Born 27 May 1986, in Douglas, Isle of Man!

Conor rides on the British Road Racing Circuit, competes in the British Superstock Championship and of course, the Isle of Man TT.

Currently riding for the Honda Racing team. 

Here is on the Superbike TT podium.

JORDI TORRES FORCED TO THE FIFTH ROW

Donington, 23 May 2015 – The World Superbike Saturday at Donington started off well for Leon Haslam who rode his RSV4 RF to the top of the list in the last practice session before Superpole. The English Aprilia Racing - Red Devils riders confirmed his improvement despite the fact that the extremely tight gaps preclude any predictions.

In Superpole the English rider managed the available 15 minutes well, taking two flying laps on a race tyre and then throwing himself into an attempt on the softer tyre. The final, exciting minutes of Superople had many of the riders improving on their times, with the final standings under the chequered flag placing Haslam fourth, which translates into the first spot on the second row of the grid. Leon is pleased with the work done today, whereas the races promise to be close, especially in the final laps.

Leon Haslam: “After being fastest in FP4 I'm pleased with the fourth best time in Superpole, especially considering a few mistakes I made in the first sector. Looking at the last few sessions it's clear that the races will be close tomorrow as there are a lot of riders with very similar pace. A good start and staying in the lead pack will be important. Here at Donington the last two tight turns have always shuffled the deck in the last few laps of the race. My ribs are still hurting a bit, maybe more than I expected, but it shouldn't be a problem tomorrow.”

Hard luck for Jordi Torres who, after putting the eighth best time on the sheets this morning with a good feeling astride his RSV4 RF, took on Superpole 1 in the best possible way. Putting in the best time with a race tyre, Jordi was slowed down on his flying lap by a few uncertainties in the braking sections, having to settle for the thirteenth best time in the end. Starting from the fifth row won't be easy, although the progress he demonstrated in the final session makes the Spanish rookie cautiously optimistic.

Jordi Torres: “This morning we took a big step forward, even bigger than the times show because the different tyre we tried was lacking a bit of grip at the rear. This is the positive aspect of the day, because for me it is always important to improve from one day to the next on a new track. I went through to Superpole 1 confidently. I felt like I was doing well but after a good lap on the race tyre the bike was a bit twitchy in the braking sections so I wasn't able to exploit the qualifier tyre well. These things happen, and unfortunately starting from the thirteenth spot is less than ideal, but we'll need to be focused to take on the races, trying to get off the line well and overtaking as many riders as possible in the early phases of the race.”

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is warning people to be aware of the changes that will take effect in just over two weeks’ time as the paper counterpart for the driving licence is scrapped.

As was the case with the abolition of the paper tax disc last October, the IAM fear many people are still confused or unaware of the implications of the scrapping of the paper counterpart on 8 June.

The counterpart was introduced alongside the photo card driving licence in 1998 to include details that could not be included on the card itself, such as any endorsements and which category of vehicles you are entitled to drive.

However this information will now be stored electronically and not be shown on any written documentation you will have. These details can be only be obtained via the DVLA driver record system, and be checked online (reference 1) or in writing by post.

As of 8 June the paper counterpart, or an old-style paper driving licence cannot be relied upon to carry correct or-up-to-date information about endorsements or categories of vehicle someone can drive.

The counterpart will carry no legal status, and the DVLA recommends you destroy it after 8 June.

What is also changing is the procedure if you have to surrender your driving licence to a court in the event of an endorsement. The court will take your photocard and if you include the paper counterpart with your submission, the photocard will be returned to you but the counterpart will not.

You will be expected to pay your fine in the normal way however.

Another change is how to provide proof of your driving record to an employer or car hire firm, as your photocard or paper licence will not be enough in itself any more.

You will need to access the DVLA’s Share Driving Licence service, which as of Tuesday (19 May) is now up and running (reference 1 again).

You will be expected to access the details yourself and print those off for submission to a car hire firm or employer. Or you can call the DVLA and give a third party permission to check your driving record verbally.

If you are hiring a vehicle, it is important to check with the car hire firm beforehand what information they need. Other than downloading the information as detailed above, you can also obtain a special code from www.gov.uk which allows the hire firm access to your record for 72 hours to make the necessary checks. This applies to both holders of photocard and paper licences.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “People are not aware of how many of the current procedures are changing. Similar to the abolition of the tax disc, they assume much of what has happened before will continue.

“The onus is very much on the individual to obtain the information they need beforehand. So we very much hope people will not be caught unawares, especially if they don’t want a nasty surprise when arriving to collect their car at the start of their holiday.”

ENDS

Reference 1

Riders for Health are offering World Superbike fans a unique chance to go behind-the-scenes of the sport with a Kawasaki Team Experience at Donington Park this weekend.

The experience will be up-for-grabs in the Riders for Health auction, which will take place on Thursday 21st May from 2-3pm as part of the WSBK Paddock Show at Donington Park.

This unique prize includes a meet and greet with Kawasaki riders, a tour of the garage and full factory hospitality including lunch and merchandise. Also included will be dinner for two with the Kawasaki team and riders including Tom Sykes, Jonathan Rea and New Zealand rider Avalon Biddle as well as a private garage tour from Jonathan Rea.

The prize has been kindly donated by the Kawasaki Racing Team and Pole Position Travel, and all of the money raised from the auction will support the life-saving work of Riders for Health. The charity ensures health workers across Africa have access to reliable, well maintained motorcycles and ambulances so that they can continue to transform health care for 14 million people.

It’s been a positive outing for Honda Racing in challenging conditions at the North West 200 this week. Practice, qualifying and racing at the 8.9-mile Northern Ireland circuit has been plagued with tricky weather conditions, delays and cancellations to the schedule throughout.

John McGuinness and Conor Cummins had good runs on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP in all Superbike sessions, qualifying third and ninth respectively on the grid. Due to the different weather conditions in both practice and qualifying the original starting positions were amended and decided on an alternate grid pattern, which saw McGuinness move back to fifth and Cummins 11th.

The first Superbike race of the day was red flagged on the first lap and the restart took place just after 4pm, which saw the race shortened from seven to five laps. On the restart McGuinness got a good start off the line and was running in sixth place after the first lap, which is the position he held for most of the race and crossed the line in.

Meanwhile team-mate Cummins was running in eighth place when on the third lap he had a moment and wasn’t sure if it was to do with the high winds or a mechanical issue so returned to the pits, where the mechanics had a look over the bike. With no problems found the Manxman returned to the track and completed the final lap of the race, after being in the pits for one lap.

The second Superbike race of the day was called off by the organisers due to high winds around the circuit and the concern for all riders’ safety.

The Honda Racing squad will now turn its full focus to the Isle of Man TT races, which begin on Monday 1 June where both McGuinness and Cummins will compete in the two Superbike races for Honda Racing.