Category: Events and Shows

1. Full Throttle and Famous Faces at Leighton Hall

   Posted on 7:52am Wednesday 3rd Sep 2014

   On the 28th of September,  Leighton Hall races back to the spirit of 1969 as hundreds of classic and modern motorbikes race up the drive in an exciting Bike Sprint.

   The hall has a history of motor racing sprints, however this is the first time in 45 years that Leighton has been fortunate enough to host such an exhilarating event.

   The track stretches for 220 metres with a thrilling 50 - 60 degree bend 50 metres from the start-line, adding extra excitement, as it is not just a straight line sprint. Racing is open to all classes from vintage to modern machines and 3 wheelers (with no cc limit), so all enthusiasts can push their bikes to full throttle. For serious competitors, the times at this event will count towards the North West Sprint Championship.

   The action doesn’t stop there though. With commentaries throughout the day, a fantastic collection of trade stands, an autojumble and motorcycle club displays, this show gives visitors a chance to get up close to bikes from every era, including entry into the race paddock. Enthusiastic exhibitors will be talking about their passions, and sharing stories of the golden age of motoring. And they’ll be in good company, as very special guest John McGuinness will be there. Used to reaching speeds of up to 200mph around the TT race track, Leighton Hall’s driveway shouldn’t be too taxing for this superstar of motorsport.

   Run in association with Sherrard Classic Vehicle Events and Blackline Sprinting, this thrilling family day out came to fruition after organiser, Ian Sherrard visited Leighton Hall last year. “After attending their classic car event in July, it seemed Leighton Hall was the perfect venue for a motorcycle sprint. It’s going to be wonderful to see (and hear) over 100 motorbikes racing through their beautiful parkland. As many of our bikes are true classics, Leighton steeped in history and heritage seems the perfect backdrop”.

   Admission price includes entry to Leighton’s picturesque grounds, gardens and tea rooms (there is a small additional charge of £3 for house tours). Practise and public entry starts from 9:30 and racing starts at 1pm. Onsite catering is available to complement Leighton’s tea rooms. Although (due to health and safety) dogs aren’t allowed, there are lots of outdoor activities for younger visitors to enjoy. Children can let off steam racing around the Caterpillar Maze, Woodland Walk and Tree Face Trail as well as playing in Leighton’s dens and sandpit.

   So if the purring of engines sets your pulse racing and the sight of beautifully waxed bikes reaching top speeds catches your eye, Leighton Hall on the 28thof September is the place to be.

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   The Leighton Hall Motorcycle Sprint will take place at Leighton Hall, Carnforth on 28th Sept 2014 9:30am – 4pm. Admission is £7.50 for adults and £3.50 for children. Free Parking. Admission price includes entry to grounds, gardens and tea rooms. There is a small additional charge of £3.00 for house tours.

   For all enquiries and entry forms, please contact Ian Sherrard on 07836 331324 (daytime) or 01772 323654 (evenings 6pm - 8pm) or visit the webpage at www.leightonhallsprint.co.uk

2. August bank holiday weekend A game of two halves

   Posted on 8:02am Saturday 30th Aug 2014

   Plus Cholmondeley Castle & Hoghton Tower

   Well an interesting and challenging weekend over the August Bank holiday for clubs and enthusiasts, traders and autojumblers, organisers and visitors alike. Sunday was a benign day all over the UK with literally dozens of traders, hundreds of classic cars and bikes and thousands of visitors at our Capesthorne Hall event in the north west and at Blenheim Palace in the south.
   
   At around 8am at Capesthorne Hall the organisers were busy building up the four day “Rewind” music festival for this coming weekend and as I was banging in a £2.50 section sign with a hammer my dad probably bought for about three shillings before the last war, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of plant and machinery was thundering through the site just past my left ear. I must say it did make me question how much I have managed to achieve over the last 30 years but thinking about it further I doubt that any of the visitors to “rewind” will currently be having quite as good a time as the classic car and bike enthusiasts who attended Capesthorne last Sunday. Horses for courses and all that and they didn’t even ask to borrow the hammer…
   
   August bank holiday can be quite a difficult time for show organisers to get new things off the ground given that there is so much on in the calendar and everyone sticks to tried and tested events. It has taken five years of hard work and perseverance but this year we feel that Blenheim has finally become firmly established as the no 1 choice of event for many traders, enthusiasts and public over the bank holiday weekend. The turn out on Sunday was simply brilliant with all manner of classics from the Rolls Royce EC and Oxford Motor club etc but Monday was the really interesting day. Thanks to the met office & BBC weather everyone knew that Monday was going to be a wall of water from one end of the UK to the other and lo it came to pass.

   However thanks to the hard work of Les Clayton in the arena and an impressive turn out of vehicles from the TVR car club we had an unexpectedly good show at Blenheim and managed to keep the event going until 2.30pm. Much the same story at Thoresby where we were 80% down on trade and visitors, and 100% down on ice cream vendors and bouncy castle providers! The next time a jumbler says to me “we always support you at Thoresby no matter what the weather” you might just see me raise an eyebrow or two. However the clubs and enthusiasts did come along with perhaps a total of two or three hundred cars and two motorbikes (count them) in total on site, all huddled together for warmth. Again Richard Lee and his team in the arena deserve a mention in dispatches for keeping the arena going until 2pm long after even I wanted to go home. In mitigation I did have a heavy cold but being a man I just soldiered on to the bitter end without hardly ever mentioning it at all.
   
   So that’s the bank holiday shows over for another year and time to move on to our biggest one day event of the summer at Cholmondeley Castle this coming Sunday, 31st August. We have over 980 classic cars booked in to attend with around 40 owners clubs and we can accommodate classic cars that turn up on the day in our overspill classic car park. The bike section is always full to bursting with some impressive machinery and we always have an excellent trade and autojumble turn going right around the show field, well worth a visit in it’s own right. Set up for traders is 2pm to 7pm on Saturday and from 7am on Sunday morning. The following weekend we are at Hoghton Tower near Preston for our last all outdoor event of the year. Over the years we have had very good events at Hoghton in September and one or two very bad ones as well so fingers crossed but as always the weather decides.

   

3. TAKE A PUNT AND UNCOVER THE BARGAINS AT 21st NETLEY AUTOJUMBLE

   Posted on 3:58pm Thursday 21st Aug 2014

   THE odds will be stacked in favour of the bargain hunters next month as thousands head toward the New Forest to rummage through the deals at one of the UK’s biggest bike autojumbles.

   The 21st Carole Nash Eurojumble takes place at Netley Marsh, near Southampton, on September 5-6 and visitors could well hit the jackpot as they go in search of the parts, pieces, tools and accessories they need for their classic motorcycle projects.

   The south coast location of the show, combined with its size, means that enthusiasts turn out in their droves from across the UK and the rest of Europe.

   While the main focus is on British machines of yesteryear, a range of makes, models and eras are represented.

   Nick Mowbray, exhibition manager, said: “The selection and range of traders at the Carole Nash Eurojumble grows year after year and 2014 is going to be no different.

   “There are some incredible bargains to be on all manner of motorcycle items… it’s the ideal destination to pick up a bucket load of biking bits, all in one place.”

   Along with the opportunity to stock up on supplies, Garage Clearout Saturday means that non-regular traders have the chance to fill up their car or van with bike related jumble items and arrive on the morning of September 6 for a one-day plot.

   Nick added: “With the Garage Clearout pass, not only can you save money on new items but you can turn all your old bits into cash!”

   Autojumble plots are joined at the event by a selection of UK motorcycle clubs displaying a range of stunning machines.

   Entry to the autojumble is open from 9am on both days with an adult one-day ticket costing just £6.50 when bought in advance from classicbikeshows.com – a saving of £1 on the gate price.

4. SEE all the new bikes at the Motorcycle Live‏

   Posted on 8:28am Thursday 21st Aug 2014

   SEE... bikes, bikes, bikes!

   Motorcycle Live is the UK’s largest bike show and first and foremost, that’s what visitors get to see. Every November, thousands of two-wheel fans and their families and friends make the winter-season pilgrimage to Motorcycle Live to see the next year’s new models in the UK for the first time.

   This year will be no different, with more of the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturers signed up than ever before, each one showcasing the very latest machinery – from sports bikes and scooters to adventure models and off-roaders. For a full list of manufacturers exhibiting at the show click here.      

    

   In addition to the new bikes, visitors can also enjoy the more historical side of motorcycling with a visit to the Classic/Retro feature supported by the Coventry Transport Museum. The Classic section will be include a special display in honour of the World War I Centenary, featuring unique, mint-condition machines from the era. The Retro collection meanwhile will focus on old favourites and rare gems from the 1980s.                

   Shiny machinery doesn’t get more eye-catching than the weird and wonderful bikes on display at Custom Xtreme supported by Back Street Heroes. This high-profile showcase is dedicated to the work of the UK’s most highly-talented and ingenious builders – professional and amateur alike – all of whom remain consistently passionate about fusing exquisite engineering and absolute art into a single motorcycle.         

   Motorcycle Live takes place at The NEC, Birmingham from 22-30 November 2014. Advance tickets are just £17 per adult, £11 for Seniors and £7 for children aged 11-16* (kids ten and under accompanied by a paying adult go free). There is also a £20 advance ticket, which includes entry to the show and a three-pack of Oxford Comfy neck warmers worth £15.

   To book, call 0844 581 2345 or visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk

   *Advance ticket price, closing date for advanced tickets 5.00pm on 21 November 2014.  

5. Wright move as classic dirt bike show joins Mortons’ stable!

   Posted on 12:50pm Tuesday 19th Aug 2014

   After over a decade of success, Britain’s leading classic dirt bike show is set to step up a gear as part of the Mortons stable of motorcycle events and magazines.

   The Putoline Telford Twin Shock Classic & Road Racing Show – known to many of the thousands who attend each year as ‘Wrighty’s Show’ – is joining forces with other great Mortons events such as the market-leading International Dirt Bike Show and the two huge events at Stafford, the Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show and the Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show.

   And as part of the deal, founder Alan Wright, already a regular columnist in Mortons’ Classic Dirt Bike magazine, will be staying on in order to make sure the 2015 event over the weekend of February 21/22 is bigger and better than ever.

   “It’s a perfect fit as far as I’m concerned,” said Alan. “I know the team at Mortons’ Classic Bike Shows will look after what has been a labour of love for me for many years now, but also a lot of very hard work. In fact in the best sense of the phrase when it comes to dirt bikes, I’ll finally be able to get my feet up, as the show will be in safe hands!”

   The event at the International Centre in Telford has traditionally attracted a host of big names and great machinery, with stars such as Heikki Mikkola, Johnny Giles and Brad Lackey among some of the more recent names to come along. Regular showgoers know they get to rub shoulders with their heroes, and often get the chance to attend exclusive dinners and hear tales of classic battles on two wheels… and all that, plus much more, will be on the cards as the Classic Bike Shows team picks up the baton.

   “Alan has done a fantastic job with the event over a number of years,” said Mortons exhibitions manager Nick Mowbray. “The pressure is on for our team to make something so good even better… but we will be giving it every effort. The event fits brilliantly with our other events and gives us the ideal all-round package for anyone with an interest in two wheels, wherever they are in the UK.”