Michael Dunlop took his eighth TT victory when he won Saturday’s 6-lap Dainese Superbike race in record-breaking style. The BMW Motorrad rider took control from early race leader James Hillier at Ballaugh on the opening lap and, aided by two laps inside the old outright lap record, he surged clear and was able to control the race in the closing stages to take the win by 20.5s from Guy Martin (Tyco Suzuki) with Conor Cummins (Honda Racing) in third.

There was also sensational news on the final lap when Bruce Anstey, outside the top ten on the opening lap after overshooting the Nook, tore round the Mountain Course on the Valvoline Racing/Padgetts Honda to become the first man ever to have lapped at more than 132mph with a final lap of 132.298mph.

Hillier was quickest to Glen Helen on the opening lap on his Quattro Plant/Muc-Off Kawasaki and he led Dunlop by one second with Martin, a rapid starting Dean Harrison (RC Express Racing Kawasaki), Gary Johnson (Lincs Lifting Honda) and Dan Kneen (Cookstown BE Racing Suzuki) close behind.

As the lap unfolded though, it was clear Dunlop was charging and having overhauled Hillier at Ballaugh, he increased his lead all round the opening 37 and ¾ miles and with a new lap record of 131.730mph, he rocketed clear with Martin 9.4s in arrears. The leaderboard was constantly changing and Cummins moved up into third with Hillier, Harrison and John McGuinness completing the top six with Johnson reported retired at Creg ny Baa.

Dunlop was in determined mood and was closing in on Martin, who had started twenty seconds ahead of him on the road, the gap between the duo after two laps almost 17 seconds as the Ballymoney man went quicker still at 131.890mph. The Tyco Suzuki rider was six seconds clear of Cummins as they took their first pit stop with Michael Rutter up to fourth on the Bathams BMW.

Dunlop, Martin, McGuinness and Hillier were circulating in close formation on the roads but Dunlop’s lead was increasing and he was first into the pits at the end of lap four, the gap to Martin now a very healthy looking 25s after another 130mph+ lap. Martin was coming under pressure from Cummins though with his advantage now under five seconds for the first time while Rutter was still in fourth with McGuinness and William Dunlop completing the top six.

As the race went into it’s final third, Dunlop and Martin were still together on the roads and the 25-year rode to his signals to control the race for his eighth victory and BMW’s first ‘big bike’ win since German Georg Meier won the 1939 Senior.

Martin took his 14th podium in second with Cummins three seconds further back after doing his all on the final lap. Anstey really put the hammer down after his early race mishap and his lap of 132.298mph was some six seconds quicker than McGuinness’ lap set in the same race last year

Rutter ensured it was a good day for BMW with a strong fifth with William Dunlop making a late charge to overhaul McGuinness on the final lap, the gap between the pair just 0.8s after six hard laps.

The 20-times winner had to settle for seventh with his wrist injury, as expected, unable to run the pace for six entire laps but it was a solid effort by the Morecambe man. Harrison and Hillier both dropped back as the race wore on, finishing in eighth and ninth with Josh Brookes completing the top ten.

Newcomer Peter Hickman had a brilliant ride into 14th place with his final lap of 126.195mph making him the second fastest newcomer in TT history and it also meant he was the first privateer home with Ivan Lintin (17th) and Russ Mountford (18th) second and third in the early TT Privateer’s Championship.

Debutantes Martin Jessopp and Danny Webb both picked up bronze replicas in 26th and 37th also posting their best laps of the event so far at 123.470 and 120.508 respectively.

Once again, almost 600 Veteran and Vintage motorcycles will ride en masse when the Heritage Motor Centre hosts the nostalgic Vintage Motor Cycle Club Banbury Run™.

The event which is in its 66th year will run over two days with the Vintage Training Day taking place on Saturday 7 June offering Vintage Virgins the chance to ride the Motorcycles in a safe “off road” environment. The main Banbury Run™, which will take place on Sunday 8 June, is the largest gathering of pre-1931 Motorcycles & 3 Wheelers in the World.

The Banbury Run™ is aimed at those who enjoy the thrill of riding with other Vintage, Veteran & Pioneer bikes. The exact route is kept top secret until the day, but we can exclusively reveal that it will venture through the villages of Whatcote and Great Bourton. In addition to the Run, there will also be Club and Trade Stands, over 100 Autojumble pitches and special interest displays.

Tom Caren, Show Manager for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “The Banbury Run is a fantastic day out for both those participating in the Run and those coming along to watch the bikes in all their glory as they set off for their annual ride around the nearby countryside. Watching the vintage motorcycles ride together is a real spectacle to see!”

The Museum will be open from 9am – 5pm with the Banbury Run™ beginning at 10am. Tickets for the Run cost £6 in advance or £8 on the day for adults, children and concessions and £25 for a family on the day.

www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or call 01926 641188. For more information about the Vintage Training Day contact Natalie Thornhill on her email [email protected].

The 40th annual Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza will return to South Cerney Airfield, Cirencester from Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd August 2014.

This year the show celebrates its 40th show, an amazing feat and something we want to celebrate with everyone especially those born ON 6th & 7th September 1975 - the weekend of the very first show. We will send everyone born over that weekend a complimentary ticket for this year’s show to come and share our birthday cake with us! (DOB ID will be required)

Since the humble beginnings the show attracted just 500 visitors it now has more than 15,000 over the three days and over the last 40 years has raised thousands of pounds, donating to both local and national charities including the Cobalt Appeal Fund and Diabetes UK.

The Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza was originally conceived for steam enthusiasts, but the range of vintage transports sections have grown year on year, and now includes exhibits including; buses and coaches, commercial vehicles, tractors, emergency vehicles, motorcycles, caravans, cycles, traction engines, steam engines, tractors, military vehicles, static aircrafts, radio controlled planes, model village to classic cars and much much more!

The Steam Section is considered by many visitors to be the heart of the show, and is packed with more than 100 full-size Steam Engines of all descriptions, makes and type, several of which are first-timers to the event and have never been displayed in the country before. The infamous 'Demonstration Arena' puts these mighty machines to the test, where the engines are encouraged to display their capabilities to maximum potential.

The classic car section alone features over 600 vehicles, showcasing veteran, pre-war, post-war, American to modern classics. Alongside regular exhibits are rare and remarkable stories of restoration projects and histories to be told.

The show is packed full of exhibits, displays and stalls to keep the whole family entertained for hours. Alongside the hundreds of vintage vehicles the famous Ken Fox Wall of Death will be returning to wow spectators with their incredible stunts and high-speed chases on their 1920’s Indian motorcycles. Fun for all the family – the popular steam driven vintage fun fair, 'electric yachts', the waltzer, the big wheel, the steam-driven 'gallopers', face painting, dodgems, a ghost train and traditional arcade games. After all this fun visitors won’t be able to leave without a visit to the vintage tea hut and dancing which will keep little and big kids entertained for hours.

The show prides itself on encouraging interaction between exhibitors and visitors to provide a ‘hands on’ experience. Chairman of the Stroud Vintage Transport and Engine Club, Martyn Slater, said: “The Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza is the biggest of its kind run entirely by volunteers and I am proud to be involved. As well as raising money for local and national charities, our aim is to provide a safe and happy environment for everyone to celebrate our unique transport history, in hope that we can inspire future generations to get involved in the preservation of historic vehicles.”

A free vintage bus service will be operating around the perimeter of the show site, and to and from Kemble railway station throughout the show to connect with selected First Great Western Trains.

For details of the bus schedule and further details, please visit www.glossteamextravaganza.com

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New Zealander Bruce Anstey continued his form around the Mountain Course in tonight's SES TT Zero 2nd Qualifying session. The New Zealand rider followed up his stunning outright lap record around the Mountain Course with an unofficial lap record for the TT Zero class, posting a time of 112.355mph (20:08.914).

His Mugen teammate also took the opportunity for a lap and was marginally outside Michael Rutter's lap record (109.675) set last year. Robert Wilson (Sarloea Racing), Mark Miller (Vercarmoto) and George Spence (Kingston) also completed electric bike laps this evening.

Earlier in the evening, Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson opted to give the riders a chance to practice on their Superstock machines ahead of Monday's race as well as their Supersport and Lightweight and a number of riders took up the option.

Guy Martin again emphasised his quality after his Superbike podium with a 127.22 mph lap in the Superstock qualifying while Bruce Anstey, Lee Johnson and Michael Dunlop were all over 126 mph.

In the Lightweight qualifying session Ryan Farquhar was the fastest on the night with a lap of 116.84, still outside Ivan Lintin's time from Tuesday evening, with Olie Linsdell powering the stunning Paton to a similar speed (116.23).

Gary Johnson posted a pair of quick laps in the Supersport class (125.72 and 125.16) with Josh Brookes, William Dunlop, Ian Hutchinson, MIchael Rutter and Dean Harrison all posting 123mph+ laps

The 2014 Isle of Man TT races got underway today with Honda Racing’s Conor Cummins securing a podium finish in the opening Superbike race. His team-mate John McGuinness – who is still recovering from a broken scaphoid – completed the six-lap outing in seventh place.

The race began at 11am in warm and sunny conditions and by the end of lap one, Cummins was in third aboard his Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine. A smooth and confident performance saw the Manxman putting serious pressure on second-placed rider Guy Martin, with a gap of less than a second at the halfway stage.

Cummins eventually crossed the line just under three seconds behind Martin to take his fifth TT podium – his first on a Superbike since a serious crash on the Mountain course in 2010, which threatened to end his road racing career.

McGuinness, meanwhile, dug deep and got his head down, climbing from eighth to fifth by lap four. The 20-time Isle of Man TT winner was in the battle for fourth place until the end of the penultimate lap, when a late attack from Bruce Anstey coupled with a wave of backmarkers saw him drop down to seventh come the chequered flag.

In what turned out to be a spectacular opener, a new outright lap record of 132.298mph was set by Bruce Anstey aboard his Padgetts Motorcycles Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The Honda Racing team will reconvene on Friday 6 June for the Senior TT.