors. Barry’s future is in question, Waterworld will be closed and the Air Show is no more. What was becoming a increasingly desirable place to live with new sea view and sea side apartments popping up everywhere will now suffer with a rates hike. Your rubbish will be emptied once a month, so the amount of vermin will increase, fly tipping will increase and the place will be dirtier – simple science. You’ll get charged for parking, but the good news is there will be loads of spaces because no one will be visiting.
Of course there are still reasons to visit one of the most beautiful and one of my personal favourite parts of Northern Ireland, such as the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, The Dark Hedges, Bushmills, Ballintoy Harbour and of course the simply glorious Causeway Coastal Route -so please make sure you do visit and support the area, just don’t expect anything good from the Council whether you are a visitor or resident!
With the Thursday night Racing Session getting suspended due to a race related incident the Saturday Race Schedule had the extra race bumped into the schedule, meaning a full program of six races.
Racing started sharp and an excellent first race was unfortunately the only one of the schedule to run its course.
Race 2 was stopped following an incident involving Bruce Anstey who incidentally managed a speed trough the trap of a whopping 209.4mph! Thankfully Bruce walked away from the crash after some roadside medical treatment.
Race 3 was then stopped and the remainder of the meeting cancelled following the death of Malachi Mitchell Thomas.
As is the now normal procedure Thursday night saw the first racing of the NW200 event. The weather was glorious, as it had been all week, the roads were in top condition and things are now scheduled to move much more quickly, with the organisers now putting the focus on the racing, for the benefit of the spectators and fans rather than pit lane walks, interviews and TV cameras holding up the proceedings.
A welcome change to the program.
Three races were scheduled for the evening race session, however due to a non race related fire on the course Race 2 had to be postponed. Then when set off again a race incident involving Ryan Farquhar and Dan Cooper suspended and ultimately finished proceedings for the evening.
The third race was scheduled to run on Saturday 14th May 2016 as part of the Saturday race programme.
However more importantly and thankfully Ryan Farquhar, who was seriously injured is now making good progress and full recovery is expected, Dan Cooper was not seriously injured, should also be back to 100% fighting fit very soon.
A non race related fire on the course suspends Race 2 at the NW200 on Thursday 12 May 2016
2015 marks the second year of Air Waves, the rebranded Northern Ireland International Air Show. 2014 was an excellent year for this show with quality aircraft and outstanding displays so this year has a lot to live up to. With in my opinion even more pressure on its shoulders because of a rather disappointing airshow earlier this year in Newcastle, Co. Down.
So Airwaves 2015 can you do it?
Yes you can. Everything was in favour of the airshow this year most importantly the weather, over the weekend we experienced a little wind on the Saturday but it settled itself, Sunday started off a little wet and grey but as you will see from the gallery as the day went on, the weather also started to thankfully behave itself!
The Causeway Coastal Route, in Northern Ireland currently sits at Number 3 in the Top Ten Driving Roads in the world! That is amazing, and it has been in the top ten consistently for the last 10 years!
It runs from Belfast to Portrush and takes a good couple of hours to complete, or many more hours if you decide to check out the numerous scenic points and forest drives along the way. It truly is stunning and on a bright, sunny day it is simply outstanding. If you ever have the privilege of visiting Northern Ireland the ‘Coast Road’ is an absolute must.
However as you travel along it you will come across a sign post for Torr Head Scenic Route, this is one of many brown ‘Tourist’ Signs dotted along the Causeway Route, and it can be hard to decide which ones to go for and even harder – which ones to miss.
Torr Head Scenic View Point, Ballycastle
This is one you can not miss. This is one of my favourite roads in the country and although I love the Causeway Route I often drive it just to get to the Torr Road. The views here are breathtaking as you weave up and down the mountains before arriving at Torr Head View point. An old abandoned Coast guard post remains, and when the weather is good you can clearly see Scotland, which sits a mere 12 miles in front of you. It is a nice climb to see the Coast Guards’ Station but truthfully it is all about this road, it is like something in the movies, honestly, drive it, you will not be disappointed!
After a great Thursday night racing and the weather being exceptionally kind, Saturday rolled up. When I left the house it was glorious! So sunny it was almost hazy. I had to stop half way there to put my waterproofs on as it looked like it was going to chuck it down, and by the time I arrived although it hadn’t rained it looked like it was going to, big time! It was dark and there was some proper big ass black clouds floating menacingly over head. It did not take long for them to burst! And so began the theme for the day, sunny, windy, cloudy, raining, heavy ass raining, sunny, warm, windy, cloudy… and repeat!
The first race of the day had to be cancelled after a couple of restarts but from about 1.30 -2.00PM we did get some more continuous according to plan racing, it even looked like, for a short while, that the road closure contingencies would be used to get the final race in however as the winds had picked up again the riders and management decided against that.
So all in all it was a great days racing and thankfully, ultimately no one was fatally injured. A rider was critically injured as was a spectator when a bike left the track and hit her in a garden, a tragic freak accident, however thankfully and mercifully all involved and injured people are now well on the mend, and all are expected to make a full recovery.
With Thursday now being the 1st Official Race Night of the NW200 I am happy to bring you the official results and the a nice photo gallery of some of the action from the Juniper Hill Chicane near Portstewart. This is a decent vantage point for taking some decent photographs as the bikes are well slowed down for reaching the chicane, something the riders aren’t to fond off! Guy Martin for example started a bit of controversy for being ‘Bored to the back teeth!’
Unfortunately tonight we only got two of the three races completed, a red flag halted the 3rd race, thankfully no one was injured badly, however following consultation with the riders a low evening sun (as pictured), and time constraints meant the third and final race could not be run and was postponed until Saturday’s racing.
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