GREAT QUALIFIERS FOR ALEIX: SEVENTH PLACE TIME AND THIRD ROW

LORENZO PUTS IN IMPORTANT MILES WITH THE RS-GP

With great qualifiers, foreshadowed by the good performance demonstrated in all the practice sessions, Aleix rode his Aprilia RS-GP to the third row with the seventh best time. Times are extremely close, as they had been throughout the weekend, so it looks like it will be a heated race all the way to the chequered flag. A flag which, if the weather forecast is accurate, should be flying in bright sunlight, decidedly abnormal for this time of year.

The weather conditions didn’t seem to help Lorenzo Savadori at all as he looked for answers to the changes in the setup that were intended to improve his feeling during braking. In any case, he continued to progress and that would have been more evident if a worsening of the track in the final stages of Q1 hadn’t undermined his last flying lap.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I was worried when I saw the rain this morning before FP3, because I knew I could battle to go straight through to Q2. Fortunately, the track started drying off toward the end of the session and I was one of the few who improved - just one tenth, but enough to make it into the top 10. In qualifying things weren’t exactly simple either. With the first tyre, the asphalt was still damp, but fortunately with the second one, I was able to do a good time. Tomorrow I expect to see a lot of riders very close to one another. Nobody seems capable of getting away at the front except maybe Franco and Taka. I want to start well and stay with the group. We lose a bit in acceleration, but I think I’ll be able to stay in the game for a good placement."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"Another strange day in terms of weather - not exactly easy conditions. The damp track kept us from pushing to the limit, so I wasn’t able to see how the feeling is with the front during braking and going into turns, which is what we are trying to improve. In Q1, the asphalt got worse just as I was doing a good lap - a pity. Tomorrow the weather will change for the umpteenth time, with sunshine and higher temperatures. My goal is to maintain a consistent pace in the race and to gain as much experience as possible."

Just a few days after the Grand Prix of Aragón, which took place last Sunday in Alcañiz, the MotorLand Aragón race track gets ready to host the MotoGP World Championship once again for its eleventh round of the 2020 campaign.

The National Motorcycle Museum applied for a grant from the above fund which was established by government to “provide funding support to organisations across the heritage ecosystem that were financially sustainable before COVID-19”.

On Saturday 31/10/20 we received an e-mail from the Heritage Lottery Fund (who are partly responsible for administering the scheme) that our application “did not meet the criteria for the programme, and the board has decided not to award a grant through the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage”.

We cannot begin to describe what a bitter blow this news was. We had applied for funding in the under £1 Million category in order to help retain all of our expert team of people, as well as preserving the museum collection of British motorcycles as the largest in the world. These are some of the things that have now been put in jeopardy.  

Readers may be interested to see those organisations who have been considered worthy to receive some of the £1.5 billion of funding support on offer by visiting- www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication/culture-recovery-fund-data 

All the team here at the museum want to thank everyone who has given to our own Covid-19 raffle and appeal since its launch in July. Everyone can be assured that the funds raised so far will go directly towards us reopening the museum for a limited number of days each week sometime early in 2021.

However, we are still a long way short of our £500k target, and this huge setback lends even more importance to our current appeal which includes the chance to win one of the three bikes shown in the image.

For more details of how you can help, visit www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/appeal-raffle/   

Please be advised that in accord with recent government instructions based on the second lockdown, Ace Cafe London will stay open for take-away only, to support and provide service for the key workers and our local community.

Our take-away opening hours:
Monday to Friday from 9am – 2pm
Saturday – Sunday Closed

We anticipate a full reopening date in early December with our regular bike and car meets, when we look forward to welcoming you back again.

For more information please visit our Social Media channels which are updated regularly.

STAY SAFE

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Listen, revel and be immersed in a mix of the best rock and roll and rockabilly, blended with the London sub-culture sounds, broadcasting 24/7 on online radio and social media:
www.acecaferadio.com

‘When Jaguar Bought Daimler’ is a new exhibition at the British Motor Museum, from the  Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT), telling the story of when Jaguar bought the Daimler Company from BSA in 1960.

Most people know very little about the early history of the Daimler Company in the UK, or when it became part of the Jaguar Group, and the 60^th anniversary of Jaguar’s purchase of the company from BSA provides the ideal opportunity to tell the story.

‘When Jaguar Bought Daimler’ will run from 10 October 2020 to the end of January 2021.  It starts by detailing Sir William Lyons’ requirement for additional factory space, which fortuitously coincided with BSA’s desire to divest themselves of the loss making Daimler Company.  It explains the background behind the deal that was struck between Sir William and Jack Sangster of BSA, without the knowledge of Jaguar’s own board of directors.  This is exemplified by the opening headline of the exhibition:

“While shaving on May 26th 1960 , Jaguar Engineering Director, William Heynes heard an announcement on the BBC radio news that Jaguar was to buy Daimler from BSA.  This came as a complete surprise to Heynes and the rest of the Jaguar Board.”

The exhibition covers 100 years from the Daimler Company’s beginnings in 1896, its history of Royal patronage, superb engineering, efforts supporting both World Wars and then Daimler’s ‘post Jaguar’ life.  A series of period advertisements provides an insight into  Daimler’s social history

The following Daimlers from the JDHT Collection are included in the exhibition:

• 1897 - Grafton Phaeton AD 1897 – the oldest surving Coventry built Daimler
• 1907 - TP 35 – a sister car to the Daimler that set fastest time of day at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb
• 1911 - TA23 – owned by a serial inventor who was responsible for many of the innovations that made pneumatic tyres practical. (The car wears registration number DU 1 the first one issued by Coventry).
• 1950 - DE36 ‘Green Goddess’ – one of only 7 built – bought in New York by James Melton - ‘America’s Favorite Tenor’
• 1963 SP252 Prototype – Sir William Lyons’ proposal for re-styling the Daimler SP250 Sports Car
• 1964 Majestic Major Limousine – the standard limousine of the 1950s and 1960s – powered by the 4.5 litre version of the Edward Turner designed, Daimler V8 engine
• 1966 V8 Saloon – Daimler version of the Jaguar Mark II compact saloon
• 1992 DS420 Limousine – the very last DS420 limousine built – signed by the team who built it
• 1996 Corsica – built by Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations to commemorate Daimler’s centenary

The exhibition is included in the normal Museum admission.  Museum entry is £14.50 for adults, £12.50 for concessions, £9 for children (5-16 years) and under 5s are FREE.  There is also the option to Gift Aid or donate your entry fee and get an Annual Pass in return, at no extra cost.

To find out more information about this exhibition please visit the website at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/explore/when-jaguar-bought-daimler or call 01926 927823.