Category: Events and Shows

1. Dakar 2012, Aprilia Team looks for the top

   Posted on 12:01am Friday 30th Dec 2011

   Everything is ready for Dakar 2012. After the two days of scrutineerings, all is set for the big start in January 1st. Team Aprilia will be represented by the Chilean rider Francisco “Chaleco” López and the French-Malian Alain Duclos.

   MAR DEL PLATA – The bureaucracy preceding the race is finally over and everything is set for the big show of the Dakar Argentina-Chile-Peru, which will start tomorrow with the first of fourteen stages. Team Aprilia will relive the adventure with last year´s amazing performance of Francisco “Chaleco” López, who has finished third and fourth in the last two editions.

   “Chaleco” has totally recovered from the accident in Tunisia´s Rally and find himself motivated to face this new adventure. The Chilean rider will be accompanied by his “bodyguard” Alain Duclos, who will participate in the Dakar with Aprilia for the second time after his outstanding performance as last year´s fastest private rider!

   The duo will take the new version of the Aprilia RXV 4.5 into the South American deserts specially prepared by Aprilia Racing that made this new bike faster and lighter. Many other technical changes were applied to adapt the bike for rally raid use, most of all concerning reliability, a very important matter in order to complete the 8391 kilometers of the race that will cross Argentina, Chile and Peru, where riders will reach the finish line in Lima next January 15th.

   There will be also two other Aprilia RXV in the race, supported by the structure of Team Giofil: the French rider of thirty seven years old Arnaud Besnier that jumps into this extreme challenge, and also Edouard Boulanger, Dakar Challenge´s winner who will make his dream come true. The French rider living in Italy earned the free registration fees to participate in the Dakar after his great performance as private rider in Pharaons Rally 2011.

   Tomorrow the Dakar 2012 will have its official start ceremony in Plaza Colón in Mar del Plata, in front of the Casino Municipal, where all competitors will greet the start and the first competitive stage will be a 57 km timed section with 763 of road connection to arrive to the first bivouac located in Santa Rosa de La Pampa.

   APRILIA RACING RIDERS

   FRANCISCO “CHALECO” LOPEZ

   Francisco López was born September 15th, 1975 in Curicó, the southern center region of Chile. At the age of four, he starts riding a motorcycle, motivated by his father, Renato Lopez, a very brave motocross rider. López not only inherits the talent from his father, but also the nickname “Chaleco”, which means “sweater”, coming from the fact that his dad raced with a sweater knitted by his mother Ana María.

   He started in rally raid in Por las Pampas in 2005, where he obtained a stage victory, showing its strength in this discipline. In 2007, he was crowned World Champion in 450 cc class with Honda. This result took him straight to take the place of an official KTM rider in 2007.

   “Chaleco” became an official rider of Team Giofil Aprilia Racing in Pharaons Rally 2009 and took the Aprilia bike made in Noale, Italy, to the third place in Dakar 2010. That same year, López won the Rally of Tunisia and took the second place overall and first in 450cc class in the Rally of Egypt, finishing second in the world ranking.

   The unfortunate end of Dakar 2011 is still in mind. López was on the third place overall, but some miles before the finish line of the last stage the rear suspension broke down and he could only reach the fourth place after two stage victories. Then, in Tunisia´s Rally last April, the Chilean was well placed overall when an accident cost him a long period of inactivity and time to recover from it.

   Now, Chaleco is ready to race again, motivated to the highest point after his return to the races in Pharaons 2011 last October, his last test before the Dakar 2012 Argentina-Chile-Peru.

   ALAIN DUCLOS

   Alain Duclos was born on June 25th, 1971 in Bamako, Mali, from a French father and Malian mother. At the beginning of the 80´s, and as part of a very passionate family, he discovered the two wheel universe but he was still too young, so he decided to dedicate himself to BMX.

   In 1982, the Dakar´s passage through Korghoro light the fire inside of him and he promised himself that he was going to participate on it once.

   He practiced Enduro for years until he finally took part of the race in 2000, in the Dakar Paris-Dakar-Cairo. Duclos has always been improving results, he took the 14th place in 2005 and 7th in 2006, where he was the fastest private rider.

   Also 6th in 2010, before starting with Team Aprilia, he alternated great stage results and technical problems during the last Dakar, where he was an outstanding support for the 4th position of Francisco López. Duclos arrives to the hardest race in the world highly motivated to take his new Aprilia RXV 4.5 to the top.

2. Christmas comes early for MOSI’s Harley winner

   Posted on 12:01am Thursday 22nd Dec 2011

   When Jeremy Harrison admired an 883 Sportster Harley-Davidson motorcycle during a visit to MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) earlier this year, he never imagined that he might actually get to ride it. The doctor from Lancashire is celebrating Christmas early this year as he is the lucky winner of the motorcycle in a raffle organised by exhibition organiser Claridon and MOSI.

   The bike was the star prize for a raffle associated with the Customising, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition, which ended on 30 October 2011. The raffle sold 1989 tickets and closed on 30 November. The motorcycle, which was provided by Claridon, comes with a full tank of petrol and 12 months warranty. Emergency Medicine Consultant Jeremy Harrison, (age 51 years), who is married with four children and lives in Carnforth, won the bike after buying six raffle tickets during a visit to MOSI with his children.

   Jeremy said: “I saw the Harley-Davidson bike when I came to MOSI and stood there admiring it for ages before I bought the tickets. Afterwards I forgot all about it and was completely blown away when I heard I’d won it. I thought the kids were winding me up as I never win things! I had a motorcycle when I was at university and have been on the verge of getting my full licence for years, so I guess this will be the thing that finally makes me do it!”

   Chris Scott from Claridon said: “I’m delighted to present this fantastic Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a prize in association with our recent exhibition. This is a great bike to get Jeremy back into motorcycling and I wish him many happy years of adventures on it. Jeremy is always more than welcome to come riding with the Claridon team. ”

   Customising, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition was at MOSI from 15 April – 30 October. For more information about MOSI please look up www.mosi.org.uk 

3. Gearing up for Prescott Bike Festival 2012 New date - Sunday 22nd April 2012

   Posted on 12:01am Friday 2nd Dec 2011

   The first annual Prescott Bike Festival in 2011 was successful beyond expectations. The one-day event attracted in excess of 5,500 visitors, 100 exhibitors and some unforgettable opportunities to celebrate all things two and three wheeled. Most importantly, it raised more than £52,000 for charities.

   The Prescott Bike Festival was born out of the need to raise awareness and funds for the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and one of its member groups, Severn Freewheelers. For Sunday 22nd April 2012 (a new date to avoid a clash with major bike motor sport events), the Prescott Bike Festival will be bigger and even better. It will hopefully generate even more money for the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes than in 2011.

   Set at one of the most prestigious hill climb venues in the UK against the beautiful backdrop of the Cotswold countryside, the Prescott Bike Festival aims to provide something for everyone; a relaxed family atmosphere, a huge variety of entertainment and a rare opportunity to ‘Run the Hill’ on your own motorcycle.

   Well supported by the bike industry, highlights of the 2011 event included the UK debut of the Morgan 3 Wheeler, classic machinery from the Brooklands Museum, helicopter rides, live bands, the opportunity to meet the stars of the British Superbike Championship and riders aged from 8 to 81 taking to the hill.

   In 2012, the Festival will feature the addition of a new Race Bikes Thru’ the Ages display. Never before will such an extensive collection of bikes have been brought together. Here, festival goers will not only be able to get up close with rare exotica, early pioneering machinery, modern MotoGP bikes and more but they will see many of them in action, ridden by race riders. Of particular note is support from competitors in the Lansdowne Classic Series, who will display some of the most prestigious race bikes of the 1950s and 1960s. The 2012 Festival also promises a new Orchard Food & Bar Village, a Run the Hill Fancy Dress competition and much more. One of the most amusing new features for the Prescott Bike Festival 2012 was inspired by the unexpected entry of Superman in the 2011 Run the Hill. For 2012, entrants can choose to tackle the hill climb in fancy dress to raise money for the Blood Bike charities and for the chance of winning a fantastic prize for the best costume of the day!

   www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk has just been launched to provide more details of what will be in store and give riders the opportunity to purchase advance tickets and secure their place to Run the Hill. There are just 200 places available to Run the Hill, so it’s best to book early!

4. SCOTT LAWRIE AND JAMES NEAVE CONFIRM ENTRY FOR 2012 ISLE OF MAN TT RACES SIDECAR RACES

   Posted on 12:01am Thursday 1st Dec 2011

   Scott Lawrie and James Neave, one of the UK’s leading sidecar outfits has confirmed that they will be making their first time appearance on the Mountain Course at the 2012 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy. The pair made the announcement at ‘TT Day’ at Motorcycle Live at the NEC.

   Scottish driver Lawrie has had a rapid rise in the British F1 Sidecar Championship and, after finishing 12th in 2010, he shot up the table this season to take a superb 3rd place overall, only denied the runner-up spot to eventual Champion Tim Reeves after bad luck in the closing rounds. With 9 podiums from the 20 race series, it’s clear the talented Edinburgh man will be one to watch as he pits his wits against the 37 and ¾-mile circuit for the first time.

   He also impressed on the World stage and although he only had two appearances in the 2011 World Championship, he made it count with 4th and 5th at the two races held at Oschersleben and 8th in race 1 at Schleiz. That was good enough to place him 9th overall in the Championship table and backed up his 7th place in the 2010 series where his best race result was again 4th, at Rijeka, Croatia.

   Meanwhile, Neave, despite being one of the youngest passengers on the grid at 23, has already tasted race action at the TT having been in the chair with Andy Laidlow in 2009 where they finished 10th in the only race held that year. Their fastest lap was a more than creditable 106.069mph and, having partnered Lawrie since 2009, he’ll be the perfect ballast come June.

   As well as going into 2012 as major British and World Championship F1 contenders, Scott and James are keen to make an impression at the Isle of Man TT, an event they have always been keen to try together and, with this in mind they have readily entered this year’s event where they will contest both three-lap Sure Sidecar Races.

   The pairing have already begun preparing both outfits for the coming season and will call on the expertise of Steve Webster, the ten-times World Champion, who has been assisting their quest in recent years.

   Talking about his debut, Lawrie commented:

   “I’ve been thinking about contesting the Isle of Man for a while and believe the time is now right for me to make my debut. The F2 MR Equipeoutfit will be new to me as well as the Mountain Course, obviously, so I realise that I still have a lot to learn but with James already having solid experience on the Island it will stand us in good stead. The Newcomers have done incredibly well in recent years but I’ll approach the event in my own way and won’t set myself too many targets in my first year. It’s a long term project for me so the main thing for 2012 is to learn the course, do a good, solid job, enjoy myself and come back stronger in subsequent years.”

   With two former World Champions, Tim Reeves and Ben Birchall, again on the entry list for the 2012 TT, as well as the established leading runners, including John Holden and the returning 14-times winner Dave Molyneux, the F2 Sidecar races at the Isle of Man continue to be the most prestigious sidecar races in the world and the two races in June promise action and quality of the very highest order.

   Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Manager, commented:

   “I’m delighted that we have secured the participation of this outfit as they are hugely promising competitors who I’m sure will do well on the Isle of Man for many years to come. The sidecar class, once again promises to be the unofficial World Championship and there are a number of very interesting crews in this year’s race.”

   The 2012 Isle of Man TT begins with a week of practice from May 26th through to June 1st with the two three-lap Sidecar Races set for Saturday June 2nd and Wednesday June 6th.

5. Mad Sunday concludes Motorcycle Live 2011

   Posted on 12:01am Monday 28th Nov 2011

   Motorcycle Live 2011 ended on a high today with ‘Mad Sunday’ – a full day dedicated to the Isle of Man TT. Fans of the legendary road race arrived at The NEC in their droves, all hoping for the chance to see their heroes in the flesh and they weren’t left disappointed. 
    
   A whole host of TT stars turned out for the final day of the show, including 17-times TT winner John McGuinness, Michael Rutter, Michael Dunlop, Bruce Anstey, Ian Lougher, Conor Cummins, Ryan Farquhar, Jamie Hamilton, Jenny Tinmouth, Bruce Anstey, Dave Molyneux, John Holden and Andy Winkle. New Honda BSB signing Michael Laverty and Moto2 star Bradley Smith also made an appearance. 
    
   The TT contingent took part in specially-themed Q&A sessions with James Whitham and the Fast Bikes Questions of Bikes quiz with Steve Parrish. Bradley Smith appeared on the Blackhorse stage to draw the winning ticket for the annual Riders for Health raffle – the prize for which was a Yamaha XT660Z Ténéré. He was then presented with a surprise helmet-shaped birthday cake courtesy of Shoei to celebrate turning 21 tomorrow. 
    
   The day ended with a mass-signing session from the Isle of Man TT stars that lasted well over an hour as fans queued to collect a final memento of what has been a fantastic event. Check out the photo gallery for the entire show at www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive
    
   “What a brilliant way to end the show”, says Finlay McAllan, Managing Director of Event organisers, MCI Exhibitions. “There has been a real buzz around the halls this year and judging by all the positive comments we’ve had from both exhibitors and visitors, everyone has thoroughly enjoyed it. I can certainly say that we have!”