Dakota FZ692 of No 233 Squadron will be making a low-level visit to the 25th You’ve Been Nabbed rally at 2:00pm on Saturday May 7th 2016 to salute 25 years of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability. 

This aircraft, which was named ‘Kwicherbichen’ (Quit your bitchin’) by her crews, was involved in Para-dropping operations on the eve of D-Day and subsequently in re-supply and casualty evacuation missions into and out of forward airfields in the combat areas.

The female nurses who escorted the casualties on these flights became known as ‘The Flying Nightingales’. By the end of 1944, 1,092 stretcher cases and 467 sitting wounded had been evacuated to England by the 233 Squadron Dakotas. 

It seems fitting that this historic aircraft, that had helped so many injured people to get back where they belonged, has been chosen to salute the work of the NABD who have helped thousands of injured bikers to get back in the saddle where they belong.

For more information on the 25th You’ve Been Nabbed rally see www.nabd.org.uk or facebook page

The NABD would like to thank David Starkey for helping us to secure this special visit by this iconic aircraft.

www.nabd.org.uk

Many of the burning pre-season road racing questions will start to get answered at the launch of the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy this Thursday 14th April on the Isle of Man.

Tickets are still available for the launch event, which will take place at the Villa Marina in Douglas, hosted by TT TV commentators James Whitham and Steve Parrish who will use their insider knowledge of the riders, teams and the TT Mountain Course to establish the early favourites for 2016 honours.

The presenters will also be taking questions from the public via the TT’s official Twitter account (@iom_TT) while fans can follow the event worldwide with the chat show streamed live on the TT’s official YouTube channel.

This year’s evening will see a number of riders with new teams and manufacturers including notably Ian Hutchinson whose close season switch to BMW machinery with TAS Racing is expected to see him challenging for honours in all five main races. The Bingley bullet was undoubtedly the man of the meeting in 2015, winning three races and returning to the top step at the Isle of Man for the first time since 2010.

Also favouring BMW, Michael Dunlop will again race for Stuart Hicken’s Hawk Racing outfit with the Northern Ireland rider a certainty to again challenge for big bike race wins with strong preparation and a return to full fitness.

Michael’s old team-mate at Honda Racing John McGuinness re-established his ‘King of the Mountain’ credentials in 2015 with his stunning PokerStars Senior TT Race win. The Morecambe Missile was written off and virtually ignored in 2015 but responded not only with victory in the Senior TT, his 23rd TT win, but also reclaiming the outright lap record from Bruce Anstey.

John’s Honda Racing teammate Conor Cummins performed consistently in 2015 with four top ten finishes but the Manx rider will be looking to challenge at the very front of the field in his third year with the factory backed outfit.

TT race winners will be appearing thick and fast on the stage with Gary Johnson (Penz13.com), and Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering) lined up to discuss their new rides this year while another winner Ivan Lintin will be returning with the RC Express Racing outfit, one of Harrison’s previous teams, for a second season.

Harrison’s new Sarolea TT Zero teammate Lee Johnston remains at East Coast Construction for the conventional classes and the Northern Ireland rider will be looking to build on his victories at the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix by winning his first TT Race.

James Hillier is another rider who is looking to benefit from racing for the same team as he will outline what makes his partnership with Quattro Plant Kawasaki so successful as he looks for his first Superbike win after several close challenges while fellow Kawasaki rider Peter Hickman, who represents the GBMoto outfit, will be sharing his thoughts on how he intends to continue his meteoric rise on the Isle of Man.

William Dunlop will be hoping that his switch to CD Racing will provide him with the elusive first win while David Johnson is jetting in from Australia to talk about the Norton challenge that he’ll be spearheading in 2016.

Some of the more intriguing, and invariably amusing, stories will come from the veteran riders and none more so that Ian Lougher, who returns to the TT after a two year absence on the Swiss backed Suter Racing 500 machine. Much debate has centred on how the two-stroke bike will tackle the Mountain Course, while almost as much pre-event debate has centred on Ryan Farquhar and his switch to the Tyco BMW team. Michael Rutter, (Bathams SMT BMW) is another rider who favours the German manufacturer’s machines.

In the sidecar class seventeen time TT Race winner Dave Molyneux, who reclaimed the outright record in 2015, will be appearing with fellow Manxman Dan Sayle, himself the holder of eight race wins around the Mountain Course and the pair will be one of the teams to beat in 2016. Fellow race winners Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall and Tim Reeves/Patrick Farrance, Conrad Harrison with new passenger Dean Kilkenney and John Holden and the returning Andy Winkle will also outline their plans on attempting to return to the top step.

Interest will undoubtedly fall on the high profile TT newcomers who will be introduced for the first time on the Isle of Man including Italian former WSB rider Alex Polita, a former European Superstock Champion and England’s Ben Wilson, a regular on the British Supersport podium.

Doors open at 7.30pm with tickets priced at £5 available from the Villa Marina box office at www.villagaiety.com - fans who can’t attend will be able to watch the proceedings on a live stream hosted on iomtt.com

THOUSANDS of enthusiasts will witness expert restorer Jerry Thurston take on the challenge of a live motorcycle rebuild at Staffordshire County Showground’s annual classic bike event later this month.

The TV personality and former Salvage Squad presenter is aiming to restore a Suzuki AS50 to full working order during the two days of the Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, taking place on the weekend of April 23-24.

Jerry said: “From what was a pile of bits we should, with a little bit of luck, have a ready-to-run motorcycle by close of play on Sunday.”

Rescued from a breaker’s yard, the machine in question has already had some of its engine internals replaced and the team attempting the restoration has been sourcing genuine Suzuki spares in preparation.

Jerry added: “We’re used to restoring machines that have no spares back-up, so this time it has been a real treat to be able to go directly to the manufacturer to get original parts off the shelf. The main enemy of the Suzuki it seems has been the weather, the original finish unable to hold off the ravages of 45 winters. It’s now back to ‘showroom’ quality and it will be a pleasure to showcase the work of the specialists who have helped us get it ready for our live rebuild attempt.”

The Restoration Theatre is just one highlight of the Stafford motorcycle show which is the largest of its kind in the world.

Thousands of machines will be brought to the venue over the weekend as part of static exhibitions, club displays, a Grand Prix race paddock, trials demonstration area and parade laps of the main ring, while hundreds of trade stands a vast autojumble will pack into the halls and outside areas.

Auction house Bonhams hosts its annual Spring sale - which this year is a two-day event - where some of the finest classic motorcycles in the world will go under the hammer, and former racer and TV presenter Steve Parrish will be in attendance as special guest star.

Completing the line-up is the action-packed Wall of Death – fresh from its TV appearance as part of the Guy Martin’s successful speed record attempt on Channel 4.

Advance tickets are on sale now, with a one day adult pass costing just £12 – a saving of more than 10% on the gate price. For more information on the show, including ticket details, visit classicbikeshows.com

Michelin’s MotoGP™ debut at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, America has been totally dominated by Marc Marquez on a Honda as he secured his fourth successive victory at the Texan track.

Michelin brought new rear tyres to the American circuit following a decision after last weekend’s race to begin production on a brand new version in readiness for today’s race. The tyres began their build process on Monday in Clermont Ferrand, France and were then shipped to Houston in Texas, before finally arriving in separate batches at the track on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. The new tyres had a stiffer construction with a softer compound, designed specifically for the Texan circuit, and built with a significant respect for safety to counter any incidents like the one encountered in Argentina last weekend, although the result of the analysis of Scott Redding’s tyre is not yet available.

Free Practice and qualifying went well with the new MICHELIN Power Slicks with all teams and riders adapting to the new rubber and dialling in the settings as practice continued, before Marquez secured his fourth pole position in-a-row at COTA on the Saturday afternoon. Today’s race was held in warm, but cloudy, conditions and as the lights changed to signal the start of the race in front of over 56,000 enthusiastic fans, Marquez led off the line, but was passed by reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. The 2015 champion was unable to make the move permanent and his Yamaha was relegated to second as Marquez again took the lead – a position that he would not relinquish again as he stormed to back-to-back victories on Michelin tyres, the first rider to do so since Valentino Rossi in 2006.

Behind the dominant Marquez, Lorenzo rode a lonely race and was never really pressured as he took a comfortable second place, with Andrea Iannone in third on a Ducati to complete a podium of three different manufacturers. The variation in machines continued into fourth place after a race-long battle between Suzuki riders Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro, saw the former just edge out his team-mate. Sixth position and the honour of First Independent Team Rider went to Ducati’s Scott Redding, While Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro finished in seventh. Eighth and ninth positions went to Ducati, one ridden by Michele Pirro and the other by Hector Barbera respectively, whilst a solid ride from Stefan Bradl secured tenth for Aprilia and the fifth different brand in the top-10. Marquez’s victory takes him to the top of the championship classification after three-rounds, in front of Lorenzo and Yamaha’s Rossi – who unfortunately crashed on lap-three due to a clutch issue he suffered at the start of the race.

Michelin and the whole MotoGP paddock now heads back across the Atlantic ocean on its way to Europe as it moves to Jerez in Spain for round-four of the championship, which will be held on Sunday 24th April in the heart of Andalucía.

Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda:

“During this weekend we have all done a really good job together. I want to say this victory is not only for me and my team, but for my Michelin Technician, because he convinced me that the soft front tyre option was good for me and it would be the right option for my riding style and that really convinced me. With this choice I was able to do a great race and I am very happy with the result. Now we go to Europe, these are tracks that are very different to where we have already been and also Michelin has more experience on them – because the tracks are older – so we will try to work hard again when we get there.”

Nicolas Goubert - Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme:

“What we really wanted to do here was to show that we could react in the correct way after the issue that Scott had in Argentina. We did exactly what we said we would do and brought some new tyres that were based on the extra tyre that we should have run in Argentina, but with compounds more suited to the track here. It was tight in the factory to get it done, but it worked and the tyres did a pretty good job, so we are pleased about that. Considering this is the first time that we have had these constructions on the race-track we are quite satisfied with the results.”

Piero Taramasso - Manager of the Two-Wheel Motorsport Group:

“This has been quite a demanding week, because after Argentina we had to react quickly, so we had to build the tyre, ship it, get it through customs and then get it delivered to the track, so the logistics of that were not easy – but luckily everything went well. We got all the tyres in time so that the teams and the riders had time to test it properly and make the correct settings and then make the right tyre choice for the race. I really want to give a special mention to the Michelin technicians and fitters here at the track for their hard work this week, and especially the staff back in the factory who pushed so hard to make sure the tyres were made and sent here for us to use.”