The Okells 350cc and 250cc Races at the inaugural Classic TT presented by Bennetts are set to be thrilling affairs with strength in both quality and quantity and, as with the 500cc class, some of the finest road racing talent on the planet lined up to compete.

Almost 60 entries have been received for the 350cc category, up by a third on last year’s corresponding Manx Grand Prix race and heading the entry is Roy Richardson. The Blackpool rider has almost made the class his own in recent times with ten Manx GP victories already to his name.

He will be looking to take a first Classic TT Race win and he again lines up on the rapid FCL Racing/Martin Bullock Manxsport Aermacchi. He’ll find it tougher than ever though with a mixture of TT and MGP regulars on the entry, riding a variety of machinery including Honda, Norton and AJS.

Honda have strength in depth with their riders including multiple MGP winner Chris Palmer on the Ripley Land Racing machine, Olie Linsdell, on the Team Winfield bike previously taken to MGP victory by Ryan Farquhar, and Alan Oversby and William Dunlop on the Davies Motorsport machines. James Hillier will compete on the CSC Racing Honda with Nigel Moore, Paul Coward, Davy Morgan, Bruno Leroy, Dave Madsen-Mygdal and Jamie Hamilton just some of the other top quality riders contesting the race for the Japanese manufacturer.

AJS may not have the numerical advantage but they certainly have two great chances of success with two very differing riders. TT star Cameron Donald goes on another Ripley Land machine and Mark Herbertson, one of the most consistent performers at the Manx GP in recent years will ride for Gilbert Brown and Son Transport Ltd. MGP regulars Keith Dixon and Meredydd Owen will also be AJS-mounted.

Norton, as expected, will have strong representation with TT stars Conor Cummins and Daniel Cooper on the Dunnell and Molnar Manx prepared machines respectively. Other prominent riders have opted for the Italian marque Aermacchi’si including last year’s MGP runner-up Chris Swallow and regular top-five finisher Allan Brew. All four riders have a great chance of making it onto the podium, which further emphasises the competitiveness of the field.

A different kind of high for bikers and card enthusiasts

When put under the scrutiny of a sports analyst, both bike racing and the tactical game of poker share one key resemblance: being the sport of daredevils. Bike racing involves guts, skill, and strong focus so you can ride your bike easily through the track. It also helps to have a keen sense of the area to avoid possible collision with fellow riders. Alternately for card players, one must employ the same courageous approach but it should be coupled with a strong sense of logic and tactical thinking.

See, these two sports are often fancied by the adrenaline junkies what with all the intensity that comes during the final lap of a race or with the thrill that comes from holding a powerful poker hand.

Luckily fans of the iconic MotoGP racing, both sports have reached a new high. Last 2009, the fans of the biking world and the felt tables were given a treat with Bwin’s own poker in the sky. This MotoGP event in Jerez combined both sports by placing a poker platform up in the sky above the place’s race circuit. After the bikers finished the final laps in the race track, the riders were suspended up in the sky to play a round of poker where the racing legend Randy Mamola even graced the event. The event’s sponsor, Bwin, is also the operator of the online poker site partypoker.com, which makes the organization a credible host of both card players and bike riders. A year later, Bwin also sponsored another MotoGP event, but this time of a different approach—the seascapes. The event brought another thrill for the poker players and bike riders by taking the card competition aboard a luxury yacht.

The future of biking and poker

While we already have towering land-based casinos, floating casinos to add to the rich waterscapes, and even poker tables in luxury planes, there’s much too see when it comes to the future of the card industry. Similarly in the biking world, the limits of our imagination are constantly stretching.

Just this June, hover bikes were introduced at a convention in Prague. Although the models are yet to be released, this prototype can pave the way to the future of the biking industry. Who knows, with this introduction of the electric bike, we may soon find hover bike circuits in a few years time. We may even witness airborne stadiums which are only seen in the movies. Although it may be a long shot, the futuristic and sci-fi movies and videogames often spark the imagination of today’s engineers and scientists. These prototypes are often built as a result of creativity and imagination.

www.motogp.com

www.partypoker.com

The inaugural Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts is set to open with a sensational line up in the Bennetts 500cc Classic Race. The stunning combination of leading modern day TT greats will do battle with the established Classic racing stars on an amazing array of machinery.

With multiple TT and Manx GP winners and world-class teams from across the globe the 92 strong entry is set to rival that of any modern day event on the 2013 International road racing calendar.

The Bennetts 500cc Race will see the second round in the captivating battles between current King of the Mountain John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop, the man who dominated this year's TT Races meeting with four victories.

The duo are set to relive their TT battles from June as they go to head to head in the opening event of race week on Saturday August 24th, with McGuinness riding the Team Winfield Italian Paton machine, previously taken to numerous race wins by Ryan Farquhar, and Dunlop on board a Norton from the Molnar Manx stable that will run in the colours of his own MD Racing Team. McGuinness and Dunlop retain their TT starting positions of 3 and 6 respectively.

However, they won’t have it all their own way with no less than 8 out of the first 10 starters from the PokerStars Senior TT Race in the entry including Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey who fly the Australian and New Zealand flags once more. The antipodean duo be riding for Ripley Land (Matchless) and McIntosh Racing / Mobil 1 (Norton) respectively.

Other TT Race stars include Guy Martin, who will also be Norton-mounted, riding for Team Molnar Manx whilst Gary Johnson lines up on the fabulous Lincs Lifting Ltd MV Agusta.and Manxman Conor Cummins has appropriately elected to ride Tony Dunnell’s Manx Norton. James Hillier and William Dunlop have both chosen Honda machinery with Hillier campaigning the CSC Racing Honda and Dunlop on the Davies Motorsport Honda.

Works Norton TT riders Ian Mackman and Daniel Hegarty give the British manufacturer further, and official, representation as does the ever-improving Dan Cooper who partners Martin in Team Molnar Manx with 2013 TT Privateers Champion Lee Johnston lining up in the same Lincs Lifting Ltd colours as Johnson, this time on a 500cc Norton.

Ten-time TT Race winner Ian Lougher may have announced his retirement from TT competition but he’ll be back in action on the 37 and ¾-mile Mountain Course, riding the same 500cc Royal Enfield that Steve Linsdell has excelled on while Jamie Coward (Craven Norton), Davy Morgan (CSC Racing Honda), Stephen Thompson (Ron Todd Matchless) and Mark Parrett (500cc BSA Gold Star) add to the current crop of leading TT racers competing in the 500cc Classic Race.

However, the race is also packed with some of the very best Classic racers currently competing and not only will they be trying to upstage the TT riders, they have every chance of taking victory with their extensive experience of racing Classic machines.

Leading the field off at number 1 will be Olie Linsdell on Giovanni Cabassi’s Paton with multiple Manx Grand Prix winner Roy Richardson going at number 8 on the FCL/Martin Bullock Manxsport Aermacchi. Ten seconds behind him will be Chris Palmer on Richard Shelton’s super quick Matchless with Alan Oversby lining up on a second Davies Motorsport Honda, this time at number 14.

Chris Swallow (NG Wooderson BSA), Wattie Brown (Hans George-Stutz Norton), Chris McGahan (Atherstone Accident Repair Centre Matchless), Paul Coward (Werner Molders Honda), Mark Herbertson (Alan Hermiston Matchless) and Allan Brew (Luviair / Mike and Dawn Jacobs Matchless) are all more than capable of finishing inside the top six whilst Nigel Moore, Dave Madsen Mygdal, Doug Snow, Bob Owen, Bob Price and Bruno Leroy add further quality to what undoubtedly represents the best Classic race entry ever assembled.

Bennetts, the UK's No.1 Bike Insurance Specialist, has agreed a major multi-year deal to be the title sponsor of the new Classic TT Races, which will be held annually on the Isle of Man in August.

The event will be known as 'The Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts' and the deal underlines the company's commitment to bringing the motorcycling community and industry together.

Bennetts has recently enhanced its classic bike insurance cover, which is available directly from Bennetts.co.uk or from the Bennetts specialist call centre. Until recently Bennetts quoted models dating back 50 years but now, for the first time, motorcycles from 1900 onwards can be quoted online. Around 10 per cent of UK bikes* on the road today are classics and many classic bike owners also have a modern bike as well, which can be covered under one Bennetts multi-bike policy.

The Classic TT takes place over the Bank Holiday weekend in August, 23rd - 26th with three races held over the famous 37 ¾ mile TT Mountain circuit, the VMCC Festival of Jurby, a stunning Parade Lap and additional activity including period events, exhibitions of exotic racing motorcycles, legendary riders autograph session and air displays all add up to an incredible celebration of motorcycling nostalgia.

In the 'Bennetts 500cc Classic TT Race', TT 2013 victors John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop will meet once again racing alongside stars such as Bruce Anstey, Conor Cummins, William Dunlop, Guy Martin, Cameron Donald, James Hillier and Gary Johnson all of whom will be riding priceless machines from iconic marques such as Paton, Matchless, Norton, MV Agusta, BSA, Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Vincent, AJS, Aermacchi and the established Japanese manufacturers, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki while the world renowned Yamaha Classic Racing team will also be participating in their first and only competitive race meeting before being disbanded.

Away from the racing, a number of motorcycling legends and former World Champions are scheduled to appear in the Classic Racer Classic TT 'Lap of Honour' which will also feature in the two-hour ITV4 TV programme. Fifteen-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini will be involved in the Lap of Honour as well as recreating the 1967 TT in a special parade lap with John McGuinness.

Bennetts has a long association with the TT Races, which began in 2007 when the company was the title sponsor of the Centenary TT. In recent years Bennetts has been the official insurance sponsor of the TT Races, a partnership which has included title sponsorship of the Lightweight TT in 2012 when leveraging support BikerPetition.co.uk and in 2013 under the guise of BikeSocial.co.uk.

Commenting on the deal Hannah Squirrell, Marketing Director of Bennetts said: "Bennetts has over 80 years of heritage and with our recent classic bike insurance developments we are delighted to extend our association with the Isle of Man by becoming the title sponsor of the Classic TT. We believe that the event will have a great future and it has already generated significant interest and profile within the biking community."

Laurence Skelly, MHK, Political Member, Isle of Man Government Department of Economic Development for Tourism and Motorsport commented: "To have attracted the support of a major UK brand in Bennetts is a real boost to the event in its first year. The company is already a valued partner of the TT Races and we look forward to working with Bennetts at the Classic TT as well."

He continued: "Early indications are that we will see an increase in visitors to the Isle of Man as a result of this event as well as significant media coverage and stand alone revenue from our commercial partners which is hugely important for the event's long term success."

-- * 1.3m road legal bikes, 133k classics (older than 1973 and tax exempt

Heritage Motor Centre to host brand new "Classic post-war Motorcycle Show"

The Heritage Motor Centre is launching a brand new show this year for enthusiasts of postwar 1945 motorcycles.

The “Classic post-war Motorcycle Show” will take place on Sunday 25 August and is expected to attract over 700 bikes from a host of motorcycle clubs and private individuals. Although the HMC currently organises the annual nostalgic Banbury Run for pre-1931 motorcycles & 3 wheelers, it appeared there was a gap in the events calendar to showcase motorcycles from the post war era.

In addition to the display of these marvelous machines including BSA, Triumph, Matchless, Norton, Kawasaki and Yamaha, visitors can also chat about biking experiences with fellow bikers plus wander around a bike jumble and trade stands as well as enjoying refreshments and a live band.

Tom Caren, Show Manager for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “We are delighted to be launching a new show to showcase post-war motorcycles.  The post-war classic motorcycle scene is a popular area for enthusiasts of both British and foreign motorcycles. With over 700 bikes on display, these nostalgic machines will be a fantastic spectacle to admire plus being a great day out to meet other like-minded enthusiasts!”

Onsite camping is available on the Saturday night and visitors are advised to enquire at the time of booking. Motorcycle entries are £7 per person. Spectator prices are £12 for Adults, £10 for Concessions, £8 for Children (Age 5-16) and under 5’s are free. For advanced tickets please call 01926 645029.

www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk