The Triumph Triple Challenge once again produced some first class racing during round two at Oulton Park with Peter “Pesky” Ward and Luke Jones taking a win each.

Pesky got his weekend off to the ideal start by taking pole position. The Hinckley rider only put in four laps during qualifying and confidently sat the rest of the session out. South African rider Phil Atkinson was back on form this weekend now that he has a better understanding of his new 675 Daytona.

Atkinson was the early challenger for pole position until Ashley Beech got into his stride, pushing Atkinson back to third place and finishing just 0.071seconds behind Pesky. Luke Jones completed the front row of the grid.

Freddy Pett was unable to take part in qualifying following an unlucky crash during free practice. He has broken his right hand in six places and needs an operation to pin and plate the injury. He passed on his good wishes to the other riders in the Championship.

Following qualifying Ward said: “The bike feels good, and I know I’ve more pace should I need it. I didn’t see the point in staying out and wasting fuel and my tyres. My back is playing up too so I wanted to keep the number of laps down. I feel fairly confident for the race.”

Pole position translated into a race win for Pesky giving him his first win of the season. Off the line it was Phil Atkinson who got the holeshot and immediately tried to gap the chasing riders. Pesky slotted into second place with Championship leader Jones in third and Beech in fourth place. Beech wasted no time and passed Jones at Shell hairpin on lap three

Atkinson was doing his best to escape and by lap five he was 0.595 seconds clear of Pesky, however one lap later Pesky had closed him down to a gap of 0.284 seconds. With a back marker on the horizon Pesky made his move on the run into Lodge corner to take the lead. Beech wasn’t standing still either and he picked Atkinson off one lap later at the same place.

The front runners were in a race very much of their own and had pulled away from Jones in fourth place by a good 3 seconds. Beech who finished second to Pesky broke the lap record by a second and his awesome pace gave him pole position for race two with a time of 1min 43.934 seconds.

Ward said: “I could hear a bike behind me and I knew it was Ash as he has been going really well. I needed to look after my tyre for race two so I just backed him up twice by holding onto the brakes a bit longer and waited to hear him back off. I just wanted to get through Brands and then see what we could do here. I’ve not led a race for a while so I tensed up a bit and made some mistakes, I just wanted to be consistent. I need a better start for race two. My back is still playing up so I’ll rest up between races.”

Beech said: “It was ok really, I need to try and make a better start as I spent all race making up for it. I’m pole for race two so I want to get away and try to break them. I’m losing out on the brakes but I know I can carry more corner speed. I’ll be faster in the next one.”

Atkinson said: “I was hoping to do what I did last year at Cadwell Park, just get clear but I got arm pump on lap eight and I couldn’t hold on. I had my arm massaged before the race so I’ll have to do the same again before race two. I did show that I’ve got the pace so I’ll try and get away next time.”

If you want close racing then look no further race two was as close as they come. Luke Jones took the second win of the day by just 0.006 seconds from Pesky who had led for the bulk of the race. The diminutive Jones out dragged the six foot Hinckley rider over the line to take the win. There are now just seven points separating them in the title chase with Jones ahead on 88 points. Beech had to settle for a close third place.

Following race one the grid positions changed placing Beech on pole thanks to his lap record pace. He had hoped this would improve his start but that wasn’t to be the case as Peaky and Jones immediately hit the front.

Whilst Beech and Jones battled it looked like Pesky was going to make a break but Jones held onto him closing down the 0.25 seconds gap he had built. The front three were on a pace of their own and by mid race distance they were 7 seconds clear of fourth place.

Jones was lining Pesky up for a late move so he didn’t have time to get back at him and on the last lap he went for it at Old Hall taking the lead. Pesky stayed closed and with a back marker looming he went round the outside of Jones at Lodge. Jones however had other ideas and simply pinned the throttle on the exit of the final turn and out dragged Pesky to the line. By the time the chequered flag came out the front three were 14 seconds clear of Tom Hayward who was in fourth place.

Jones said: “We made so many changes to the bike after race one it took me a couple of laps to settle in. Ward passed me and I just sat behind him until I got going. I had decided to wait right until the end to try and pass him. I got him on the last lap and he tried to come back past so I stood my bike up and opened the throttle. I got so much drive, we were banging elbows and neither of us were letting go. It was amazing.”

Ward said: “I really enjoyed that, I’m a little annoyed that I led the whole race and got done on the last lap. I’m happy and I enjoyed it that is the main thing. I want to get my confidence back that is why I’m doing this series. I need a few changes to my bike and we’ll see what happens.”

Beech said: “It was ok, I’m a bit disappointed with the second race especially after race one. I just need to get my starts better as I’m making it hard work for myself. These guys are so late on the brakes but I know if I can get clear and pull a gap I can run the pace. I’m disappointed in myself really as the bike is awesome. I’ve had podiums, now I want a win.”

 The third round of the Triumph Triple Challenge will be at Croft in North Yorkshire on the 13^th – 15^th May.

Road racing legend Guy Martin wants everyone to support The Big Brew and have a cuppa for charity on Saturday 7th May to raise money for Spinal Research.

Adelaide Insurance Services has teamed up with Hein Gericke in Belfast to run their Big Brew day supporting Spinal Research at Hein Gericke on the Boucher Road, Belfast.

Spinal Research aims to get paralysed people walking again and has a campaign especially for motorcyclists called “Ride Out.” Ride Out is dedicated to motorcyclists who love what they do but are at risk of a spinal cord injury. The campaign enables motorcyclists to give something back and help people who have been paralysed.

On the Big Brew website Guy Martin says, “"When I decided to support Ride Out for Spinal Research, I didn't know that I'd have a big accident at the Isle of Man TT.”

“I fractured the bones in my upper back, but luckily I didn't damage my spinal cord. It could so easily have been a different story and I'd have wound up paralysed. That's why I decided to support Ride Out and combine my love of tea with motorbikes – all in the name of a good cause! The more money you raise from The Big Brew, the more you'll be able to help with Spinal Research's work to get people who are paralysed walking again and back on their bikes. Please get involved and help us beat paralysis. Cheers,Guy”

Everyone that takes part in a Big Brew event will be able to enter a free prize draw and one lucky winner and a friend will meet Guy, which is likely to be at Snetterton.

So get down to Hein Gericke in Belfast on 7th May and help Adelaide Insurance and Hein Gericke raise as much money as they can!

For more details visit www.guymartinbigbrew.org or www.spinalresearch.org

The Triumph Triple Challenge got off to a thrilling start at a sunny Brands Hatch with former BSB rider Luke Jones grabbing the first two wins of the season.

Jones, on the KGD Racing Triumph, took the first pole position of the year too in the scorching conditions with a time of 49.245secs. Lining up next to Jones was Tom Ward riding the Stocks Garage machine, he was just 0.229secs behind. Tom Hayward riding the Daniel Weston Racing bike slotted into third place as he stepped up from the 125 class. And completing the front row of the grid was Tommy Dale on the Power2Connect/11KV bike.

Phil Atkinson who finished second in the Championship last year had a tough time on track qualifying in a lowly 10^th position. The South African rider suffered from handling issues which he hoped to rectify before the race.

Peter “Pesky” Ward, former BSB Superstock Cup Champion and current Triumph test rider, qualified in sixth place on the second row of the grid. This weekend is his first run out on the Peter Ward Racing Triumph so he was happy with the result and was feeling confident ahead of race one.

Jones said: “We made some changes to the suspension from yesterday as the bike was squatting too much but it felt a lot better today in qualifying. The Triumph feels really agile having come from Superbike last year. I’m pleased with pole let’s hope I get a result in the race.”

Race one got off to good start for Hayward who took the holeshot into Paddock Hill bend closely shadowed by Jones who didn’t waste any time slotting into the lead at Druids. 16-year old Tom Ward moved up into second place pushing Hayward back to third with Pesky running in fourth.

Another former 125 rider, Tom Weeden was making his presence felt taking fourth place off the more experienced Peter Ward. Just two laps in and Jones was beginning to make a break with Tom Ward going with him. Weeden had now moved up another place and was running in an impressive third position.

The top four had settled into the race until lap seven when Tom Ward crashed out of second place at Graham Hill bend. This promoted Weeden to second and Pesky to third, an out-of-the-seat moment for Weeden allowed Pesky to slide under him also at Graham Hill bend. He put his head down to try and reel in Jones who now had a 5 second lead.

Weeden wasn’t settling for third place and whilst trying to pass Pesky on the run into Druids he crashed out of the race. His fall pushed Piers Hutchins wide allowing Ashley Beech to capitalise on the tumble and he nabbed third place in the race.

Pesky took second place and Beech completed the podium.

Jones said: “I got a reasonable start and was second into the first corner. I wanted to get clear and make a break so I got into the lead and put my head down for three laps to pull a gap. I watched my board and when I saw the gap I backed off a little and just brought it home.”

Ward said: “I’ve not raced with these guys and girls before so I just wanted to settle in. The gearing isn’t quite right so I need to sort that out for race two. I’ve only had a few laps on the bike this weekend so it’s a good start.”

Beech said: “I only got my bike on Friday so I’ve only managed one practice start. So when the race started the bike came off the line like a drag bike it! It wanted to wheelie so I ended up mid pack. I just went steady into the first turn and then started picking them off. I knew I was in the pack for the podium so I was going to have a go. Weeden crashing really helped me as he pushed Hutchins wide so I’m hoping for another good result tomorrow.”

 The grid for race two was set on lap times from race one leaving Jones in pole but promoting Beech to second, Tom Ward lined up in third place and Weeden completed the front row.

Jones got the holeshot closely followed by Weeden, Beech and Pesky. Jim Lovell and Tom Ward both had short races with Lovell crashing out at Druids on the opening lap and Tom Ward going out with a technical issue.

Jones tried to break away like he did in race one but Beech who had moved into second decided to go with him. The pair broke away from the chasing pack with Beech just a breath away from Jones the entire race. At one point he was just 0.049secs behind the hard charging Jones. He had hoped to out drag him to the line but his plan failed due to a big moment on the final lap.

16-year old Weeden was doing his best to hold onto his third place in the race but the more experience Pesky had other ideas passing the youngster with just two laps to go.

Jones took his second win of the weekend, Beech finished second and Pesky took the final podium place. Jones is now leading the championship on 50 points with Beech and Pesky in joint second with 36 points each leaving Hutchins in third with 22 points.

Jones said: “It was hard leading from the start and it took me a while to get going. I knew Ash was close so I just did my best to make no mistakes and keep to my lines to take the win. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park as I can’t wait to get back out on the bike. I feel I’m learning it now so I’ll have a play with the suspension and see what happens.”

Beech said:  “That was good as I caught him quickly. I thought I could slipstream him to the line but when it mattered I had a near high side and ended up out of the seat. The bike feels better and I’m getting faster and faster. By Oulton Park I should be able to give him a run for his money.”

Ward said: “I changed the gearing for warm-up and it still didn’t feel quite right so I changed it again for the race. I got stuck behind Weeden for too long but I got a podium and more points so it’s all good.”

The Triumph Triple Challenge will hit the track again for round two at Oulton Park in Cheshire on 30^th April – 2^nd May.

A European Commission funded motorcycle project 2BeSafe www.2besafe.eu , initiated over two years ago which focuses on “Two Wheeler Behaviour and Safety”, has broken the surface with the launch of a survey.

As reported by the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) the survey is designed “to better understand the needs of riders in terms of safety”.

The 2BeSafe survey asks motorcyclists about their personal details, family, riding experience, accidents, strategies, motivation and habits, as well as perception of assistance technology systems, including advanced braking systems, navigation units, air bags and other riding equipment.

The control of the motorcycle other than by the rider has crept into the 2BeSafe survey with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA). According to the description in the survey “These systems adapt the distance to the vehicle ahead automatically either by slowing the motorcycle if following too closely, or accelerating the motorcycle to maintain a preset following distance when traffic allows”.

The questions on technology seem to intertwine with the previous SAFERIDER project survey carried out in 2008. However the objectives of the 2BeSafe project do not mention the development of the SAFERIDER IT systems, so there is no clear reason why the survey should ask these questions, because this is not the remit of the project.

Is the 2BeSafe project really just SAFERIDER2 in another guise?

Attitude

The last part of the survey prompts riders to reply not just about their attitude to riding but their attitude to breaking the law.

Even sex is in the survey!  They want to know if riders, “Ride fast because the opposite sex enjoys it” but unfortunately they forgot to consider that there are motorcyclists who may want to attract the same sex!

Right To Ride Opinion - Comments

Right To Ride comments, “This is yet another EU survey wanting to know if you like speeding; If you take risks; if you break the law - and - if you want technology such as Intelligent Speed Adaptations (ISA) on your motorcycle. It is in our view, another attempt to identify motorcyclists as “bad boys” and to foist technology on motorcyclists as the solution to reduce motorcycle casualties.

The FP7 EU funded project 2BeSafe has gathered researchers from 10 European countries, Australia and Israel. The researchers who put the survey together claim to aim to improve the general knowledge of rider behaviour, but instead demonstrate a lack of understanding of what is after all, a form of transport, not belonging to any one group of society.

We believe that the survey is flawed.

If, as FEMA suggests, the results of the survey are designed to help with the identification of positive measures for motorcyclist safety in the form of recommendations for traffic authorities, trainers, manufacturers, and infrastructure operators, then we are in big trouble.

We at Right To Ride also believe that the outcome of the survey is already a foregone conclusion. We base this opinion on comments made in the first document published by the consortium Rider / Driver behaviours and road safety for PTW in which they state

“Risk taking, as well as sensation seeking is a typical behaviour of PTWs (motorcyclists). This behaviour is usually reflected in activities such as disobeying traffic signal, give way or stop sign, non compliance to double white lines or pedestrian crossing, making illegal turns or speeding, maintaining low gaps with the following vehicles and so on. (…) because motorcycle riding is well known to be a dangerous activity, it ‘may tend to attract risk-seeking individuals, in all age and socio-economic categories’, which would have a corresponding effect on the total motorcycle accident figures )”.

For the full article – link to survey – links – information or to leave a comment:

Visit the Right To Ride EU website.

The British Motorcyclists Federation is warning of the possibility of countrywide parking charges being introduced for motorcycles following the failure in the Court of Appeal to overturn a High Court decision that backed the parking charges traffic order implemented by Westminster City Council in January 2010.

The ‘No To Bike Parking Tax’ campaign (NTBPT), a campaign group supported by the 80,000 strong BMF, had brought the appeal but three senior judges today ruled there was "nothing in the grounds of appeal" and dismissed their case.

Warren Djanogly, who led the NTBPT campaign, said: "We are hugely disappointed, but it is not over yet. We are now thinking of taking our case to the European courts where we expect to get a fairer hearing."

The BMF, whose members helped in raising the money required for the bringing of the appeal, say that cash-strapped Local Authorities across the country have been watching the situation closely and with the loss of the appeal, motorcyclists could now be faced with the threat of a nationwide rollout of parking charges.

A strong supporter of the ‘No To Bike Parking Tax’ (NTBPT) campaign from its inception in August 2008 the BMF say while the campaign gained massive rider support in London, many councils across the UK, possibly starting with Birmingham and Manchester, were also considering bringing in similar Pay by Phone charges for motorcycles and it was only the Westminster legal case that was preventing them doing so.

If parking charges were to be introduced, the Tax Payers Alliance have calculated that annually, it would cost the UK’s motorcycling community a staggering £93,000,000 in parking charges.

BMF Chairman, Anna Zee, who has taken part in most of the big anti-tax demonstrations together with a number of other BMF members, said she was deeply disappointed at the verdict. “The use of motorcycles and scooters in urban environments can contribute greatly to easing congestion and anything which discourages such use is to be deplored.”

Commenting on the ruling, the BMF’s Government Relations Executive Chris Hodder, said: “This is disappointing and is a blow to everyone involved in the campaign, but more than that, the ruling that Westminster’s parking charges for motorcycles are legal could well signal the end of free parking for motorcyclists across the UK.”

The BMF will now be asking members of its regional network to carefully monitor Local Authorities for any signs of plans to implement motorcycle parking charges.

www.bmf.co.uk.