Our constant growth is due to a lot of elements, such as the distribution of promotional items (cards, banners, booklet, stickers, etc... ) across the UK, large interactive facebook groups and page, competitions, charity donations, Google ad word campaigns and in-print advertising such as the BMF magazine and some show guides.

To do all of this marketing there is a large cost and one which grows each year - we could of course stop this spend and 'presume' and expect that people will find the website by organic searches and word of mouth, however that can be a costly mistake.

In fact one that the heads of Slazenger thought in the early 80's, where they became complacent as many people were using their racquets and wearing their clothing, sweat bands and tennis shoes, so they stopped paying for advertising  - and look where they ended up (being bought as a cheap label and something we 'used' to wear).

When we created THE BIKER GUIDE website in 2009, it was to bring together a collection of information specifically for the Biker Community on a website that was free and easy to use. With many daily visitors (some days over 4,000), we are glad to see that this concept is one that has been much needed. As we include such a large amount of readable and relevant content (news, events, competitions, etc...), with the aim to captivate and keep those visitors interested, so that they trust THE BIKER GUIDE as a brand and with that they then trust, use and visit those clients that we include in the extensive business directory.

When we asked visitors to the website what their habits were when looking for anything Motorcycle related, we found that 89% of our visitors use only www.thebikerguide.co.uk when looking for anything Motorcycle related.

As the website is promoted to the Biker Community, through a variety of means, so our advertisers can gain new customers, we have no intensions of changing the business model to become a commission basis website. If we work this way it would then mean that the website became overloaded with adverts and listings, which could results in 'non-Biker Friendly' places being included, which would result in our visitors not being happy and/or having an unpleasant stay (and then not wanting to use THE BIKER GUIDE) and then we fear that what anything that is then free to be included on, yet enjoyed by so many people cannot last.

We are very aware (as we ask our visitors) that sometimes people will stay somewhere or use a website and do not even mention THE BIKER GUIDE, this is mainly down to the various marketing we do to promote a client.

For example a client might be included on the website, in an e-shot sent direct to people and also on the facebook pages and group. We hope this will see an interest in the clients website, an increase in facebook likes and of course bookings/sales. For accommodation providers we have also been told that many people will take the details of a place and pass by on their trip, rather than book prior, again this is hard to quantify from click throughs.

It is also worth mentioning that, if you go into a shop to buy a can of Coke do you say to the shopkeeper 'Hey I am buying this can  of drink because I saw the advert for the Christmas Coke Van on tv last night' - No we don't think so!

Classic Car Night, Tuesday 12th May, 6pm – 11pm

The cafe’s regular monthly Classic Car Night, will feature the “KinoVan”, a mobile cinema that is taking London’s fifteen outer boroughs by storm, bringing the best local film history to the streets, from the London Screen Archives.

In keeping with Ace Cafe London’s efforts to cultivate our motoring passions and heritage, the KinoVan film will be showcasing an ode to vintage vehicles and classic home video footage collected from archives throughout the city!

www.londonsscreenarchives.org.uk
www.filmlondon.org.uk

For more information about what's on at the Ace, check out: www.ace-cafe-london.com

UK’s premier one-make series one of the highlights of the bank holiday weekend

• James Egan scores more points in National Superstock 1000
• Tough time for Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati

The hugely impressive grid of 34 Ducati 899 Panigales was one of the stars of the bank holiday British Superbike Championship this weekend (2-4 May) at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Sunday’s TriOptions Cup showdown produced a thrilling finale, with 2011 champion Leon Morris securing his first victory of 2015.

Behind the fast-starting Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H rider there was an incredible story developing with a number of series front-runners racing through from the back of the field. Having crashed on his out lap in qualifying, reigning TriOptions Cup champion Dennis Hobbs charged off the line on his Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H 899 from 34th slot to be 11th after just one lap of the picturesque circuit. By lap three Hobbs was up to eighth and behind Rob Guiver on the Hyside Motorcycles machine who was soon to become the talking point of the ten-lap showdown.

At mid-distance Guiver began a series of circulations that repeatedly smashed the Ducati TriOptions lap record and hauled the #13 bike into contention for overall victory. By the eighth tour, he had passed Robbie Brown (Boast Plumbing) to take third position into Lodge and was soon on the back wheel of Marty Nutt (Penso/Ducati Coventry). With fantastic drive out of Druids, Guiver made another move at Lodge to take second place, and set about closing the 1.7s to Morris.

There was more late drama to come, however, as Guiver's Panigale was running low on fuel and cut out causing him to run wide and over the grass at Hislops. Nutt needed no second invitation to sweep past the Essex-based rider, and holding the defensive inside line into the final corner he just managed to keep second place at the flag.

Hobbs' superb race through the field means he maintains top spot in the standings by five points from Nutt. Morris is a further five in arrears in third with Guiver and Sean Neary (Paraplus) rounding out the top five championship positions.

Leon Morris said: “After the disappointment of Brands that was really needed for us, we’re really happy. Marty came past me and I did a pretty hard move to get him back but I was committed – after that I didn’t see anyone. I think tomorrow will be a bit different but that is definitely a bit of a monkey off my back as we had a difficult opening round.”

Rob Guiver said: “I am a bit gutted to be honest – starting from where I was it was a big ask to get the win but I was definitely after a rostrum anyway. I didn’t have a great start, I was aiming for something a bit better but got boxed in and pushed out wide. When I got Marty at the end, the bike started cutting out going down the gears, it wasn’t bad at first but then I had a big moment at Cascades and then going into Hislops it fully cut out and I had to pick it up and go across the grass. It turns out I was running out of fuel so I’m glad I managed to finish the race! It was a bit of a shame not to get second but it’s still good points and after what happened at Brands that’s what I needed!”

The second race has been re-scheduled for the World Superbike Championship weekend at Donington Park (22-24 May), so fans can look forward to a triple-header of Ducati TriOptions Cup action. Click here to view the full championship standings.

With the sun shining on today’s bank holiday Monday action (4 May), MWR Motorsports Ducati rider James Egan enjoyed a successful charge through the middle order of the hugely competitive National Superstock 1000 class, crossing the line in 14th to secure two championship points.

The South African rider missed out on some valuable track time on Saturday with a small off in the damp first qualifying session. In second qualifying on Sunday he managed to secure 21st slot on the grid and making a strong start jumped up to 16th in the early running. It was then a case of closing the gap to a pack of riders ahead, but unfortunately just as Egan was closing in the red flags came out a the result was declared.

James Egan said: "My expectations were probally higher than was realistically achievable this weekend because we haven’t riden the Ducati here before. The weather conditions set us back, in Superstock every session counts as you only get three chances before the race and we lost a whole session to the rain. This is the third round and we set aside three rounds for what would be in reality test sessions, and that’s what this was. We made changes and found a good setting but unfortunately I was too far back in qualifying and just played it safe as I didn’t want to have another crash. Although in the race I was faster round here than I have ever been before – it was probably a top 10 pace – and we had more to come, we have a good base setting and a good direction for the bike. Our testing session is over now so onwards and upwards."

Egan will next be in action as the National Superstock 1000 series supports the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park.

It was a tough weekend for the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati squad as it struggled to find the ideal set-up on the 1199 Panigale R superbike during free practice and qualifying.

Czech rider Jakub ‘Kuba’ Smrz was one of the fastest riders in wet free practice, however with dry conditions for qualifying he posted the 13th quickest time for the opening encounter. With the huge BSB grid pouring into turn one, the #96 rider found himself squeezed onto the outside of the track and over the grass. With some impressive bike control, Kuba managed to keep the Panigale upright, but the excursion left him languishing at the back of the field. Making up a couple of places by the chequered flag he crossed the line in 20th position.

Starting down in 23rd for race two based on lap times from the first battle, Smrz once again found himself in a battle for the top twenty, running in 25th for much of the contest. Swapping places with Cox, Parkes and Mackenzie, he eventually broke away from the pack and comfortably took the chequered flag in 19th.

Steve Moore, Lloyds British Moto Rapido team owner, said: “Oulton Park has never been the best track for the Panigale and we didn’t quite find the sweet spot this weekend. The team has worked really hard, and now we need to focus on testing over the upcoming break. We're looking forward to Snetterton - it's a circuit that has been good for both Kuba and the Panigale in the past.”

Jakub Smrz said:"I didn't really find my rhythm today and didn't have a great feeling on the bike. It was better in the second race, we were able to make some good overtakes, but now the focus is on Snetterton which is a track I like a lot. We were on the front row there last year so it should be a much better weekend for us."

There is now a seven-week break for the British Superbike Championship, with battle resuming at Snetterton in Norfolk on 19-21 June.

Jerez, (Spain), 4 May 2015 – The day after the Jerez de la Frontera race, where Aprilia Racing Team Gresini continues improving with Alvaro Bautista's performance and the progress Marco Melandri made in the race, development on the RS-GP does not stop.

In the tests scheduled for today on the Andalusian track the seamless gearbox (continuous engagement), active in upshifting as well, made its début and was immediately appreciated by Bautista who was the first official rider to ride it onto the track.

The Italian team's entire season has been and will be characterised by continuous experimentation with technical solutions which serve both to improve the performance of the RS-GP and to provide data and information for the design of the prototype that will race in the 2016 season. For this the technical step today takes on particular importance and paves the way for the new gearbox's race début which could take place in one of the next European MotoGP rounds. The team also worked on new chassis solutions, particularly on a new frame and swingarm. The test results will now be processed at the Noale headquarters in order to prepare for the upcoming races.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Today was a very positive day. For the first time we put our seamless gearbox technology, a particular Aprilia solution, on the track with an official rider. Alvaro liked it very much and found a clear advantage straight away compared to the conventional gearbox. So it was a complete success which now means that we'll have to work hard to get it into a race as quickly as possible. Considering how things went today I think we'll be able to do that soon, within the next two or three races. I'd like to have it for Mugello or at the latest for Barcelona. Marco did his job, bringing in new chassis ideas, some we liked and some not so much, so we still have some work to do in that area. In short I would say that, between the race and the tests, we are finishing up this trip to Jerez pretty well.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“Days like this are fundamental, especially for us as we are taking on a season where we need to learn and grow. They help us understand what steps to take in order to improve. In the end Alvaro also put in a good time with 1’39.766, but in these tests it is just as important to figure out which solutions to reject. Any new information is important, but to understand where to direct the technical advancements and to avoid going down paths that lead nowhere. Everything works together to make progress in the development of such an important project.”

Bautista puts the fifteenth best time on the sheets to take a spot on the fifth row, his best performance thus far in the early stages of the season

Jerez (Spain), 2nd May 2015 - Alvaro Bautista rode his RS-GP to fifteenth place (in 1’39.612) and with his best performance qualifying in this early part of the season he secured a spot on the fifth row for tomorrow's race.

This is a sign of the progress that Aprilia Racing Team Gresini has achieved in the first rounds of the championship, moving the Spanish rider into that group that is the short-term goal at the moment. Now the challenge remains to confirm the progress shown today in a race tomorrow that promises to be difficult due to the hot conditions and poor grip. Melandri is a bit farther back, twenty-fifth (1’41.273) and also hindered by problems with his brakes on his best laps.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“My compliments to Alvaro who did very well both in qualifying and in the morning free practice. Now we need to work on making this performance consistent. We have the potential to ride a good race. I'm pleased because we are making progress and strengthening our presence in a group of bikes and riders who are much farther ahead of us in terms of MotoGP experience. This is a great result considering the fact that ours is truly a lab bike and that we are really learning a lot in preparation for next season. It was a shame that Marco also had problems with his brakes and that kept him from performing at his best.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“Today Bautista deserves a great round of applause. He put a really good time on the sheets and lapped fast despite the really difficult conditions due to the heat. He put in a respectable time that gives us confidence for a race that will be hard for everyone. I think we'll be able to do well tomorrow. Starting strong will be important and we have a good spot on the grid. Then it will be important to find the right race pace straight away because it will be challenging both physically for the rider and for the tyres.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“We worked well today to improve compared to yesterday. It was a positive day, partly because of all the data we were able to acquire. On my flying lap I simply tried to be as precise as possible, riding the bike that I felt most confident on, but we can even improve more on this, especially in the acceleration phase where I'm still lacking a lot of grip. The race will be hard. This track really eats up the tyres and making the right choice will be important. Today I tested the hard front tyre and I think that's what I'll go with for the race, whereas on the rear we'll mount the soft tyre. I think it is consistent enough for race length.”

MARCO MELANDRI

“We worked hard in all the sessions and then reaped less of a reward than we wanted in the qualifying session. Today I was also having some problems with the brakes but the truth is that I need some really radical changes and until I am entirely confident on the bike I just won't be able to push the way I'd like to.”