The Club’s early years were focused on promoting the motor car and its place in society, which developed into motoring events such as the 1000 Mile Trial, first held in 1900. In 1905, the Club held the first Tourist Trophy, which remains the oldest continuously competed for motor sports event. The Club promoted the first pre-war and post-war Grands Prix at Brooklands in 1926 and Silverstone in 1948 respectively, whilst continuing to campaign for the rights of the motorist and motorcyclist, including introducing the first driving licenses.

Today, the Club continues to develop and support automobilism through representation on the Motor Sport Association (MSA), Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and RAC Foundation, while continuing to promote its own motoring events, such as the free-to-attend Regent Street Motor Show and the Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run held on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2015.

The Royal Automobile Club also awards a series of historic trophies and medals celebrating motoring achievements. These include the Segrave Trophy, the Tourist Trophy, the Simms Medal, the Dewar Trophy and the Torrens Trophy.

www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/motoring

Picture of group: Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Tom Purves, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club

1993 500cc World Champion to race at Jerez in June aboard his iconic Suzuki RGV500 XR84, while Graeme Crosby also adds his name to the impressive line-up

Another true legend of grand prix motorcycle racing – Kevin Schwantz – is the latest confirmed rider at the upcoming World GP Bike Legends extravaganza. The 1993 500cc World Champion will be racing flat out alongside a host of fellow former titleholders at Jerez, Spain, on 19-21 June.

The American ace will be reunited with the very Suzuki RGV500 XR84 that carried the #1 plate during his 1994 season as World Champion (see fact file below). Schwantz will be part of the ‘Race of Legends’ features taking place on all three days, in which he will clash fairings with a huge host of fellow racing icons. Kevin joins Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner and Christian Sarron who are all former champions already confirmed for World GP Bike Legends as well as multiple race winner Didier de Radiguès.

Racing full time in the World Championship between 1988 and 1995, the Texan scored 25 race victories and won over a huge host of fans all around the world and will undoubtedly put on a spectacular show in June.

“When I first heard about the event it sounded like it would be a great time,” said Schwantz. "It’s going to be some good fun to be back out there with the ‘ole boys on our 500’s! Spain has always been the most popular place for Grand Prix racing and I look forward to seeing the huge crowds and all the fans at the event!”

As if the Legends needed another excuse to party, Friday night, the 19th June, is also Kevin's birthday so make sure you're there to celebrate it with him!

What’s more, another front-running rider from the heyday of grand prix motorcycle racing has also just been confirmed – Graeme Crosby. The New Zealander rode his Yamaha YZR500 to the runner-up spot in the 1982 World Championship, beating the likes of Spencer, Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene in the process. As well as his grand prix successes, Crosby has a wide following thanks to victories in the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours and the Isle of Man TT.

“It’s going to be just like the good old days,” enthused Crosby. “We’ll be back out on the old two-stroke bikes which are themselves very special, but even better it’s going to be great to see and ride with everyone again. I can’t wait to get down to Jerez!”

The groundbreaking event will not only bring together what will likely be the biggest ever grids of former World Champions to do battle on the circuit, but offers a full weekend of entertainment. With music legend Bonnie Tyler just announced to headline the Saturday evening’s main stage and more artists to be confirmed in the coming weeks, the fun won’t stop when the chequered flag drops. There will also be a shopping village offering a huge variety of motorcycle and racing paraphernalia along with loads of other entertainment and demonstrations.

There are currently significant early bird discounts on weekend tickets – with the full weekend price fixed at €55 until 31 March 2015. Tickets provide bike fans will full access to grandstands, race paddocks, the trade village and the live music concerts. For more information go to www.worldgpbikelegends.com

Keep updated with all the news as it happens by following World GP Bike Legends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Photo caption: Kevin Schwantz (main above, below top row) and Graeme Crosby (below bottom row) have will race in the inaugural World GP Bike Legends at Jerez on 19-21 June.

· 17% increase in registrations vs 2013 with 2742 registrations

· Increase in market share

· 2014 best ever year for net sales through the UK dealer network

· Best sales results since 2002

· March, best ever sales month for Ducati in UK 

Ducati Motor Holdings recently announced record sales for 2014 with Ducati UK and its dealer network contributing significantly to this overall result.

For Ducati UK it was a record breaking year in many ways. The UK subsidiary achieved 2742 registrations - a 17% increase on the previous year with a small increase in market share. This result was accomplished with consistently high sales throughout the year registering ten year highs in every quarter with March being Ducati UK’s biggest single sales month on record.

These results could not have been achieved without a strong dealer network that provided the highest number of net dealer registrations. Amongst the 32 strong dealer network there was also the highest ever proportion achieving more than 100 units.

These exceptional results by Ducati UK and its dealer network were achieved with an incredible model line-up that included the award winning 899 Panigale. The 899 was the best-selling model in the range and narrowly missed out on being the best-selling supersports bike over 500cc in 2014. UK sales were also buoyed by the introduction of new models such as the Diavel, Monster 821 and Monster 1200 whilst maintaining healthy sales of the Multistrada and the bigger capacity 1199 Panigale.

2014 also saw a significant increase in the number of Ducati models sold on finance as Ducati UK continued to offer affordability through the Ducati TriOptions scheme. Thanks to the brand’s high residual values, Ducati was able to offer low monthly payments across the range and this continues into 2015 with the Scrambler available at £95 per month and the top-selling 899 Panigale at £149 per month.

Tim Maccabee was delighted with the UK performance in 2014 and commented: “The Motorcycle Market has been tough over the last few years but at Ducati UK we’ve been steadily improving our market position. I think customers appreciate the advances we’ve made, not only in product technology and desirability but also in the associated services such as finance packages and extended service intervals. Our dealer network are also going from strength to strength and join us in looking forward to an even stronger 2015 with the introduction of the new Ducati Scrambler and all new Multistrada and 1299 Panigale which are packed with state-of-the-art technology and features.”

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) has announced that the current King of the Jungle and seven times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty will lead an expected 3,000 strong biker ride-out to officially kick-off the 5th Bike4Life Fest on Sunday 26 April 2015.

Carl is personally appealing for riders across the region to register and join him on the 23 mile motorbike procession from Shrewsbury to the RAF Museum Cosford near Wolverhampton, the prestigious home to the Bike4Life Festival – a major annual fundraising event in MAAC’s calendar.

Last year more than 8,000 bikers, friends, family and enthusiasts from all across the UK took part in what has become one of the biggest and best biker events in the country. The event is partnered with RAF Museum Cosford and the Safer Roads Partnership to raise awareness of biker safety.

Commenting on his involvement, Carl Fogarty said: “I jumped at the chance to get involved with Bike4Life Fest 2015 to help support and raise awareness of the life-saving work of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.  This service is a vital lifeline for bikers with over 40% of the incidents the aircrew responds to being road traffic collisions, which sadly often involve bikers. It’s going to be a great honour to lead out the 3,000 strong bikers and I’d urge anyone who wants to be part of the event to kick start the motorcycle season to sign up.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

With arena displays, stalls, exhibitions and biker tutorials, the Bike 4 Life Festival promises to be a great day out for bikers, families and the local community.  Live music will be staged by radio station Planet Rock 105.2FM, showcasing the best in Midlands music talent.

Jason Levy, fundraising and marketing director for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “Bike4Life Fest has grown year on year and Carl Fogarty’s support of the event is fantastic and will undoubtedly make it our best year yet. We have a great relationship with the biking community, and as well as being a great day out, Bike4Life Fest also aims to raise vitally important funds for our life saving service, so I’d encourage anyone thinking of getting involved, to support our event and register now for the Ride Out.”

While the Ride Out is just £5, all visitors to the Festival will also gain free access to the RAF Museum Cosford.

To register to get involved in the ride out led by Carl Fogarty, simply visit www.bike4lifefest.com.  It only costs £5 to register with all proceeds raised going to MAAC.  Entrance to the Bike4Life Festival is free, however, organisers would like all visitors to make a donation to the charity at the event.

The organisers of Motorcycle Live, the UK’s biggest motorcycle show, have announced that the 2015 event will take place one week later than originally planned, opening at its usual venue of The NEC, Birmingham on Saturday 28 November and closing on Sunday 6 December.

The decision comes following confirmation that the EICMA exhibition in Milan has moved from its usual early-November slot to later in the month, thus clashing with the planned dates for Motorcycle Live. EICMA is traditionally where the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturers unveil their new model launches, many of which are then shipped to Birmingham to make their UK debut, meaning that visitors to Motorcycle Live are amongst the first in the world to see the new machinery in the metal.

“If we had maintained our traditional slot of the last two weeks of November, it would have been logistically impossible for manufacturers to ship their new models to The NEC in time for the opening day of the show,” explains Motorcycle Live organiser Finlay McAllan. “This would ultimately mean that UK motorcycle fans would miss out on the opportunity to see the new models so soon after launch. For that reason we have decided to move Motorcycle Live 2015 back one week."

Motorcycle Live 2015 will take place at The NEC, Birmingham from 28 November to 6 December. Tickets will go on sale in August 2015.

www.motorcyclelive.co.uk