The sixth and penultimate round of Arenacross UK at The Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield proved successful for Dave Thorpe Off-Road Centre rider Angelo Pellegrini, who took a well-deserved second place in the Main Event race aboard his Honda machine with Michelin’s Starcross MS3 tyres fitted front and rear.

The Sheffield round saw a change of line-up in the Michelin team with two riders deciding to sit out – Elliott Banks-Browne due to injury and Brad Anderson to concentrate on preparation to the forthcoming outdoor season. Frenchman Thomas Ramette was drafted in as a replacement on the Michelin squad, while Angelo Pellegrini and Luke Arbon continued to represent the Dave Thorpe Off-Road Centre.

All three riders performed well in the heats and made it through the Main Event, with Pellegrini also succeeding in picking up two bonus championship points in the head-to-head races. Come the main event, Pellegrini made a great start in second place behind series leader Fabien Izoird and set about matching the Frenchman's pace in the early laps. He maintained his position for the remainder of the race to take a comfortable second place.

Ramette and Arbon both got off to bad starts with Arbon being pushed wide into the tuffblocks and crashing out of the race. Ramette managed to fight his way up to eighth place by mid-race, but dropped one place by the end to finish in ninth.

Three of the four Michelin riders remain inside the top ten in the championship standings, with Pellegrini in eighth, Banks-Browne in ninth and Arbon in tenth. Anderson sits in 11th place. The final round of Arenacross UK will take place at Wembley Arena in London on Saturday 1 March.

Dave Thorpe, team manager
“Saturday was a good night for the team, all three riders made it straight into the main event. Angelo Pellegrini finally produced the form and speed, that as a team we all knew he had, to take second place in the main. We now have a week-long break before the final round of the tour and hopefully we can continue on from here.”

Angelo Pellegrini
“This was the best round of the whole tour so far. I really liked the track because it was more technical than the others. I produced good laps all day during qualifying and the heat races. Then in the main event I started second behind Izoird and tried to run at the front with him, but he didn't make any mistakes. Now we go to London for the final round of the tour and I hope to get on the podium once again.”

Thomas Ramette
“Tonight was the first time I've raced in the Arenacross Tour in the UK. I was really happy with the bike and the team, but I suffered with arm pump and I need to work on that before the last round at Wembley where I hope to repay the team’s hard work.”

Luke Arbon
“Sheffield ended really badly for me. I started to really enjoy the track during the day and the heats. I got some good starts, including a holeshot in one of the heats and transferred to the main event. Then I lined up a bit wide and hit the tuffblocks and went down and that was the race over. I'm really looking forward to the last round and hopefully finally getting onto the box in the final.”

Main Event Results
1 Fabien Izoird
2 Angelo Pellegrini
3 Loic Rombaut
4 Cyrille Coulon
5 Daniel McCoy
6 Nev Bradshaw
7 Chris Bayliss
8 Kristian Whatley
9 Thomas Ramette
10 Romain Biela
DNF Luke Arbon

Championship standings
1) Fabien Izoird 121, 2) Daniel McCoy 97, 3) Cyrille Coulon 93, 4) Loic Rombaut 84, 5) Steven Clarke 76, 6) Nev Bradshaw 75, 7) Kristian Whatley 70, 8) Angelo Pellegrini 64 (HON), 9) Elliott Banks-Browne 53 (HON), 10) Luke Arbon 44 (HON), 11) Brad Anderson (HON)

Exciting youngster Jamie Hamilton has confirmed his participation at the 2014 Isle of Man TT races fuelled by Monster Energy, and will ride for Wilson Craig Racing in the 600cc and 1000cc Races.

The Northern Ireland based businessman will run 23-year old Hamilton in five of the six solo races with the Ballymena rider contesting the Dainese Superbike, PokerStars Senior, RL360º Superstock and Monster Energy Supersport Races on Honda machinery. He will again contest the Bikesocial.co.uk Lightweight TT on board a 650cc ER6 Kawasaki for Stewart Smith Racing.

Hamilton, a former British Junior Superstock Champion, is a prodigious talent and, like his fellow countryman Lee Johnston, has the potential to become a major TT star. Indeed, since he made his debut on the roads for Ryan Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki team towards the end of the 2011 season, he has been a revelation.

After a strong debut year at the TT in 2012, which saw him win the Newcomers Trophy for tenth place in the Lightweight Race, he made great progress around the Mountain Course in 2013. The highlight was fifth place in the Lightweight, only 12 seconds off the podium, but he also impressed in the other classes, taking a brace of 12th’s in the two Supersport races and lapping at almost 124mph on his way to 16th in the Superbike Race.

He also proved his road racing credentials at the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix with podiums at both and winning the Irish National Road Race Supersport and Supertwin Championships, dominating both classes by winning all the races he competed in. He also enjoyed considerable success at the Southern 100 and Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough.

Having parted amicably with Farquhar over the winter months, Hamilton had been scheduled to ride for John Duggan in the Supersport class but the new tie-up will see him ride for Wilson Craig Racing throughout the season although John Duggan will continue to support his 600 campaign. Wilson Craig has enjoyed great success at the TT, backing numerous well-known riders including Keith Amor, Guy Martin, Cameron Donald and William Dunlop.

Speaking about the news, Jamie Hamilton said: "For me it is a dream come true riding for Wilson Craig Racing. When I was a kid starting racing I would look at teams like Wilson Craig’s’ and think that I would love to be a part of that that setup and can now proudly say I am. I have on my helmet a logo DBA, dream it, believe it and achieve it and so far it seems to be working for me."

He continued: "You can see over recent years Wilson has put out fast reliable bikes capable of winning, it’s great to have the opportunity and his support following the likes of Cameron Donald, William Dunlop and Guy Martin. I cannot thank Wilson and his team enough for giving me this opportunity and I hope for a very successful 2014."

Isle of Man road racer Conor Cummins has signed with Jackson Racing for his 2014 Supersport campaign. The Manxman will compete in the two '600' Races at the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy as well as the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix. Solway Slate & Tile, W.A. Corless, CMS and Motul Oil are backing the team for their 2014 campaign.

Jackson Racing has been a continuous presence in motorcycling paddocks since the 1970's when Alan Jackson Senior won three consecutive World Formula Two Championships between 1977 and 1979, also taking four victories at the Isle of Man TT during that period.

Sons Alan Junior and Andy continued the racing dynasty with Alan setting the Manx Grand Prix outright lap record, 122.208mph, in 2005 - a record that still stands today.

Cummins has the fastest ever 'standing start' Mountain Course lap at 131.511mph, which he set in the 2010 Dainese Superbike TT, which is also the third fastest lap of all time. His four TT podiums include third place in last year's bikesocial.co.uk Lightweight TT. He also has third placed finishes in the 2009 Supersport Race, his highest finish in the class, and the 2010 Superstock Race while his highest placed TT finish remains the runner up spot he took in the 2009 PokerStars Senior TT.

Alan Jackson commented: "Conor is a talented rider who has shown incredible determination to put himself back at the front of the field. He will be one of the frontrunners in every class he competes in and we are delighted to have him on board for the Supersport races where I think he can give a good account of himself. "

"I'm really looking forward to representing Jackson Racing in the 2014 season," said Conor Cummins. "What the Jackson family don't know about road racing isn't worth knowing. I've always enjoyed racing the 600's and I'm confident that we can challenge for honours in the class."

‏IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig: "Car and road designers have helped to deliver fewer deaths on our roads but the human factor is still the biggest issue in road safety. In isolation eating, phoning, talking, chastising, map reading or glovebox rummaging all sound innocuous enough but when combined with driving on today's busy roads they can have devastating consequences.  Safe driving demands complete concentration and anything that takes your mind or your eyes off the road puts you and others at risk."

Drivers are being urged to take a break and enjoy their food away from their vehicles, as road safety charity Brake and Direct Line reveal more than six in ten (62%) have eaten at the wheel in the past year. Three in ten (29%) unwrapped food themselves at the wheel - a telling symptom of busy lifestyles putting lives at risk. Studies have suggested eating a meal at the wheel increases your risk of a devastating crash as much as talking on a phone. Brake and Direct Line's survey of 1,000 drivers reveals that in the past year: tree in ten (29%) have opened and eaten food at the wheel.

third (33%) have eaten food that was unwrapped and passed to them by a passenger. One in 50 (2%) has narrowly avoided a crash in the past year, having had to brake or swerve to avoid a hazard because they were distracted by food or drink. The numbers of UK drivers eating at the wheel reflects a wider trend towards eating on the move, as lifestyles become ever more fast-paced. Britons have been found to spend more on food eaten on the move than any other country in Europe, with our continental neighbours more likely to take time out to enjoy meals.

Brake and Direct Line's survey shows it's not just meal times being squeezed by our busy lifestyles, as one in five drivers (20%) admit to doing their hair, applying make-up or otherwise tidying up their appearance while at the wheel.

One in 20 (5%) admit doing so in free-flowing traffic, risking appalling crashes. Eating at the wheel is part of the wider problem of distracted drivers, believed to contribute to around one in five crashes (22%). Drivers who attempt to multi-task at the wheel are two to three times more likely to crash, and complex tasks like unwrapping and eating a burger increase the risk even more. The consequences can be deadly, as in May 2012 when cyclist Joe Wilkins was killed by a driver who was eating a sandwich. Brake urges all drivers to give the road their full attention and save any other activities for regular breaks, which should be at least every two hours on long journeys. Brake also calls on government to make traffic policing a national priority to stop multi-tasking drivers putting lives at risk.

It’s been just over a month since KTM took an outstanding 1-2 finish in the notorious Dakar rally and the Austrian manufacturer is excited to announce that the all-new KTM 450 Rally Replica machine will be available very soon for customers to purchase.

The new model of the KTM 450 Rally machine in factory livery made its debut in October at the Morocco rally as a first and final test in race conditions. The machine was then subject to taking on the ultimate test at the Dakar, and the bike went on to work flawlessly throughout the 9,000km race with Marc Coma on-board to take KTM’s 13th consecutive win.

As the previous model of the rally machine was constructed for the 690cc era, this new machine was designed from the ground up to be suited to today’s Dakar terrain and the smaller capacity 450cc engine. With its vast amount of experience, KTM’s Motorsport department built the new bike with KISKA’s expertise in design from clay model to completed design, along with KTM’s R&D department and KTM Technologies.

The bike features an all-new frame incorporating an ergonomic design, a slim body shape with a better seating position, completely re-worked rear suspension and a new overhead single cam 450cc fuel-injection engine. The bike also boasts a front and rear fuel-pump system with multiple tanks, which allows the rider to pick a fuel source to utilise the weight depending on the terrain, a carbon tower at the front of the bike that gives the rider better visibility of the front wheel and thus instilling extra confidence with improved vision along with many other refinements throughout the machine’s design to create the ultimate rally race bike.

It was expected that the competition would be stronger in the 2014 rally, and this has only deepened KTM’s motivation to continue its 13-year winning streak. The years of experience and knowledge in KTM’s rally department along with the R&D team was only magnified with a 1-2 victory again this year, perhaps only more spectacular as second-placed Jordi Viladoms didn’t even ride the bike before reaching Argentina at the start of the race.  

Coma and Viladoms recently visited the factory in Mattighofen and KISKA to thank everyone involved with the rally project for their hard work, which has been pivotal in the success of the factory riders.

KTM’s CEO Stefan Pierer about the all-new 450 Rally Replica: “The success this year in the Dakar rally has highlighted the experience and hard work of our KTM people, who worked closely with KISKA’s team on the new rally bike project, combined with feedback from all of our factory riders and heavy input from Marc Coma. We now want to pass on the experience of such a successful time in this year’s Dakar to any rider who wishes to own this fantastic bike, and especially to those who are committed to making their rally dreams come true or realise their Dakar ambition. The racing service we offer for privateers is as fundamentally strong as the service we give to our factory riders and we are very proud of helping many riders achieve their goals in the rally.”

For those seeking the next level in rally competition the 2015 KTM Rally Replica bike is available to purchase for EUR24,000 (Plus VAT) and can be ordered through your local KTM dealer. A service and support package is available at the Dakar Rally at an additional cost for all models of KTM rally bike. Please ask your local dealer for more information. Please note the machine and service packages are both limited.

www.ktm.com