Unless you are living in a dark cave in Northern Ireland, you should be aware that this week is the Race Week Festival for the Relentless International North West 200 road races.
 
Race Week Festival started on Saturday 12th May and sees a whole raft of events and entertainment continue with BikeSafe assessments, charity fundraising events including the NW200 Giant Ride Out – and there is even some Road Racing going on.
 
The official charity partner adopted for the 2012 Relentless International North West 200 is the children’s charity, Action Medical Research.
 
NW200 Technical Director Mervyn Whyte said, “Following a strong application and interview process we’re delighted to bring on board Action Medical Research as our official 2012 charity partner. Similar to the NW200, the charity has been operating for a long time and has supported incredible medical breakthroughs which have made a huge difference to the lives of sick and disabled children. Many of our NW200 competitors have also supported Action Medical Research through the local committee Sporting Partners in Action and we felt the partnership was an important one particularly as in 2012 as the charity celebrates its 60th anniversary.”
 
The NW200 Giant Ride Out sets on Friday 18th May at 2:00pm from the Stena Belfast-Cairnryan, terminal Belfast.
 
Riders will journey with Jeremy McWilliams and Josh Brookes from the Belfast-Cairnryan Stena Line terminal to The Paddock following the M2 and A26.
 
Supported by BikeSafe NI, motorcyclists will travel in cavalcade to the regrouping point at Tannaghmore Filling Station, Antrim.
 
Here participants can refuel, have a break and chat with Jeremy and Josh. Roundabouts will be held along the route by Bike Safe NI police marshals to aid the flow of the cavalcade.
 
The entry fee is £5. 

www.action.org.uk/north_west_200
 
Relentless International North West 200 Race Week takes place from 12 – 19 May – Race Day Saturday 19 May.
 
Visit www.northwest200.org for up to date Race Week information.

The Honda TT Legends team is set to take a break from the Endurance World Championship this week as it prepares to contest Ireland’s most famous road race, the North West 200. The team missed the event last year due to an EWC date clash, but it will be out in force for 2012 with the two-man superbike squad of John McGuinness and Simon Andrews competing aboard the CBR1000RR Fireblade. 
 
John McGuinness first took part in the North West 200 in 1994 at what was also his first ever road racing event. He secured his maiden NW200 win in 2000 and has since claimed four further wins around the 8.9 mile course – the most recent being the Superbike victory in 2010. The 17-times Isle of Man TT winner hopes to add to his tally at the 2012 event. 

McGuinness's team-mate and 2011 fastest TT newcomer Simon Andrews will be making his race debut at the North West 200. Andrews took part in the practice sessions last year but did not get the opportunity to compete after the Superbike race was cancelled due to severe wet weather. This year, both Honda TT Legends riders are due to take part in the two Superbike races on Saturday 19 May. 
 
In addition to the two-man Superbike line-up, Honda TT Legends EWC rider Gary Johnson will be competing under the team’s colours in the Superstock class. This will be the Johnson’s fifth year at the NW200. 
 
Neil Tuxworth
 
As the largest sporting event in Northern Ireland with a crowd that often exceeds 100,000, the NW200 is one of the most important events that our team participates in during the year. We have a number of Honda dealers in Northern Ireland so it’s great to take part in an event in their area. For 2012, we have John McGuinness and Simon Andrews competing in both Superbike races and Gary Johnson will contest the Superstock race under the TT Legends banner. These three riders are all capable of winning races at the NW and we hope to continue the success that Honda has achieved in the past.
 
John McGuinness
 
The North West 200 has been part of my racing career for such a long time. It’s 18 years since my first one and I’ve only missed two events in that time – one when it was cancelled due to the foot and mouth crisis and last year when the date clashed with the Albacete round of world endurance. I absolutely love the North West – there is nothing quite like Northern Irish hospitality. It’s a unique circuit and we race wheel-to-wheel at incredibly high speeds. It will be really nice to make a return to the event for 2012 and I hope we can make it count.
 
Simon Andrews
 
I took part in the practice sessions last year, so I while I have some limited experience of the North West 200 circuit, I’m still classed as a newcomer this year as I didn’t actually race. I do know that it’s very, very fast and I’m looking forward to getting out there and hopefully being able to compete in the race itself. It’s pretty wet here at the moment so we’re all hoping it clears up over the next few days and we get to give the massive crowd that make the journey here a good show. 

Gary Johnson
 
I’m excited to be involved in the North West 200 under the Honda TT Legends banner and I’m looking forward to road racing with a such a high profile team. I hope I can achieve the best results possible in the two Superstock races. 
 
The week-long North West 200 festival kicked off on Saturday 12 May and features a whole host of activities to entertain all ages – from paddock walkabouts and rider meet and greets to live music and firework displays. To view the whole schedule visit  

For news, blogs and real-time updates from the Honda TT Legends team:

Follow @HondaTTLegends on Twitter
 
www.HondaTTLegends.com

The BMF have written to Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke MP, QC, after the Court of Appeal last Friday overturned a judgement that had been made in favour of a motorcyclist seriously injured in a collision with a lorry.

At a hearing at Cambridge County Court last year, motorcyclist Robert Whiteford of Soham, Cambridgeshire, who lost his right leg in the collision in April 2009, had won his case against a Lithuanian transport company, Kubas UAB, but now, despite what the BMF say is accepted as undisputed evidence that the lorry was over the central white line, the motorcyclist, while still on his side of the road, has been held to be riding ‘too close to the centre of the road’ and was therefore the one at fault.

It has also been accepted by all parties that the lorry was too wide for its side of the road and when cornering at the time of the collision was over the white centre line, but simply because motorcyclist Robert Whiteford had agreed with the defence that he should have been riding nearer the centre of his own lane (something experienced motorcyclists know is not necessarily the case), he was held to blame.

Jonathan Watt-Pringle, QC for the lorry firm, therefore argued that the judge ‘was wrong to impose so high a standard of driving on the lorry driver’ adding that: “The collision occurred for one reason and one reason only, and that is because the claimant was driving right close to the centre when he accepted that the course should have been a very different one.”

Allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Richards said of the lorry driver: “A finding of negligence in this case would, to my mind, be to impose an unacceptably high standard on the driver.”

In the letter to Mr Clarke, the BMF complains that the appeal judges in the case had decided bizarrely that the lower court was in error because it was “an unacceptably high standard” for the driver to stay on his own side of the road!

In the light of the judgement, the BMF have asked Mr Clark 'how it can possibly be right that a driver licensed to drive the largest and most dangerous vehicles on the road is not expected to stay on his own side of the road?' 

BMF spokesman Jeff Stone said: “There are far too many of these instances where justice for the motorcyclist is hard to come by. It’s a sort of bikeism where it seems merely riding a motorcycle is taken as a contributory factor! This case especially really does beggar belief.”

The report of the appeal case can be read on the Cambridge-News website:

A sleek supercharged machine designed to hit a world record-breaking 313mph has scooped the top award at Scotland’s newest motorcycle show.

Independent judges at the inaugural Carole Nash Great Scottish Bike Show, at the Lanark Agricultural Centre at Muirglen, Hyndford Road, Lanark, over the weekend, picked the Flower of Scotland streamliner as their best in show.

The 22ft vehicle, powered by a one litre 700bhp Kawasaki ZX-11 motorcycle engine, was among the top attractions at the show, which drew thousands of motorcycling enthusiasts from across the area.

Excellent weather, particularly on the first day of the show helped to swell the crowds beyond all expectations and at one point there were nearly 1200 motorcycles parked up at the event, presenting even the seasoned Mortons Classic Bike Shows team with a challenge. Around 6000 people attended the show over both days.

The team behind Flower of Scotland, Speed Scotland, said they were delighted to be chosen by judges and confirmed that they will be making a third attempt on the world speed record for a one litre supercharged machine at Bonneville, Utah, USA, this coming August.

The record currently stands at 312mph and for the last two years the team have suffered mechanical problems preventing them from achieving Flower of Scotland’s full potential.

Among the star guests at the Carole Nash Great Scottish Bike Show were legendary road racers Jim Moodie, who rode for Norton in the early Nineties, then had stints with Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki, and Eighties GP ace Donnie McLeod. Stunt rider Kevin Carmichael also wowed the crowds.

Live demonstrations of motocross and trials riding proved to be extremely popular. The dozens of traders who attended the show reported a very busy weekend and there were also many motorcycle clubs in attendance.

Mortons show organiser Nick Mowbray said: “The weather was kind to us, particularly on the Saturday, and we were overwhelmed by the level of support we received from Scottish motorcycling enthusiasts.

“We knew before the show that there is a strong motorcycling community in Lanark but we were still surprised by how many people turned out and the passion of the enthusiasts in this part of the world. It’s great to know that there are so many like-minded individuals out there. We’re now looking forward to our next Lanark show later this year.”

For more show information including videos, picture galleries and results, and the Classic Bike Shows team’s other events, visit www.classicbikersclub.com

CoastaLea - Starting on the 16th June 2012, Richard and Gary are riding the coast of Great Britain in aid of the Leah Wilby Foundation.
 
The Leah Wilby Foundation (reg charity No 1146160) was set up in Leah's memory, who lost her seven year fight with Neuroblastoma on the 13th of June, 2011 at 8.25pm, just four weeks before her 16th Birthday.
 
The objectives and purposes of the charity is to provide holiday accommodation to families supporting young people in the UK suffering from childhood cancer. They have named the caravan Leah's Lounge.
 
 Leah's dad Richard and family friend Gary are starting the 14 day, 4,000 mile ride from the Haven Seashore Park, North Denes, Great Yarmouth, at 10am, where Leah's lounge is situated.
 
Heading North they will be riding as close to the coast as is possible, with no support. Just two men on two bikes, with a couple of tents, with no sense of direction and covering 4,000 miles in fourteen days... what could possibly go wrong?

The route will take them via Skegness, Scarborough, Berwick-upon-tweed, Aberdeen,  John O'Groats, Wester Ross, Portnacroish, Wigtownshire, Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Preston, Rhyl, Abersoch, Pwllheli, Tenby, Swansea, Weston-super-mare, Barnstable, Cornwall, Plymouth, Torquay, Bournemouth, Brighton, Beachy head, Dover, Ramsgate, Margate, Felixstowe, Lowerstoft and back to Great Yarmouth at Leah's Lounge on the 29th June.

For more information and details of how to donate to the Leah Wilby Foundation, www.theleahwilbyfoundation.co.uk

Richard and Gary are also looking for a company who would be willing to help with the fuel cost. Any company who can help would have their name or logo printed on the jackets and thanked on all press releases. They are also looking for normal sponsorship.
 
For more information on CoastaLeah and to Follow the ride with daily updates on facebook.

For more information contact:
 
Debbie (Leahs' mum) on 01493 309853 - 07917 163993 or email - [email protected]
 
Gary (one of the riders) after 4pm on 01604 756549 - 07776 385676