Norton has confirmed an exciting all-Australian line up for their 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy campaign. The Castle Donington based marque has signed Adelaide rider David Johnson alongside Melbourne’s Cameron Donald, who has raced for the team since 2014 The pair will compete in the RST Superbike and PokerStars Senior TT on the SG5 Norton. Glenn Richards has been brought in as development rider with Mick Grant continuing as team advisor.

Cameron made his TT debut in 2005, finishing as the fastest newcomer, which he followed up in 2006 with a sensational runner up position in the Senior TT. His most successful year on the Mountain Course, 2008, saw his only victories to date, winning the Superbike and Superstock races. He has already achieved Norton’s fastest ever lap of the Mountain Course and last year finished in the top twenty in the Superbike class.

Fellow countryman Johnson, who made his TT debut in 2010 winning the Newcomers Trophy, is one of road racing’s rising stars. He has a highest placed 4th from the 2014 RL360 Superstock Race and finished in the top ten last years in both the Superbike and Senior TT as well as the Superstock and Supersport 2 Races. He has a fastest lap of 131.595 mph, which he set in 2015, which puts him the 9th fastest rider in history.

Johnson is one of a new breed of riders equally at home on the roads or circuits, ending the long established myth that to be successful that you have to specialise. His short circuit career has seen him be a regular front-runner and podium finisher in the British Superstock Championship.

Cameron Donald said: “We’ve now done a huge amount of development work at the Isle of Man and having that continuity will really help us to make more progress at next year’s TT. It will be good to have two bikes out and I’m sure Dave and I will be comparing notes every session to help each other.”

David Johnson said: “It’s going to be an incredible experience at next year’s TT. Riding a Norton around the Isle of Man Mountain Course, and with Cameron Donald as my teammate is a massive honour. I’m really stoked and will give it my best shot.”

Stuart Garner, CEO Norton Motorcycles, commented: “We’ve made incredible progress since taking Norton back to the TT and it’s testament to the hard work that’s gone in by everyone at the factory as well as the feedback that we’ve had from Cameron. This was always going to be a long term project and we’re definitely on the next stage of our evolution, running a two man team with Glenn Richards testing and Mick Grant advising will give us the best opportunity to move things forward even more at next year’s TT.”

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At the ripe old age of 54 yrs and 11 months Carl Coombes will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Carl, a Biker himself and like many of you, has lost friends and relatives to accidents, but so many more have gone to the awful disease, Cancer. He lost his younger brother three years ago and since then he has tried to do what he can to raise awareness and funds for those that are effected.

So as part of his efforts to raise awareness and funds, he is taking part in the Kilimanjaro Challenge in November 2016. Between now and then he is hoping to raise a minimum of £4,000 for Tenovus Cancer Care. 

The initial deposit of £390 has already been paid by Carl, plus the cost of visas, vaccinnations, insurance, travel to Heathrow, etc... and does not count as part of the £4,000 target.

If you are a biker or part of a biking community please help by donating what you can, via JustGiving or by texting BIKR98 to 70070 followed by the amount you would like to donate. For example: BIKR985 if you wish to donate £5, to 70070

www.justgiving.com/carl-coombes3/

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they will never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Carl Coombes is part of the team @ Extra Mile Bike Tours

Each year the Royal Automobile Club awards a series of historic trophies and medals to individuals and organisations, celebrating and recognising outstanding achievements, technical skills and innovation in the motoring and motor sport industries.

The Torrens Trophy recognises an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to motor cycling in Britain. The Trophy was first awarded in 1978 in memory of Arthur Bourne, a motor cycling journalist and Vice Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club who wrote a column under the name Torrens. It has only been awarded eight times in its history and only when the club feels that the achievement justifies it.

Its last recipient was four times British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne. Shakey, upon receiving it said ‘It’s a great achievement to win the Torrens Trophy and be recognised by such an established and respected organisation as the Royal Automobile Club’.

This year, with such a strong crop of potential worthy recipients, the Club’s Torrens Trophy Nominations Committee - consisting of Royal Automobile Club member Ben Cussons, Torrens Nomination Committee Chairman and ex-bike racer Barrie Baxter, well-respected motorcycle journalist Mat Oxley, former racer and commentator Steve Parrish and Arthur Bourne’s son Richard Bourne - debated long and hard. The overall winner of the Torrens Trophy will be awarded at the prestigious Pall Mall clubhouse in January. In no particular order, the shortlist of nominees for the 2015 trophy is:

Ian Hutchinson
Ian Hutchinson has bettered Isle of Man TT greats like Stanley Woods, Mike Hailwood, Joey Dunlop and John McGuinness by winning five TT races in one week. That was five years ago. Since then Hutchinson has been to hell and back. Just weeks after his unique achievement the Yorkshireman broke his left leg badly. Surgeons prescribed amputation but Hutchinson resisted and has since undergone 30 operations to retain the limb. His comeback is an awe-inspiring tale of triumph over adversity, climaxing with his return to winning form at the 2015 TT, when he won another three races.

Danny Kent
Britain has enjoyed plenty of success in the World Superbike Championship over the past few decades but none in motorcycling’s premier MotoGP series. Until Danny Kent came along. On November 8th the 22-year-old from Gloucestershire became this country’s first Grand Prix World Champion since Barry Sheene in 1977. Honda rider Kent won his crown in the harum-scarum Moto3 title, MotoGP’s junior championship, which launched the careers of Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and many others. Next year Kent moves up to Moto2, with the MotoGP class itself his eventual target.

Jonathan Rea
Years of hard work paid off for Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea when he secured the World Superbike Championship in September. Rea had been a race winner in the series for six seasons, but it took a change of manufacturer to fully realise his potential. The 28-year-old utterly dominated the 2015 campaign, taking his Kawasaki to victory in 14 of the 28 races and finishing on the podium in all but four races. Rea follows in the wheel tracks of fellow British World Superbike champions including Carl Fogarty and Neil Hodgson and former Torrens Trophy winners James Toseland and Tom Sykes.

Tai Woffindon
Speedway is one of the few surviving racing disciplines in which the rider’s right wrist is effectively connected to the rear tyre, untrammelled by a little black box of electronics making win-or-lose decisions. Not only that, speedway bikes run on methanol and have no brakes! Twenty-five-year-old Woffindon has climbed to the top of this most visceral of motor sports twice in the last three years, winning the 2013 and 2015 World Speedway Championships. The Australian-born Britain, known for his stylishly aggressive riding and cast-iron bravery, is also a multiple British Speedway Champion.


The Torrens Trophy
The Royal Automobile Club has always had a close association with the motor cycling world. The Club formed the Auto Cycle Club in 1903, which went on to become the Auto Cycle Union in 1947. The first Tourist Trophy race was held on the Isle of Man in 1905 for cars - two years before the first TT for motorcycles.

The Torrens Trophy recognises an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the cause of safe and skilful motorcycling in the United Kingdom OR to have made an outstanding contribution of technical excellence to further the cause of motor cycling in the UK OR to have shown outstanding skill in international motor cycling sporting events in the United Kingdom.

The Torrens Trophy was first awarded in 1978 in memory of Arthur Bourne, a motor cycling journalist who wrote a column under the name Torrens. Arthur Bourne was also a Vice-Chairman of the RAC.

Previous winners of the Torrens Trophy include BMW in 1989 in recognition for their contribution to motor cycle safety through their development of their anti-lock braking system and in 1998 to Ian Kerr of the Metropolitan Police for 20-years of tireless work in promoting safe and responsible motorcycling. In 2008 World Superbike Champion James Toseland was awarded the Trophy for his immense contribution to raising the profile of motorcycle racing in this country. In 2013 Tom Sykes was awarded the trophy for being crowned the fifteenth World Superbike Champion, the fourth from Great Britain and only the second rider to win for Kawasaki in the series for twenty years. The last recipient was Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne for his unique achievement of securing a fourth British Superbike Championship.