TEAM MUGEN has confirmed that they will be returning to the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy in 2018 with a three man team.

New Zealand’s Bruce Anstey, the 2016 and 2017 SES TT Zero Race winner, will again be with the team and looking to complete a hat-trick of victories. He will be joined by legendary 23-time TT Race winner John McGuinness, who returns to the team after recovering from the injuries that caused him to miss the 2017 TT event. McGuinness will also be looking for a third TT Zero victory having won the race in 2014 and 2015.

Lee Johnston completes the line-up. Northern Ireland racer Johnston, a former podium finisher in the TT Zero class, comes into the team looking for his first TT victory and will surely be a force to be reckoned with.

The team recently unveiled their new 2018 “Shinden NANA” machine, which will take part in the ninth running of the SES TT Zero Race, at the 45th Tokyo Motor Cycle Show.

For this year the new machine features revised aerodynamics with new front and side cowls designed to improve cooling efficiency and high-speed performance. Further developments have also been introduced to maximize the potential of the battery capacity.

Already with four successive victories under their belts, TEAM MUGEN will be looking to make it five in a row, and are also looking to establish a new lap record for the one lap race around the iconic 37 ¾ mile TT Mountain Course.

John McGuinness, riding MUGEN Shinden san, set the current lap record for the TT Zero class in 2015 at 119.279mph, and in 2018 all three TEAM MUGEN riders will be targeting a new lap record in excess of 120mph.

Thunder Thursday @ The Leadburn Inn
Bike Night - Jacks Hill Cafe
KICKBACK
Malvern Festival of Transport
Normous Newark Autojumble
Motorbike Awareness Day
Security Night
British & Classic Bike Day + BSA Special @ Ace Cafe

The KICKBACK Motorbike Show together with The 2018 National Championships - will be televised for the forthcoming new TV series The Motorbike Show - presented of course by Henry Cole. 

Henry is no stranger to KICKBACK, he has attended the event on numerous occasions and has displayed his collection of wonderful motorcycles. He will be attending to film the judging and awards ceremony for the 2018 National Championships (for Customised Motorcycles).

The new series of The Motorbike Show starts on Weds 4th April on ITV4 at 9pm

KICKBACK provides a free platform for all levels of custom bike builders and modifiers, whether from a shed, from home, workshop or professional dealership. 

www.TheCustomShow.com

Just married - Shaun and Faye Tinsley waiting for the ferry to Spain

Over 1,400 TT fans have already cast their vote in a poll to discover the greatest TT rider of all time.

The search takes in riders from almost every era of the Isle of Man TT’s 110-plus year history from pre war hero Stanley Woods to current stars such as Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson.

The results of the public vote will be announced on a special programme made by new TT TV host broadcasters Greenlight Television, to be aired on ITV4 at 9.00pm on Monday, 28^th May.

Fans wanting to take part in the poll can do so by visiting iomtt.com/vote, reviewing the videos of the top twenty suggestions and submitting their choice, or nominating another name if they feel they have been overlooked.

The question of ‘greatest’ TT rider of all time is a sticky one that has been debated for almost as long as the races have been run.

Some names on the list will be very familiar to fans of the TT: such as John McGuinness, Ian Lougher, Bruce Anstey, David Jefferies, David Molyneux and the previously mentioned Hutchinson and Dunlop – all of whose achievements speak for themselves.
Other names from the TT’s past need little introduction to today’s audience, especially Joey Dunlop whose 26 wins makes him the most successful TT rider ever.

Carl Fogarty and close rival Steve Hislop are well remembered for the record-breaking clashes the pair engendered in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s culminating in arguably the greatest race in TT history, the 1992 Senior TT Race, which saw Hislop win by just four seconds despite Fogarty setting a new absolute lap record on the final lap.

Again, Mike Hailwood and great rival Giacomo Agostini are names that no TT spectator can fail to recognise. Two supreme talents that lit up the Mountain Course in the 1960s and provided equally spectacular entertainment to Foggy and Hizzy’s later antics. Hailwood’s comeback in 1978 sealed his reputation with another generation of TT lovers and will make him a strong contender.

Dubliner Stanley Woods took an early lead in the ‘greatest ever’ battle by becoming the first man to win 10 TT races, a figure not eclipsed until Mike Hailwood’s ascendency in the 1960s.

Before Mike ‘the Bike’ hit the roads, two formidable competitors stake strong claims to last fame at the TT in the early years of it being the most prestigious race on the World Championship calendar: Geoff Duke’s sublime style and innovative approach contrasted strongly with pugnacious Glaswegian Bob McIntyre. Duke had more success and renown but McIntyre took the coveted 100mph lap record.

Uniquely, John Surtees followed up his incredible success at the TT and in motorcycle world championships by becoming the only man to date to also win a Formula One World Championship.
Phil Read’s long career saw him racing against Mike Hailwood in the 1960s and still being on the scene when Hailwood made his famous return in 1978 – indeed Phil was Mike’s closest challenger in that 1978 Formula 1 TT Race.

When Agostini’s career took him in a different direction, Charlie Williams was just on the rise. Through the 1970s he notched up a formidable tally of 8 wins, when just finishing the race on fragile two-strokes was an achievement in itself.

Although David Molyneux will be the most familiar sidecar name on the list it is hard to forget just what a competitor Rob Fisher was: from 14 finishes he took ten wins and three second places.
With the option to vote for other riders not mentioned on the top twenty list, voters have the chance to add names such as Harold Daniell, Jim Moodie, Bill Ivy, Adrian Archibald, Jimmy Guthrie, Jimmy Simpson, Freddie Frith or anyone else they feel deserves the accolade.

The poll, at iomtt.com/vote, is open until 01:00am on April 1^st.

The results will be declared on ITV4 from 9.00pm on Monday, 28^th May.