Ducati UK is to auction the 1198 Valentino Rossi rode recently at Silverstone during the official launch of the new Silverstone Wing, with a donation from the sale being made to motorcycling’s favourite charity, Riders for Health.   

On 17 May 2011, Valentino Rossi joined a host of motorsport champions from the past and present in an inauguration ceremony to open Silverstone’s state-of-the-art new Pit, Paddock and Conference complex – The Silverstone Wing. After the ceremony, Rossi, who missed riding at the British Moto GP last year due to injury, used the occasion to put in some practice laps on board a specially prepared 1198 SP.

Unfortunately the bike soon developed technical problems and Ducati UK stepped in to supply a standard road registered 1198. The bike (still with its licence plate, indicators and mirrors attached) is normally used for customer demonstration rides but Rossi was able to complete 30 laps on the 1198 to familiarise himself with the Silverstone circuit ahead of the AirAsia British MotoGP.

Rossi signed the 1198 as a thank you to Ducati UK and now the bike will auctioned at Silverstone auctions to help raise money for Riders for Health. The bike will be displayed at the Riders for Health Day of Champions on Thursday 9 June and then be moved to the auction on Saturday 11 June.

This is a unique chance to own a piece of Ducati history and Rossi memorabilia.  It will attract collectors, bike and race enthusiasts alike and in turn will raise money for a worthwhile cause.

The money donated by Ducati UK will help Riders for Health to mobilise health workers with reliable motorcycles and train them in basic maintenance so that they are able to provide a regular health care to even very remote villages.  To find out more about the work of Riders for Health, visit www.riders.org

The auction takes place on Saturday 11th June at Silverstone Circuit at 5.30pm and will be held at the new The Wing building and pit complex during the MotoGP race weekend.

If you cannot attend the auction telephone and commission bids are being accepted.

For further information:

A welcome return to the main stage on Friday Night for Dr Feelgood.

Dr Feelgood, with their no-holds-barred style changed the face of rock'n'roll. Without them, punk wouldn't have risen.

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After contesting the first two rounds of the Endurance World Championship as an all-new outfit, the Honda TT Legends team heads to more familiar ground next week for its namesake event – the Isle of Man TT.

Fifteen-times TT winner and outright lap record holder John McGuinness and teammate Keith Amor are both bike fit and mentally prepared having completed hundreds of superbike laps a piece during the Bol d’Or 24-hour race in France in April, and more recently at the Albacete 8-hour in Spain.

McGuinness’s 15-year knowledge of the circuit cannot be underestimated as he aims to defend his title as the fastest man around the Isle of Man TT lap. Relative newcomer Amor is hoping that his EWC experience, combined with the unrivalled knowledge of the Honda TT Legends team and the dynamic capability of the CBR1000RR Fireblade will help him bring home some solid results.

Following a week of practice sessions from Monday 30 May, McGuinness and Amor will compete for the Honda TT Legends in the Dainese Superbike race on Monday 6 June and the Pokerstars Senior Race on Friday 10 June.

Neil Tuxworth, team manager

We’re sticking to basic principles for the Isle of Man TT – a proven formula for preparing the bikes as we always have, with performance and reliability in mind. The specification of the bike is virtually the same as we ran in 2010. Under the new Honda TT legends livery, we are of course aiming to win both superbike races and have both our riders on the podium.

John McGuinness

Endurance has been really good for me – it’s completely different and it has definitely improved my fitness – but I am so excited to be back at the TT. There’s a buzz about it that you just don’t get anywhere else. I think we have all the right ingredients this year – the team, the bike, the tyres – it’s all there. There are some very competitive riders though and you just never know what will happen – what will be will be but of course I want to win!

Keith Amor

Racing in the endurance championship with the Honda TT Legends means that I have spent more time on a superbike than ever before this year. It has not only provided great experience getting to grips with a superbike but it’s also increased my fitness level. I have the benefit of a brilliant team with years of TT experience behind them and a bike that is a legend in its own right so everything is in place. I’m not stressing about getting my first win, but hopefully we can get on that podium.

For further information on Honda TT Legends visit the website www.hondattlegends.com.

We have recently attended a seminar on how Google ranks a website and lots of interesting tips. We just thought we would share...

What Google likes on your website*

The content - To get higher on search results, relevant words or terminologies which people would use as their search terminologies to find you should be included within the web-site and within the text. However, over usage of such words, i.e. no more than 4% of the total content of the website can results in Google thinking you are dishonest or a spammer.   

Site navigation - All areas of the website should be in an easy to use format ideally with most areas of the web-site being found in 2 -3 clicks 

Page names - Pages (urls) should be named with relevant words which relate to the searches you want people to use to find you. For example if you have a hotel in devon, you could name a page - hoteldevon, for example:  (yourwebsite).co.uk/hotelindevon

Meta data - should be relevant and informative in an easy to read text

Domain Age - the longer you are running the more you are liked

Site Evolution - what you update and how many times.   A simple rule to follow would be Content is King and Simplicity is Queen...

Links:

Quality and related links coming in and out of your website, which have been built at a steady rate.

If you build links at an excessive and quick rate then Google can penalise you for this. Ideally links to your site should be now and then rather than 20 in one week. Do this and they can mark you as a spammer. Be careful of also putting your web-site as a link on a dodgy, spammy or even non-relevant site, as again you can be penalised for this. Quality rather than quantity on this. If you can get a link from a government body then this is good.

For example is you are a Environmentally friendly hotel, you would aim to get a link to relevant websites such as Environmentally Friendly Hotels.  

For accommodation providers useful links to include on your web-site could be to Visit Britain (http://www.visitbritain.com), Discover Ireland (http://www.discoverireland.com), Visit Scotland (http://www.visitscotland.com), English Heritage (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk), The National Trust (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk), B&B News (http://www.bandbnews.co.uk), Foreign Perspectives - aimed at ex-pats (http://www.foreignperspectives.com) ... in fact any web-site you deem is of interest to your guests and people viewing your web-site - just ensure they open in a new page!

* The above will add value to how Google rates you and positions you for searches

Page Rank

Named after Larry Page, to measure the relative importance of the web-site on the www. Pages that receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results and that is why we, as owners of websites should find this important rather than as some sort of web status!

Recently Google has cleaned up on Content farms, where people just put info on to get the website around and to try to dupe Google and get themselves a higher ranking and exposure. This process has meant that lots of websites have lost their Google ranking (approx 12%) and on the proverbial naughty step we would guess.

Check here to see what yours is: http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php.

Admittedly PageRank is not as important as some think, hence why its not on the Google Webmaster Tools section anymore, as some thought it was the most important metric to track, which is simply not true, however it does give you an idea of how the web-site is ranked or viewed with the gods @ Google.

THE BIKER GUIDE summing up...  

We hope this article will help you in certain areas of your website and hopefully to help you choose wisely what information is included, where you exchange links and how your web-site is developed.    If you already knew all of the above, please accept our apologies and welcoming you to our world of seo geekness!

Resources  

Google Analytics

PR checker

Three click rule

Environmentally Friendly Hotels

Environmentally Friendly

Alexa

THE BIKER GUIDE - With over 1,000 visitors a day ... Hits -  no comment!   Bringing the Biker Community together!  

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An exciting new smartphone app designed to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads is now available.

The ‘iBiker app’, which has been funded by the DfT (Department for Transport in Great Britain), is available on the iPhone and Android mobile phones. In addition to featuring ‘myth busting’ equipment and maintenance videos with James Toseland, the former double World Superbike Champion, the app enables bikers to:

·         Plan, plot, and save their rides/routes.

·         Highlight points of interest including pubs, cafes, cash points, petrol stations and meeting points.

·         Rate routes.

·         Connect with the biking community by sharing information about their rides/routes via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other social networking sites.

The ap also highlights ‘the most risky roads and routes in Britain’ and provides interactive information and advice on how to ride safely and responsibly.

Similar to Ride It Right, iBiker is community driven and focused on the community it serves - riders can take ownership of the app and populate it with information that can be shared across the biker community. Users can get in touch with ibiker via www.twitter.com/ibikerapp. or visit www.facebook.com/facebook.

Gurminder Marwaha, who manages the app, says, “In terms of our plans for the app, we are very open to suggestions on how the app can be improved and what new features users would like to see. This app is for bikers and to remain a biker app it's important that the community tells us how it wants the app to develop. We will listen to all ideas.”

What About iBiker For Northern Ireland

Ride It Right has been in touch with the iBiker developers to see if iBiker works in Northern Ireland and the answer is yes!

So apart from on your travels outside Northern Ireland riders here can, add their own routes and places, plan, plot, and save their rides/routes and comments on others’ routes and places.

You can also highlight points of interests, including pubs, cafes, cash points, speed cameras, petrol stations, meeting points and much more.

However one application that is missing is the provision of video run-throughs of known collision hotspots, these provide commentary illustrating potential dangers, enabling riders to prepare for a ride on that route, and spot potential danger before actually riding it.

Early days yet but Ride It Right is looking at bringing iBiker here, to add to the 90 different routes videoed in the rest of the UK. Our own routes on the Ride It Right website highlights, The Antrim Coast Road – The Ards Peninsula – Newcastle and the Mournes.

To get iBiker here we are looking for sponsors/funding, a race “celebrity” to promote iBiker and for the support from Road Safety agencies.

Information

www.ibikerapp.com

www.facebook.com/ibiker

www.rideitright.org