A business that has run track days and drag racing events at Jurby Airfield for the last five years has announced it is waving the chequered flag for the final time.

RPM Events owner Kyle Trowell blamed ‘hostility and targeting’ from the land management and other site users for the decision to close down with immediate effect.

The event promoter had organised bike and car track days and drag racing at Jurby since 2020 and during that time had opened the gates to hundreds of participants ranging from seasoned racers to complete beginners.

But in a statement announcing the closure of the business, RPM said: ‘We have overcome numerous challenges in order to keep our events alive.

‘The hostility and targeting we have received from the land management and other site users towards our business while trying to run events for our community is something we have faced repeatedly over the years with it now becoming the contributing factor in our decision to bring RPM to an end.’

It added: ‘It is now time for us to move on to ventures new and wave the chequered flag for the final time.’

Jurby Airfield is owned by the Department of Infrastructure but is currently managed by the Department for Enterprise’s motorsport division. Andreas Racing Association also uses the site for events.

Mr Trowell said: ‘I’m deeply saddened to have to bring RPM to a close after the work that the team and I have put into running events over the years.’

He told the Examiner: ‘I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and kind of expected it. But the motorsport team started to put in place more and more regulations, terms and conditions, red tape and hurdles. It started to look almost targeted at us.’

In March RPM announced that due to a change in booking requirements set out by the motorsport division in the 2025 terms and conditions of use for Jurby Airfield, all event participants in bike track days now have to hold a valid motorcycle licence.

Mr Trowell said there were 30 or so regulars who don’t have a licence, at least 10 of them who compete in the MGP and TT.

But he said the main reason which had led to the decision to shut the business down was a new requirement that all participants must have personal accident insurance and repatriation insurance for anyone based outside the Isle of Man.

This was on top of the public liability insurance and landowners indemnity insurance already in place - and would have cost £8,000 for the personal accident insurance and three times that for repatriation insurance.

Mr Trowell said he couldn’t afford those extra costs.

He added: ‘RPM has never really been a business to me in all honesty as we’ve usually ended up losing money rather than making it, but instead I’ve always seen it as my passion.’

Participants who have purchased season and event tickets will be contacted in the coming days in relation to refunds.