Leading Belgian road racer Vick De Cooremeter will make his debut at the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, with entries in all three 1000cc races.

The 28-year old will ride a BMW S1000RR for the Okidoki Racing Team in the Dainese Superbike, RL 360⁰ Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT Races and fulfill a racing ambition as he tackles the Mountain Course for the first time.

The former Belgian Junior Supersport Champion is no stranger to road racing, having been a regular in the International Road Race Championships in recent seasons, and 2013 saw him have his most successful season to date when he placed third overall in the Superbike category behind dominant Champion Didier Grams and fellow Belgian Nicky De Wit.

Hailing from Laarne, Ghent, De Cooremeter had a steady start to the Championship but, after placing fourth at Oostende, came into his own in the second half of the season taking second and third at Chimay and then two more thirds at the final round at Frohburg. By season’s end, he had finished inside the top ten in nine out of the ten races held, only a DNF in the third race at Chimay preventing a 100% finishing record.

De Cooremeter has also excelled in the Belgium Endurance Championship, winning the title in 2011 alongside Gregory Fastre. At the 6 Hour Endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps, the duo won the event with former Grand Prix rider and World Superbike race winner Stephane Mertens whilst the trio also won the 500km of Zolder, a feat De Cooremeter repeated in 2013 with fellow Belgian Wim Bieseman.

De Cooremeter also had the tremendous experience of racing alongside Belgian greats Didier de Radigues and Mertens in the 6 Hours of Spa of 2010 when they finished eighth.

Speaking ahead of his TT debut Vick commented: “Competing in the TT is a dream for me and having built up my racing credentials on the European road race scene, I now feel ready to tackle the Mountain Course for the first time. I have been working hard learning the circuit using on board footage and I recently travelled to the Island to spend time with the organisers. I plan to make a further trip as part of my preparations but already I am feeling more comfortable with my circuit knowledge. I’m under no pressure to get results for now, and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and experiencing the event for the first time.”

Ace Cafe London recently hosted the 'Go Ultra Low' launch, the national Government and UK automotive industry campaign encouraging drivers to consider ultra-low emission vehicles.

Attending the cafe and backing the 12 month campaign to help motorists understand the benefits, cost savings and capabilities of the raft of new ultra-low emission vehicles on the market, included not only the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, but also BMW, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Vauxhall, all showcasing their vehicles at the historic North Circular Road cafe.

The campaign website www.goultralow.com gives motorists everything they need to know about owning an ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV), providing a one-stop shop for information about running one of these vehicles, the makes and models available and the locations of the thousands of publicly accessible ChargePoints - to include now at the Ace!

The collaborative Go Ultra Low campaign is the first of its kind, bringing together the Department for Transport, the Office for low emission vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and a group of leading car manufacturers.

For more information, check out:

www.golultralow.com
www.sourcelondon.net

The fourth annual Prescott Bike Festival is taking place on Sunday 6th April 2014 and promises to be an action-packed day for all the family in support of the Nationwide Association of Bloodbikes charity.

Festival organiser Gordon Downie said “Prescott Bike Festival continues to go from strength to strength; we are delighted to announce that all track time entries sold out in January and there are only a few Exhibitor spaces left. This year all major motorcycle manufacturers are represented, and there will be a large display of famous historic, modern and race bikes, plus bike clubs, famous racers, demo areas, passenger ride experiences, stunt show, trade stands, junior fun section, live music, good food and a raft of entertainment both on and off the track to keep the whole family amused. We are all gearing up for our largest and best festival yet”.

Special guest appearances include: former three times British Superbike Champion and Bloodbike ambassador John Reynolds, former racer and MotoGP commentator Steve Parrish, motorcycle adventurer Nick Sanders. Plus Smith’s Triumph Racing with British Supersport Championship Billy McConnell and new signing Graeme Gowland, Tag Racing Team with British Superbike rider Richard Cooper and Superstock rider Shaun Winfield, BeWiser Kawasaki Superstock rider Josh and Skyzone Racing Supermoto Team riders Chris Hodgson, Jay Smith and Thomas Elam.

Amongst the hundreds of historic, classic and race bikes taking to the historic hill climb course include:

•Carlos Checa’s MotoGP Ducati Desmosedici GP5 and Checa’s 2011 WSB winning Ducati 1198 F1 (courtesy of Dawn Treader Performance)
•David Jeffries' GSX-R1000 TT bike and James Toseland's first WSS machine
•Frankie Chili’s 1998 Ex WSB Ducati 996
•The 1930 Rudge Ulster belonging to David Osborne
•Chris Sawyer's 1928 Cotton Blackburne
•A rare Sachs R800 Roadster from 2002 owned by Barry Fahey
•The 1959 Norton Dominator of Ian Cordes
•Rare Excelsior Manxmans from Dave Lee and Adrian Sellars
•Eric Bostrom’s 2005 AMA factory 999 (same bike as Neil Hodgson rode in 2005)

Special features:

•Local dealers representing: Triumph, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Piaggio, BMW, Harley Davidson, Victory, Kuberg, Watsonian Squire and KTM
•A ‘Trials Competition’ to be held throughout the day and ran under the auspices of the Western Centre ACU
•Nick Sanders and his new Steampunk Cinema, plus regular book signing sessions
•The popular Dave Coates Motorcycle Stunt Show performing at 1.15pm
•Thrilling passenger ride experiences include: a national hill climb sidecar, Morgan 3 Wheelers (both modern and vintage) a Westfield XI, Westfield SEiW and the Grinnal Scorpion III
•Live music by 1950s inspired rockabilly, rock & roll and R&B inspired band, Josie and the Outlaw, plus Road House Rooster, Chickenbone John and his custom guitars, the Blitz Buddies Dancers and a Retro DJ spinning some vinyls
•Junior section features: go karts, Kuberg electric motorbikes, large scale climbing wall, fairground rides, inflatable play area and the return of the world's largest Star Wars Garrison
•Angelic Bulldog showcasing their 400mph streamliner land speed motorbike project
•George Formby Tribute and his antics
•Plus more than 100 trade stands

Motorcycle and racing clubs confirmed:

•The Classic 50cc Racing Club – with their racing machines and riders representing the clubs early beginnings around 1953 up to 1983
•London Douglas Owners Club
•Norton Owners Club
•Leominster Classic Motorcycle Club
•Yamaha XJR Owners Club
•XJR Owners Club
•Rolling Hills (Harley Owners Club)
•Honda Owners Club
•Suzuki Owners Club
•Chopper Owners Club showcasing extreme custom bikes

For bikers that enjoy classic machinery, entries on the hill include a 1930 Rudge Ulster 500 cc Racer, a 1928 Blackburne-engined Cotton, 1924 two cam Harley-Davidson racer, 1927 Scott Flyer, 1935 cotton JAP, plus all the historic marquees represented like Bantam’s, BSA, Ariel, Matchless and Norton.

www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk 

Children in the car are the number one distraction for drivers, according to the latest survey of 1500 drivers by IAM and Vision Critical. Twenty-nine per cent of drivers admit that their children are their biggest distraction while driving.

Busy lifestyles and a constant need to multitask also feature heavily with mobile phone use (24 per cent). and texting and social media updates (10 per cent) also featuring. Twenty-three per cent of young drivers (aged 18-24) find this a distraction.

Other top distractions include:
•Changing the radio channel (27%)
•Back seat drivers (26%)
•Sat nav (15%)
•Attractive pedestrians, drivers or passengers (14%)

Nearly a quarter of men (23 per cent) admit to being distracted by attractive people compared to three per cent of women,

Distractions are a major cause of crashes. In the same survey, nine per cent of drivers admit that they have crashed because they were distracted. According to police statistics, mobile phone use and other distractions were a factor in up to one hundred and five deaths on our roads last year.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “People who think they can multi-task while driving are kidding themselves. If you take your eyes of the road for just two seconds at 30 miles per hour, you’ll travel close to 90 feet, effectively blind.

All drivers develop bad habits over time. The key to reducing distractions and their impact is to learn to look upon your driving as a skill that needs continuous evaluation and improvement.”

Children top the list of distractions. Follow this advice to keep them occupied:

IAM’s top tips for distracting kids:

•Keep them occupied by introducing games that promote and reward quiet behaviour without needing the driver’s direct involvement.
•Portable games consoles or in-car DVD players will keep kids occupied for hours. But don’t forget the headphones – the soundtracks can be just as distracting as the children.
•If you are planning a long journey, make sure you’re organised – take plenty of food and drink to avoid constant demands from the back seats.
•Allow extra stops. Find somewhere for them to stretch their legs and let off steam, such as a playground or a park. Save yourself the panic and research some local parks and playgrounds where you plan to stop off.
•Have a plastic bag (without any holes!) with you in case of travel sickness.
•A second adult in the car to look after the children makes a massive difference, leaving the driver to concentrate on driving.
•Don’t turn round to deal with fighting kids while you’re still in motion – find somewhere safe to stop first.

www.iam.org.uk

Laurent Hoffmann and Franck Petricola will make their debut at the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy as part of the experienced Ice Valley by Motorsave team.

Double International Road Race Supersport Champion Hoffmann will step up to the 1000cc class and ride a BMW S1000R in the Dainese Superbike, RL 360⁰ Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT Races and he will also contest the two Monster Energy Supersport races on a Honda CBR600RR.

Having taken his first title in 2012, the Belgian rider dominated the 2013 IRRC Supersport 600cc Championship on his ZX-6R Kawasaki, never finishing lower than second. He opened his account for the year with a win at the opening round at Hengelo before taking double victories at both Oostende and Chimay and of the ten races held during the season, the 30-year old won five and took second in four others. Indeed, only a retirement in the final race of the season at Frohburg spoilt his 100% podium record.

In what was a very successful season, he – along with team-mates Nico Hautekiet and Jan van Steelandt – also finished second in the 600cc class of the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hour Endurance Race. A former Belgian Supersport Champion, Hoffmann has also enjoyed success on the road circuits in the Czech Republic, taking a hat-trick of victories at Terlicko in 2012 and is eagerly looking forward to making his Mountain Course debut.

Petricola will also be BMW-mounted for the 1000cc races and will compete in the 3-lap Bikesocial.co.uk Lightweight TT on an ER6 650cc Kawasaki. The 30-year old is another regular in the IRRC Championship and enjoyed his best season last year with 11th overall in the Superbike category. His best result, sixth, came at Chimay and he ended the year strongly with six successive top ten finishes and took a brace of thirds in the Lightweight Races at Horice and Terlicko.

Team owner Paul Shoesmith commented: “I’ve seen just how good Laurent and Franck are up close having raced alongside them in the International Road Race Championship across Europe so I am delighted to be welcoming them to our team for this year’s TT Races. I'm sure they will both give a good account of themselves. They are both working hard on their circuit knowledge using on board footage and they both gained a lot from a recent visit to the Island. They are putting everything into getting themselves ready for their debut this June.”