Due to the number of custom bike entries and finalists for the 2022 UK National Championships, and due to the extra demand in trade stands, we are thrilled to announce that KICKBACK has moved to a bigger exhibition hall (opposite the original one) and has therefore tripled in size!

Obviously custom bike builders have been very busy in sheds over the lockdown period and exhibitors can't wait to get trading at a live event again!

Ticket sales are well up also, proving that bikers and motorcycle lovers can't wait to get out and meet up this springtime! Click for tickets.

So, if you'd like to enter your custom masterpiece please email [email protected]

If you'd like a trade space please email Lorne as above.

There is a good campsite at the venue and can be booked at pitchup.com search Three Counties Showground Worcestershire.

The tragic death of Sapper Bradley Parks in 2019 has been the inspiration for several fundraising events for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and the latest has been with motorcycle group 365 Warriors. More than £660 raised by 365 Warriors will go to the Staffordshire branch of SSAFA.  

Bradley served in 26 Engineer Regiment, part of the Royal Engineers, based in Tidworth and was diagnosed with bipolar in April 2019, just three months before he took his life. He was in the process of leaving the Army after four years’ service and would have been discharged in February 2020.

John and Rachel Parks – Bradley’s parents – have been raising awareness about mental health and help others who are suffering by supporting SSAFA. Their good friends Mark Pearman and Lydia Holmes, who run 365 Warriors, have supported them in this and with earlier two-wheeled fundraising activities.

Lydia said that 365 Warriors took groups of bikers out on rideouts into the Peak District and surrounding areas, charging £5 per bike, with many donating more. Mark and Lydia, who run M & L Detailing, gave £5 to SSAFA from each bike cleaned. They also held a fun day at a local pub and an auction on Facebook, and sold bike decals and cups, all adding to the generous tally.

Explaining further 365 Warriors’ reason for supporting SSAFA in Bradley’s name, Lydia said: “We’re a charity bike group, and we raise money for good causes by doing what we love: riding our motorbikes, because bikes are our passion and our life.”

Anne MacKinnon, Branch Secretary of SSAFA Staffordshire, added: “The tragic death of Bradley, a young man who became a Sapper to serve his country, has touched the hearts of many in the Forces family, and outside it, around the country. On behalf of SSAFA Staffordshire, I am extremely grateful to Lydia and Mark, 365 Warriors, and all those bikers and others who supported this fundraising drive in Bradley’s name.”

To find out more about SSAFA and the support it provides, visit ssafa.org.uk

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. In 2020, our teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, from Second World War veterans to young men and women who have served in more recent conflicts, and their families. The SSAFA family includes the Military Wives Choirs, both an independent charity and a subsidiary of SSAFA, which supports women across the military community. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us. ssafa.org.uk

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ALEIX AND MAVERICK FAST STRAIGHT AWAY BUT IT’S THE FEELING THAT GIVES THEM MORE CONFIDENCE

AFTER SEPANG, THE SECOND AND FINAL PRE-SEASON TEST WILL BE INDONESIA

Even with all the caution demanded by the circumstances, this is definitely a good début for the new Aprilia RS-GP in 2022 version. On the track in Sepang (Malaysia) for the first tests of the season, the new Italian bike provided immediate positive feedback in the able hands of tester Lorenzo Savadori, sensations which were then confirmed when Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales tested it.

After three days dedicated to the shakedown (the first real test of the new prototypes), it was time for the entire MotoGP class to have two days of official testing. It was clear by the end of the sessions that the competition is still extremely fierce, with 19 riders all within one second of one another. In any case, the stopwatch confirmed that Aprilia is on the right path, with Aleix second, just 26 thousandths of a second behind the leader and beating the track record. Maverick was also fast straight away, just 130 thousandths of a second behind, riding his RS-GP to fifth place.

However, although the times may not provide the most accurate picture of the situation, since they were achieved by all during true time attacks on soft tyres, feedback on the feeling is a different story. And this is why Aprilia is confident as they head to the new Indonesian Mandalika track for the second and final pre-season tests.

Aleix Espargaró

"I must thank the staff in Noale. Albesiano and all the engineers did a good job. From the first time I swung a leg over, during a photo shoot, I noticed how sleek and compact the new RS-GP is, and I know how hard it is to achieve this result. The ergonomics, the frame and all the new features make it extremely agile, letting me improve on corners speed, especially in fast turns. However, we still need to consider that this is just the first test and that we are all extremely close. The current level of MotoGP is absolutely incredible. We’ll keep working and I can’t wait to turn laps on the new Mandalika circuit too."

Maverick Viñales

"I'm pleased with this first test. I felt extremely comfortable on the bike. I was especially surprised by our race pace, with used tyres, whereas on the flying lap, I am still unable to fully exploit the bike’s potential. When you try to find the limit, and you have to do that often in MotoGP today, the feeling has to be more than perfect, but I am still making a few mistakes. I need to get used to the way this bike behaves when I'm looking for maximum performance and that’s a process we’re working on."

Lorenzo Savadori

"The 2022 bike seems like a clear step forward. I did some tests here aimed specifically at setting up Aleix and Maverick’s work, since this is the first shakedown of a new project. I can’t wait to get start on the actual testing programme, which will let us grow the RS-GP even further. The base is there. They did a great job and you can tell straight away."

BeMoto insurance launches £35,000 BeLotto prize draw  
* Free to enter prize draw
* Win a Ducati Panigale V4 S
* Scoop a £10,000 Prize Pot as well
* BeMoto insurance customers get automatic entry

BeMoto, the multibike and modified motorbike insurance specialists, have launched BeLotto: a free to enter competition to win a Ducati Panigale V4 S along with a £10,000 prize pot of motorcycling goodies.
Obtaining an entry into the BeMoto BeLotto is incredibly simple: rewarding the loyalty for riders who are insured through BeMoto with a single Motorcycle, Race Van, Quad, Trike or Buggy policy live on April 18, 2022 (the closing date of the draw), they will automatically be entered with two tickets. Further improving the chance to win is that every additional bike insurance in a Multibike road insurance package along with any live SORN, Annual Travel or GAP Insurance Policy on the closing date also counts for an additional two entries per policy.

For those who aren’t insured with BeMoto but desperately want to win this incredible prize package, they can gain an entry into BeLotto by filling out a short and simple online form at www.bemoto.uk/belotto where the full terms and conditions can also be found.

The main prize of a Ducati Panigale V4 S (£25,000) - acquired from Seastar Superbikes in Norwich - is arguably one of the finest sportsbikes ever built; the 211bhp V4 engine is wrapped in a race-winning chassis and beautiful bodywork, tamed by an incredible package of electronics (and wings) to help try to keep both wheels on the floor and all that performance getting to the ground.

Included within the BeLotto Prize Pot is £10,000 worth of motorcycling clothing, accessories, security products and much more. Already ‘in the pot’ are £1200 worth of R&G styling and protection products for the bike, a top of the range Shoei X-Spirit III helmet, a Helite Turtle 2 Air Bag Vest, a Guardsman Barrier from Image4Security, an Innovv motorcycle dash cam, a pair of Knox Handroid gloves, Ultimate custom motorcycle ear plugs, a Titan motorcycle shelter, BeMoto insurance for the bike up to a value of £1000, and much more.

The prize pot is being added to each week, so people are urged to keep checking back to the BeLotto page and BeMoto’s social media to see what further incredible items are being added to the mix.

The BeLotto prize draw closes on April 18, 2022, and the winner will be announced on the BeMoto Facebook page.

It was the first official outing for Team Gresini Racing MotoGP as well as the maiden outing for both Fabio Di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini aboard the Ducati Desmosedici machine at the Sepang International Circuit. 
 
If on paper it is true that Rome-born Di Giannantonio had a three-day shakedown available before this test, a debilitating gastroenteritis prevented him from taking to the track in two out of three days earlier this week. The #49 rider showed up at the track 2kgs lighter, but still left a positive mark in this day one while giving important indications regarding his stamina. He completed more than 40 laps (already more than the overall number of laps in the first test) and a quickest lap-time of 2’00.047s, more than two seconds quicker than the one logged few days go.
 
Enea Bastianini did not waste any time and after only 23 he recorded an extremely competitive lap-time (1’58.638), only two tenths away from today’s quickest time set by Espargaró. The lap came with a medium tyre option as Bastianini was the quickest Ducati rider and only three tenths shy of the track record.