Competitors at Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts enjoyed their first full qualifying session this evening as the Mountain Course was bathed in sunlight and riders were even warned about glare.

The F1/F2 and 500cc's were first on the track with Michael Dunlop and Michael Rutter, as they did in last night's session, managed to get to the front of the queue of bikes in pit lane and got away first at the scheduled start time of 6.20. Dunlop went out on the F1 Team Classic Suzuki while Rutter opted for a lap on the Seeley /Ripley Land Racing machine that he will race in Saturday's Bennetts 500cc Race.

Dunlop in particular was able to put the weather frustrations earlier in the week behind him, and indeed his TT experience earlier in the year, blasting a standing start lap of 122.96 mph, the fastest time of the night and the first 120+mph lap of the meeting.

Ryan Farquhar, riding the Team Winfield Harris Yamaha, reminded his countryman that he will face significant competition in Monday's Motorsport Merchandise F1 Race posting 122.134, 8 seconds back on his opening lap.

Behind the Northern Ireland pair, the next nine riders in the session all clocked laps in excess of 117mph, finally getting the chance to put their F1 machines properly through their paces with the Kawasakis of James Hillier (Greenhall Racing) and Ivan Lintin (Steelcote Solutions Ltd), notably to the fore at 118.59 and 118.563 respectively and Australian Dave Johnson on the Team York Suzuki continuing his form from the TT in June with 117.817

Bruce Anstey went out on the Valvoline by Padgetts Racing YZR Yamaha 750 that he won last year's race on and completed a steady first lap before stopping at Sulby on his second lap while James Cowton and Chris Moore both clocked 107mph laps in the F2 Class.

John McGuinness topped the 500cc leader board with two sub 21 minute laps (110.634 and (108.79) and the Morecambe Missile will be looking to add his first Classic TT victory in Saturday's Bennetts 500cc Race to his 23 TT Race wins and put the disappointment of breaking down in the last two 500cc Classic Races in 2013 and 2014.

The sun, and temperature, dropped for the 350's who went away in the second session at 7.30pm. Lee Johnston, riding the Black Eagle Racing MV, showed the form that won him last year's Okells 350cc Race topping the session with 102.321, the only lap over 100mph.

Classic racing specialist Alan Overby on the Davies Motorsport Honda was second on the night with 98.283 mph from Jamie Coward (Ted Woof Craven Honda K4) and Danny Webb, a late replacement for the injured Cameron Donald, who enjoyed a notable run on the Molnar Manx Norton in fourth (96.791). Keith Amor (Dunnell Racing Manx Norton), who missed last year's race with injury, completed the top five.

Tomorrow's session sees the 500's out first at 18.20 with the F1 and F2 machines due to go out at 19.25 and the riders will be hoping for another clear session ahead of Saturday's first race, the Bennetts 500cc.

Ace Cafe London’s regular monthly All-American Cruise-In, combined from 7pm, with Jimmy Guntrip’s Rhythm n’ Cruise Rockin’ Record Hop, includes with prizes up for grabs ranging from pairs of tickets to attend the National Finals at Santa Pod, to the cafe’s forthcoming Billy Fury Tribute night, Saturday 10th October (starring Colin Paul & The Persuaders), as well as copies of Vintage Rock and UK Rock n’ Roll magazines.

Spend £5 or more over the counter from 6pm and receive a raffle ticket. Draw to be held at 10pm.

For more information about Ace Cafe London or what's on, check out: www.ace-cafe-london.com

All American Cruise-In

 Saturday 29th August  4pm – 11pm

• The IAM’s new scientific experiment reveals bad driving reduces attractiveness by 50%
• 4 in 5 women and nearly half of men are physically turned off by bad driving
• Pulse rates increase by as much as 20% when watching bad driving, showing significant levels of stress

Bad driving significantly reduces levels of attractiveness in potential partners, with women finding it particularly off-putting, found the first ever scientific study into driving skills and desirability conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Finally answering the long-debated question about whether poor driving skills put a dampener on romance, the experiment found bad drivers to be 50% less attractive than motorists with good skills.

The IAM teamed up with prominent behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings for the study. Candidates were shown videos of both good and bad driving whilst being tested for their levels of attraction towards the driver using pulse rate, pupil dilation, blink rate and body language.

Attractiveness dropped from 4.8 to 2.8 in women proving the most significant reduction, with 84% of candidates reporting more negative feelings towards the driver after experiencing their incompetence on the road.

The pulse rate of 60% of female candidates increased whilst watching bad driving manoeuvres, with a 20% increase for a third indicating a significant rise in stress levels.
And it’s the aggressive and confrontational manoeuvres that were found to be most unattractive to women – with road rage, illegal overtaking and tailgating topping a list of gaffes that provoke the strongest negative reactions.

In contrast, reactions in men were found to be less significant, with just over a quarter (28%) reporting a dislike for the driver after seeing them behind the wheel.
Body language indicators showed that for men, instead of stress, frustration was the overwhelming response. Candidates were found to frown, become agitated and shift position as they watched videos of parking, turning the car around or other examples of distracted or preoccupied behaviours.

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings explains: “There is no doubt that across the board most candidates, and nearly all of the women, found bad driving to be a turn-off.

However, it’s interesting to look at the reactions of different genders. Some male reactions to bad driving included laughter and amusement, indicating that men have a less mature emotional response to bad driving than women who instead furrowed their brows and shook their heads.”

Top 5 driving behaviours that turn off women
1. Illegal overtaking
2. Road rage
3. Bad parking
4. Texting whilst driving
5. 3 point turn

Top five driving behaviours that turn off men
1. Three point turn
2. Talking selfies at the wheel
3. Texting whilst driving
4. Driving the wrong way round a roundabout
5. Bad parking

The experiment follows independent research by the IAM which uncovered bad driving as one of the UK’s biggest first date turn-offs. Road rage was the worst first-date faux pas for almost half (46%) of Brits, whilst a similar number say texting at the wheel leaves them wanting to end a date then and there.

A further one in 10 (11%) are irritated by someone who takes 15 minutes to park, whilst an eighth of Brits (13%) find overly cautious drivers who go under the speed limit off-putting.

Jo Hemmings continued: “Overall the experiment supports the hypothesis that bad driving elicits strong instinctive responses, with a correlated effect on levels of desire. However, it's evident that women have a stronger negative reaction to bad driving than men, and find bad drivers considerably less attractive as a result.”

The IAM’s chief executive, Sarah Sillars said: “The results from the survey piqued our interest, so we enlisted Jo and a team of scientists to put the science behind the theory. Bad driving not only has an impact on the safety of our roads, but can also affect your relationships. Being able to manoeuvre properly and drive carefully should be much higher up on people’s priorities.”

Singles can improve their driving skills – and chances of romance – by signing up for a free IAM driving assessment worth £39 at iam.org.uk/lovedriving. See if you can improve your ‘pulling’ power today.

At the Manchester Bike Show 2015, we ran a competition to win a 2 night stay for 2 @ the very biker friendly Portland House, in Keswick and our winner was Jo Rigby, however she could not make it so asked if she could pass on the holiday to her friend and work colleague Moira Warburton as a pre-wedding surprise.

Normally prizes are non-tranferable, however under such circumstances Denise and THE BIKER GUIDE thought it was a kind gesture from Jo, so Moira and her fiancée Stephen Smith were booked in.

Moira who works for Neurosupport (the Brain Charity), who organise the annual event, the Great Brain Ride said "We have had a wonderful time and enjoyed our stay at Portland House. Brilliant hosts, fantastic breakfasts. Very friendly from the moment you walk through the door. Lovely room with great surprises such as homemade shortbread in your room. Rod and Denise have thought of everything and Portland House would be a wonderful place to stay for any biker".

Both Portland House and THE BIKER GUIDE wish Stephen and his future wife Moira a wonderful wedding and future together!

This year's Classic Racer Magazine Classic TT Lap of Honour is set to be one of the highlights of the Classic TT presented by Bennetts with the entry packed with both legendary riders and iconic, and exotic, machinery.

This year's 'lap of honour', which takes place on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August, is a celebration of some of the UK's finest ever road racers, as well as the career of TT legend Geoff Duke, and the line-up includes riders with a combined total of no less than 95 TT victories and 209 TT podiums.

Fifteen former TT winners will be on the grid out of a total field of over 150 riders who will take to the Mountain Course. Twenty-three time TT Race winner John McGuinness leads the way with the 'Morecambe Missile' fresh from his win and new outright lap record in this year's PokerStars Senior TT. McGuinness will ride his own 600cc Triumph Daytona, the same machine he rode at the 2003 TT Race meeting.

Bruce Anstey, another 2015 TT winner who will be appearing in the parade is now third on the all-time list of podium finishers. Anstey has 10 TT wins and 35 rostrums to his name following this year's races, which saw him win his first Superbike race and take three runners-up spots. The Kiwi will ride a 500cc Manx Norton in the parade as part of the tributes to Geoff Duke.

The evergreen Jim Redman MBE, a six time World Champion, returns to the Isle of Man where he achieved a unique hat-trick of double Junior and Lightweight wins in 1963, 1964 and 1965. He will be riding a 500cc Honda in the parade, similar to the bike he rode during the 1966 season.

Four past and present Northern Ireland TT legends - Brian Reid, Phil McCallen, Con Law and current star Michael Dunlop will appear. Reid's memorable TT career included being the first rider to lap the Mountain Course at more than 112mph on a 250cc machine, in 1985, and he took his first of five TT wins in the 1986 Formula Two race. McCallen's highlight was undoubtedly his four wins in 1996 and he'll take part in the parade on board one of his race winning RC45 Hondas while Law's short five year career included consecutive Junior TT race wins in 1982 and 1983.

Dunlop has already matched McCallen's 11 wins and while 2015 wasn't as successful as previous years, he still stood on the podium in the RL360 Superstock race and became the second fastest rider of all time with a lap of 132.515mph.

Three great Scottish riders, Ian Simpson, his father Bill and Alex George - all TT race winner's - will grace the Mountain Course again. Five time British Champion Ian Simpson took TT three victories including a superb F1-Senior double in 1998 and eight podiums in his 21 race TT career, following father Bill's 750cc production race win in 1976. Alex George is best remembered for his double victory in 1979 when, deputising for the injured Mick Grant at Honda Britain, he took both the F1 and Classic races, the latter coming after a titanic battle with Mike Hailwood which saw him come out on top by just 3.4s.

Close friends Steve Plater and Mick Grant, who worked together in Norton development, will parade Norton's SG3 and SG2 respectively. Plater's three-year career included victory in the 2009 Senior TT while multiple British Champion Grant has seven TT victories to his name.

Charlie Williams, one of Mick Grant's contemporaries in the 1970's and 80's will parade on his own 350cc Yamaha. Williams, who finished a superb ninth in last year's 500cc Classic TT, has an impressive nine TT wins to his name including two TT race wins in a day - the Junior and F2 races in 1980.

Matt Oxley and Malcolm Wheeler, two riders who have swapped their leathers for journalism, will be temporarily putting their pens down. Oxley's undoubted highlight was victory in the 1985 250cc Production race, becoming the first rider to lap the Mountain Course at more than 100mph on a 250cc Production machine while Wheeler, who will ride his own Ducati TT2, achieved three podiums in the 1980's.

Dave Roper will add a transatlantic flavour to the lap. Roper became the first American to win a TT with victory in the 1984 500cc Historic race. He returns to the Island riding an AJS Porcupine, one of the more exotic machines that will be appearing during the Classic TT Festival.

Other star riders taking part in the Lap of Honour include Ian Richards, who unluckily broke down on the last lap of the 1980 Senior while leading, Glen English, Ian Mackman, Tony Duncan, Rex Butcher, James McBride, Mike Seward (the first rider to lap at more than 110mph at the Manx Grand Prix), the Isle of Man's Nigel Beattie. David Cretney MLC and Derek Crutchlow, father of current MotoGP rider Cal are also participating in the parade while Peter Duke will ride a 500cc Gilera in memory of his late father and six times TT winner and World Champion Geoff Duke.