The National Motorcycle Museum is proud to announce that four times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty MBE has chosen the Museum’s workshop to restore his very first motorcycle!

This little Honda C50 based special was the product of Honda dealer Ken Martin who made the bike for his son Chris around 1972. Indeed, the specially manufactured tank badge’s still read “motochris” in recognition of the little bikes first owner.

Purchased from Ken Martin in 1975 by Carl’s dad George the bike was given to Foggy for his 10th Birthday.

Recently re-united with the bike after nearly 40 years, Foggy was looking to get the machine restored and phoned Museum Director James Hewing.

Speaking of the call James recalled: “I have worked with Carl in the past & was really pleased that he thought of the Museum’s restoration team to restore the bike for him. We have restored everything from the earliest and rarest veterans through to superbikes of the 1970s but never anything like this!”

Foggy commented: “It’s in a rough state but I know the lad’s at the Museum will restore it back to just how it was when my dad gave it to me back in 1975”

www.thenmm.co.uk

ASSISTANCE AND RACE: EVERYONE GOES TO BOLIVIA!

WARNING. Going through the Bolivian winter requires an intensive preparation: rain and cold are to be expected!

The Dakar caravan takes altitude and will travel trough Bolivia.
New specials, new bivouacs, breathtaking landscapes from the Titicaca Lake to the Uyuni Salar, an equally welcoming and passionate local population… all the ingredients for this edition to remain engraved in the memory of everyone involved in this 38th edition of the Dakar.

However, it is essential to be prepared to the extreme conditions of the Bolivian Altiplano, and to provide oneself with the appropriate equipment: raincoats, sleeping bags (suitable to cold temperatures), spare clothes for the pilots, etc.

Important clarifications on the conditions encountered on the Bolivian Altiplano:
• Altitude: from 3500 to 4000 meters between Lake Titicaca and Uyuni.
• Uyuni military barracks: The Uyuni stage won’t be realized as a « marathon stage ». The pilots and race teams will stay with their assistance, on the bivouac.
• Bivouacs: Unlike the last 2 editions, the Bolivian stages won’t be « marathon stages » and the entire caravan will be present on the bivouacs. No accommodation will be provided by the organisation for the competitors.
• Rains and Winds: some of these areas are very rainy, most particularly near the border between Peru and Oruro. It is a must to anticipate and have some spare pilot suits for the pilots and co-pilots, as well as rain clothes.
• Cold: If the temperatures could be pleasant or even hot sometimes during daytime, they might be cold (or freezing) from sunset to sunrise. To bring suitable sleeping bags is very important.
• Road networks: the roads taken by the assistances are asphalted and will be secured by the local police forces and the organization.

This is the best finish thus far for the Aprilia RS-GP which continues to improve race performance

Barcelona (Spain), 14 June 2015 – It was a weekend of hard work for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini with the changes tested during the week at Misano brought straight away to Barcelona setting a furious work pace for the entire team. It was an effort rewarded by Alvaro Bautista's great race, riding his Aprilia RS-GP to a tenth place finish and the best result thus far in this first part of the season.

Alvaro, who started from the seventh row, got off to an excellent start which allowed him to overtake several riders and immediately lock onto the central group which is the current race goal. He held the pace of the central group well and in the final laps he engaged in an exciting duel with Miller which, thanks in part to a few DNFs, resulted in the first top ten finish and 6 championship points. Marco Melandri had an unlucky race, delayed at the start and then forced to withdraw by problems with the gearbox in the seventh lap.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“Alvaro's great race is a good result that lifts our morale. There is a lot of work left to do to close the gap behind the leaders but if you think about the fact that we are racing with a bike which is a laboratory we are rather pleased with today. We see that we are improving race performance and we are often with the centre of the group. Races like this one make it clear which points we need to work on to close the gap behind the leaders. I feel bad for Marco who had a mechanical problem, but that's part of the experience we are building, given the amount of new things we are testing each time."

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“In a race that promised to be very difficult Bautista battled with great determination, managing to win various battles with other riders. There were some DNFs but Alvaro managed to keep a good pace despite difficult conditions. I'm very pleased with the efforts being made in this project so my compliments go to him and the entire team. It's a nice result, important for morale and to keep progressing.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“After a good start which helped me make up a few positions I rode the first laps of the race trying not to be too aggressive in order to conserve the tyres. In fact, we knew that their performance would drop a lot. The track conditions were very difficult with not much grip so I couldn't push like I did in practice. In any case, today we saw a lot of crashes so making it to the finish was important. We made it and we are pleased because we were able to gain more experience with the bike and other valuable data to improve in the coming rounds. In the finale I had fun battling it out with Miller. I felt like I was faster than him and in the end, after overtaking one another several times, two laps from the end I managed to pull ahead a bit to finish in the top ten.”

MARCO MELANDRI

“I had a setup that was different than usual and I was hoping to take a step forward, but unfortunately hard luck reared its ugly head with a problem in the gearbox between third and fourth from the first lap. Anyway, that's normal considering the fact that this is only the second GP for the seamless gearbox. We'll see about continuing the work we weren't able to complete today in the tests tomorrow. Congratulations to Bautista for finishing in the top ten. That's a good sign for everyone.”

Around 500 Veteran and Vintage motorcycles will ride out together when the Heritage Motor Centre hosts the nostalgic Vintage Motor Cycle Club Banbury Run on Saturday 21 June. Visitors will be able to see the motorcycles start and finish at the Museum. The event, now in its 67th year, is the largest gathering of pre-1931 motorcycles & 3-wheelers in the world.

The Banbury Run is aimed at those who enjoy the thrill of riding with other Vintage, Veteran & Pioneer bikes. In addition to the Run, there will also be Club and Trade Stands, over 100 Autojumble pitches and special interest displays.

Tom Caren, Show Manager for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “The Banbury Run is a great day out for those participating and those watching the bikes. Seeing hundreds of vintage motorcycles ride together is a spectacle not to be missed!”

The Museum will be open from 10am – 5pm with the Banbury Run beginning at 10am. Riders will start at 5 per minute. Tickets for the Run cost £6 in advance or £8 on the day for adults, children and concessions and £25 for a family on the day.

For more information about the Heritage Motor Centre please visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or call 01926 641188.

The 2015 Isle of Man TT races drew to a close yesterday with Honda Racing’s John McGuinness storming to victory in the Senior TT race aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. Team-mate Conor Cummins crossed the line in sixth.

The six-lap battle originally got underway in perfect conditions at 12.30, however a red flag incident on the second rotation meant the race was restarted at 14.45 and shortened to four laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain course.

On a mission from the start, McGuinness had claimed the lead by the end of lap one and in a superb display of his renowned skill around the Isle of Man TT, he proceeded to increase the gap sector by sector. After a super-slick pit stop by his crew at the halfway point, McGuinness had opened his lead to 12 seconds.

During the epic race, the ‘Morecambe Missile' broke the outright Senior TT lap record with a 132.701mph lap and was just a fraction off a sub 17-minute lap. He crossed the line in first place, 14.214 seconds ahead of James Hillier in second and Ian Hutchinson in third. The victory is McGuinness’s 23rd TT win and his seventh in the Senior TT.

Honda Racing team-mate Cummins put in a solid performance following some adjustments to his machine before the re-start. After a tough start, the ‘Ramsey Rocket' found his rhythm by lap three and managed to catch up with the leading pack to finish sixth.

It’s been another successful Isle of Man TT for Honda, with four race victories (in the Superbike, Senior and Sidecar races) secured on Honda machinery, taking the manufacturer's tally of TT wins to 176. Honda also received the manufacturer's trophy for another year.

John McGuinness

Today was a new day. I’ve been struggling a little this week, which is no-one's fault. I have been slow off the line and losing a bit of time, and I needed to find the form I had a few years ago.

In the restart I didn’t want James Hillier to catch me, so off the start I gave it my all, got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. Lap two I really did give it everything I could and the reaction coming in to the pits was amazing – it felt like it did when I broke the first 130mph lap. My team got me through the pits perfectly and going into the third lap the reaction from the crowd was great and I did think I’d taken the outright lap record.

I’d like to say a huge thanks to the marshals and the medics out there around the course, who do a fantastic job, and of course to my team and Honda for believing that it was still possible. Riding round the Isle of Man with a 17-second lead felt pretty special!

Conor Cummins

I had a better race today and it’s safe to say it was an electric pace over the four laps. We made an adjustment to the Fireblade after the red flag, which made things a lot better, but it took me some time to adjust and the pace was so fast. I did my best and my team put a lot of work in to make things better for me out there. The last two laps I started to pick up my pace and was making up time. I’m happy with my race and huge congratulations to John for his win - he rode a great race. Also, thanks to Honda for giving me a great bike to ride around here.

Neil Tuxworth

What a great day for John, the team and of course Honda to win what I suppose is the most iconic race of the week, the Senior TT. John rode superbly and, as I told him, he’s still the man who holds the race record round here on that bike and I knew he had the ability to win the race if he set his mind to it. It was obvious he was in the right mindset today. On lap one when he got to Glen Helen we knew he was fighting for a win and I’m just so pleased for him. He’s been a bit down on himself this week and lost a bit of confidence, which he didn’t need to do, as he’s very strong, along with the CBR and the team. Our lads did an excellent job in the pits and pulled about 10-seconds back. We're so pleased it was a superb performance an d we’re over the moon for him.

Conor started off a little bit slow but became very strong towards the end and was making up time. A sixth place is very good, the pace was very hot in that race and his average speed was nearly 130mph and he finished in front of some very good riders. To have both machines come home is fantastic.