The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the world's largest historic collection of British cars, has won a prestigious award at the Renaissance West Midlands Best of the West Awards 2010. The results were announced at a ceremony on Friday 26 February at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. The Centre scooped the ‘ Best Temporary Exhibition Award’ for the Mini 50th Anniversary Exhibition which took place in 2009. The annual awards programme aims to reward excellence and highlight best practice in museums and galleries in the West Midlands.

Tens of thousands of visitors travelled to the Heritage Motor Centre to visit the major exhibition which celebrated the life and times of Britain's favourite little car.  ‘ 50 Years of the Mini’ opened on 10 May 2009 and ran until 23 December charting the history of this great British car. The exhibition featured iconic cars from the museum's collection; including the first Morris Mini produced at Cowley in 1959 and told the story of the design, production and development of the car that became a symbol for the "Swinging Sixties". Due to its success and popularity visitors are still able to access the exhibition until after Easter 2010.

Tim Bryan, Head of Collections at the Heritage Motor Centre stated “We are delighted and honoured to have won such a prestigious Best of the West industry award.  It is a fantastic achievement for everyone concerned to be recognised and rewarded for our Mini Exhibition which attracted visitors from all over the world. I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work, commitment and dedication in ensuring the exhibition was an outstanding success”.

To find out more about the Heritage Motor Centre please visit the web-site at www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

Ace Cafe London's long established and free to attend Hot Rod Night, held throughout the year 6pm - 11pm close on the first Wednesday every month, and which always features hot rockin' sounds from the Ace DJ, kicks off with the addition of live rock n' roll each month from Wednesday 5th May, the cafe's "Spring Riot", with the Ace hosting raw rockabilly band The Arousers together with DJ Little Carl on the decks.

With a different band on stage through to the "End of Summer Riot", Wednesday 1st September, hot news for 2010 and to run throughout the year, is that the Ace has teamed up with Lucky 13, from the USA, to showcase and promote their gear on Hot Rod Nights with spot prizes, awards and giveaways. Be lucky, be there!

www.lucky13.com

Iconic Austrian brand to debut at TT 2010 with Redline Motorcycles and James Edmeades

Austrian manufacturer KTM are set to increase the levels of official manufacturer participation at the 2010 Isle of Man TT Races with the news that Redline Motorcycles will be entering one of the flagship KTM RC8R Superbike machines in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TT Races.

The off-road giants have been increasing their road racing efforts in recent years with 2009 seeing official participation in both the Austrian and German Superbike Championships and it is anticipated that the machine on the Island will mirror those in specification in what will be KTM’s first ever TT appearance.

The man given the task of riding the bright orange bike will be Loughborough’s James Edmeades. The 26-year old is no stranger to the TT having ridden in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 events. The former Virgin R6 Cup rider narrowly missed out on his first 120mph lap in 2007 and has already picked up two bronze replicas from his nine races whilst he also took a strong fifth in last season’s RC8 Super Cup Championship.

In addition to the TT outing, Edmeades will campaign the bike in this year’s British Superbike Evo Championship and he is eagerly looking forward to his return to the Mountain Course.

“The opportunity to become the first KTM rider at the Isle of Man TT Races is a tremendous honour for me and after the three great years I enjoyed between 2006 and 2008, I can’t wait to get back on the Island. The KTM RC8R is a superb bike and I’m sure it will perform well around the course with its excellent handling qualities.

He continued: “I was carrying an injury when I was last at the TT and didn’t perform as I would have liked which is something I’m keen to put right this year. I’m sure both myself and the team will give a good account of ourselves and further prove the capabilities of the KTM Superbike machine.”

KTM will join Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki with their official manufacturer supported efforts at this year’s TT whilst discussions with other leading manufacturers not currently represented at the TT are close to being finalised.

Hon Martyn Quayle, MHK, Minister for Tourism and Leisure, Isle of Man Government commented:

“It will be fantastic to see KTM competing for the first time on the Isle of Man and how appropriate that they will be lining up on the grid with Suzuki who are celebrating their 50^th anniversary of racing at the TT. It shows the continued strength and enduring appeal of the TT Races and I hope that KTM will have a long and successful TT history.”