Victory Motorcycles is announcing their intention to race at the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy on a Victory electric race prototype motorcycle.

The prototype electric race bikes will be piloted by William Dunlop of the legendary Dunlop dynasty and by Lee Johnston known in the racing world as "General Lee".

Victory Racing will compete in the Isle of Man TT electric class, marking the first time that Victory Motorcycles has entered a professional motorcycle-racing event in Europe and raced an electric motorcycle. Parker, the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, is providing the race-proven, high performance GVM PMAC motors for both machines.

"The entire Victory team is excited to make history with this effort," said Rod Krois, Victory General Manager. "We know that William Dunlop's experience and the continued Victory Motorcycles development of this electric race bike through work with Parker will propel us into a strong future with electric motorcycles."

The SES TT Zero Challenge class event for electric motorcycles is a one-lap race round the island's 37.73 mile Mountain Course scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2015.

"I'm more than excited to race this prototype at the Isle of Man," said William Dunlop. "Electric powertrains have many advantages, and the Isle of Man is one of the greatest tests in motorcycle racing."

Lee Johnston will be riding the second entry for Victory Racing in the SES TT Zero Race and said, "I'm excited to make history by racing the new Victory electric race prototype. It's thrilling to be part of the emerging electric motorcycle movement."

Ben Furnish, Marketing Manager for Parker Hannifin said, "Parker is thrilled to be involved with Victory Motorcycles in this historic event with these talented riders. We look forward to working with Victory to develop high performance powertrains for electric motorcycles."

The Victory Racing prototype electric race bike features a dedicated electric racing motor and power cells as well as highly sophisticated electric controls to maximize the top power, power delivery, and durability under racing conditions. Victory engineers have further refined the electronics and chassis for the upcoming race with private test sessions in North America.

Victory Motorcycles will host a continuous news feed of updates and photos from the Isle of Man TT and will have more information available on the Victory electric prototype race bike at www.VictoryMotorcycles.com.

Be sure to follow Victory on Twitter @VictoryBikes and on facebook for additional updates. 

£1,000 TRADE-UP BONUS ON A NEW KTM 1050 ADVENTURE
KTM UK has launched its ‘Trade-Up’ promotion to give riders of all machines an extra £1000* discount towards the exciting new 1050 ADVENTURE when trading in their existing bike.

The promotion runs from 1st May to 31st July at all KTM Street dealers in the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The dealer assesses the present value of the trade-in bike to set this amount against the purchase price of a new KTM 1050 ADVENTURE and then pays an additional £1000 Trade-Up bonus on top of that.

To make the purchase of a new 1050 ADVENTURE even more manageable, KTM Finance has a range of finance packages available through its UK dealer network that include retail finance and personal contract purchase agreements.

The 1050 ADVENTURE - £10,999 on the road – is fast proving the perfect choice for those who demand a travel enduro that delivers pure riding enjoyment in comfort over long distances but with a chassis that can exploit twisty routes or simply out-manoeuvre traffic, without the need for neither excessive power nor equipment.

At its heart is the LC8 V-twin engine that is derived from the 1190 Adventure, but the reduction in outright capacity comes without a decrease in fun – matching its bigger brother for power and torque all the way up to its more than sufficient 95 hp. Top level braking and suspension components from Brembo and WP are matched to a sophisticated ABS and traction control system from Bosch. For riders on an A2 licence, the 1050 can also be restricted to meet these requirements.

As with all KTMs, a dedicated array of official PowerParts allows riders to customise the 1050 ADVENTURE with products that are developed side-by-side with the bike. The catalogue of these optional products includes a varied choice of luggage systems, options to personalise the ergonomics further, mounting brackets for adding GPS systems, right through to adding alarms, auxiliary lighting, enhancing the style or even a stunning lightweight Akrapovič exhaust.

For further information on the KTM 1050 ADVENTURE, visit www.ktmadventure.com

Peter Hickman and the Briggs Equipment BMW team are targeting the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy after withdrawing from the North West 200 as a result of his injuries sustained in a crash at Oulton Park on Saturday.

Having sustained two broken ribs in the 150mph spill on the approach to Druids, the 27-year old has subsequently been diagnosed with two breaks of the C4 vertebrae in his neck meaning both he and the team will be unable to participate in the first International road race of the season, which gets underway on Tuesday 12th May.

The Louth-based rider enjoyed an excellent debut at the event 12 months ago, comfortably being the best performing newcomer and also recording the fastest ever lap by a circuit debutante and both he and the team are bitterly disappointed at being unable to return. However, the nature of his injuries mean it simply isn't possible to ride and the aim now is to be fully fit for the Isle of Man TT Races which commence on Saturday May 30th.

Lee Hardy, Team Owner:
"It's deeply disappointing for Peter and everyone connected with the team that we'll be unable to take part in the North West 200 but his injuries from the crash on Saturday are a little bit worse than we first thought."

"The goal now is to support Peter as best as we can and ensure he gets the best possible medical support with the aim of being ready for the TT. He needs to get as much rest and recuperation as he can and the final decision will ultimately lie with his surgeon but we're very hopeful of being ready for practice week at the Isle of Man. I'd also like to publicly thank the on-site medical team at Oulton Park for all their excellent treatment and support given to Peter after his accident."

Hickman enjoyed a sensational debut at the TT in 2014, finishing as the fastest ever newcomer in the event's history beating Josh Brookes outright fastest lap by a newcomer with 129.104 in the last lap of the 2014 PokerStars Senior TT which saw him finish in 11th place.

Geoff Duke's final lap of the TT will take place this weekend, ahead of a private family funeral next week.

Geoff, who won seven races on the Mountain Course in a stellar career that included six World Champion titles, passed away on the 1st of May at the age of 92. A hearse carrying his coffin willdepart the Grandstand at 2.30pm on Sunday (10th May) to complete a final tour of the circuit where he made his name, and gave so many fans such pleasure with his successes.

David Cretney MLC, a former MGP competitor, will wave the flag to start the hearse on its journey. Geoff's sons, Peter and Mike, will follow on motorbikes while other family members will join the lap in cars.

The family would welcome any fans who would like to pay their last respects to Geoff to join them for the lap*.

Speaking ahead of the procession Geoff's eldest son Peter said 'Mike and I think dad would have really appreciated a last run around the course. It's not going to be 10mph cortege, we'll stick to the speed limits but we're going to open it up a bit over the Mountain. Dad would definitely have liked that.' Peter added 'Anyone who wants to come and join us for the ride will be made welcome. It's not exclusively for bikes; Dad was as handy in a car as he was on two-wheels so if it's got wheels, bring it along!'

Geoff's TT victories, first for Norton and later Gilera, helped to secure his place as a household name in the 1950s, becoming the first true superstar of motorcycle racing. Reflecting the importance of Geoff's place in post-war motorsport, national newspapers including the London Times, Daily Telegraph and The Guardian have all carried obituaries.

Further afield Fox Sports and CycleWorld in America, and Australian, Italian, German, Spanish and French newspapers, magazines and websites have carried tributes to 'The Duke'.

Spectators at the MotoGP round at Jerez paid tribute to the former champion during a minutes silence last Sunday, and TV coverage of the event showed a special film showing some of Geoff's career highlights. A further obituary with tributes from son Peter will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4's 'Last Word' programme at 4.00pm on Friday (8th May).

Locally, Manx Radio will air a special tribute programme featuring archive audio of an interview conducted by the 'Voice of the TT' Geoff Cannell from 1987

The Manx Radio tribute will be available to listen again on Manx Radio's website for a week after broadcast.

Douglas Borough Council have also confirmed that flags on buildings in the town will be lowered to half-mast on the day of the funeral. Geoff was awarded the freedom of the borough in 2003.

Geoff's family have asked that any donations in Geoff's memory are made to the TT Riders Association, c/o Frances Thorp, Mountain View, Glen Maye, IM5 3BJ

The Heritage Motor Centre is inviting visitors to join them for an exclusive out of hour’s free experience on Saturday 16 May from 5.30pm – 8.00pm as part of ‘Museums at Night’. For the first time, visitors can visit the museum in a completely different light and take part in special tours and family activities. ‘Museums at Night’, is a UK-wide festival which attracts visitors into museums, galleries and heritage sites by throwing open their doors after hours and hosting special evening events.

Visitors to the Heritage Motor Centre can explore the extensive collection of British cars, join an ‘object handling’ session with some intriguing items from the ‘behind the scenes’ collection and be part of the Car Stories project by sharing their motoring memories. Visitors can also travel back in time and join a 1920’s theory driving class with the ‘Honourable Mrs Victor Bruce’. Local percussionist Bo Davies, who will drum using car parts, will provide some interactive musical entertainment on the night.

Anyone who would like to visit on the evening of Saturday 16 May will need to book their place by visiting the website

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

For more information about Museums at Night