With 70 entries accepted - the highest total for almost ten years - for the two Sure Sidecar TT Races, it's not just the solos that will be grabbing the attention or providing a spectacle of the highest order at the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.

There are no less than seven five former race winners in the entry, with 23 victories between them, and an impressive eleven drivers who have lapped the Mountain Course in excess of 110mph - and like their solo counterparts, the quality and strength in depth of the F2 class is obvious and further proof that The TT Races represent the best three-wheel races in the world.

Heading the field once more, and at number 1 in the start list, is Dave Molyneux who took his 17th win last year, the third highest total in the history of the event. With an equally remarkable 28 podiums to his name, the Manxman has a new challenge this year as long time passenger Patrick Farrance has been replaced by Benjamin Binns, creating an all-Manx team at DMR. Molyneux has also switched engine supplier from Kawasaki to Suzuki but DMR will undoubtedly be the team to beat.

Setting off ten seconds behind the Manx duo will be last year's Sure Sidecar Race One and overall winner Conrad Harrison who will again be partnered by Mike Aylott. With seven podiums in the last eight races, no one was more deserving of a race win and now firmly knocking on the door of 115mph+ laps, they have every chance of serving up a repeat of their 2014 exploits.

They'll have two World Champions chasing them down in the shape of Ben and Tom Birchall and Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance. They both took their maiden wins two years ago but while Reeves took another podium 12 months ago, with Gregory Cluze, the Birchall brothers will be looking to put 2014 behind them after they crashed spectacularly at the Black Dub. Reeves will be reunited with Farrance at the TT for the first time since 2009 and he will be hoping that this will see them back on the top step.

A fifth race winner will be found at number five in the shape of the evergreen John Holden and Andy Winkle who showed they were still very much at the top of their game last year with two more hard fought podiums. Everyone knows there'll be in the mix again in 2015 and another race win cannot be ruled out.

Ten seconds behind them is the consistent partnership of Gary Bryan and Jamie Winn and although 2014 saw the Lincolnshire driver post his first DNF since 2009, anyone who's lapped in excess of 112mph is sure to be a contender with and having taken no less then three fourth place finishes in previous years, a much coveted podium would be more than deserved.

Karl Bennett and Lee Cain make it two Manx crews in the top ten at number seven and with their experience of the Mountain Course getting stronger year on year, the youngsters have every chance of bettering their fifth place finish and near 112mph lap of last year.

There'll have to be at the top of their game though as the crew directly behind them is the father and son combination of Ian and Carl Bell. Ian made his return to the TT last year after an 11-year absence whilst Carl made his debut but a fourth place finish in Race One means that they will go into the event as yet another pairing capable of making it onto the podium.

Rounding out the seeded drivers at numbers nine and ten are Wayne Lockey/Mark Sayers and Sean Hegarty/James Neave. Gloucestershire's Lockey took a career best sixth last year along with a maiden 110mph lap so can be expected to produce more of the same in this year's 3-lap races while the appearance of British F1 Champion Hegarty on the entry is a terrific fillip for all concerned. The Kent driver has just one TT appearance to his name, back in 1996, but he performed well then and with the experienced Neave in the chair, expect an extremely strong showing on his comeback to the roads on the Triumph powered Nick Crowe Racing machine.

The next batch of ten sees yet more quality with former European Champion Gary Knight, another of the 110mph brigade, back after a year's absence along with Darren Hope/Paul Bumfrey (12), Rob Handcock/Aki Alto (14), Gordon Shand/Phil Hyde (15), Roy Hanks/Kevin Perry (16), Greg Lambert/Kenny Cole (17) last year's best newcomers Alan Founds/Tom Peters (18), the father and daughter pairing of Tony Baker/Fiona Baker-Milligan (19) and John Saunders/Robert Lunt (20), the last named the final driver on the entry to lap at more than 108mph.

As expected, many of the class regulars are back in the running including Mike Cookson/Alun Thomas (21), Dean Banks/Ken Edwards (22), Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth (23), Nicholas Dukes/William Moralee (24) and Mick Donovan/Aaron Galligan (25), the last named back after missing the 2014 event. Meanwhile, the field is again full of overseas talent with impressive Australian newcomer of 2014 Dwight Beare (26) back for more along with Michael Grabmuller/Manfred Wechselberger (28), Francois Leblond/Anne Garnish (32), Estelle Leblond/Sebastien Lavorel (35) and World Championship podium man Mike Roscher (34).

Rapid newcomers from 2014 John and Jake Lowther return as does 1987 overall winner Kenny Howles whilst there are an impressive 12 newcomers set to make their Mountain Course debuts include the American pairing of Chris Wells/Jeff Gillard, French hillclimb champions Pascal Gassmann/Olivier Chabloz, Irish front runners Terry O'Reilly/Aidan Browne and Norwegian driver Geir Johnsen.

All in all, 2015 should provide two hard fought and exciting three lap affairs in the fight for the victories and in the battle for places all the way through the field.

This year @ THE BIKER GUIDE we planned to giveaway ten BIKERS WELCOME banners for various events across the UK...

We have awarded these banners to some organisers of events who asked for one via the events form and also on facebook competitons.

It has been a hard decision to find just ten so we are currently at 14! The lucky ones are...

Kempton Park Motorcycle Jumble
Haggs March Moto Madness UK
Yorkhill Easter Egg Run
1066 MCC for the Worlds Largest Unofficial St Georges Day Parade
The Great Tees Valley Bridge Run & BBQ Estonians
Iron Horse Ranch House
Rattlesden Five Bells Bike Show
4th Cumbria Custom Show
Llandudno Goldwing Light Parade
The Nightjar - RBLR Bike & Trike Show
Crown and Anchor Bike Night
North West Harley Club Easter Rally
Rainy Daze 12
and finally Shazz Armstrong for her wedding!

Iconic Italian motorcycle manufacturer Bimota will field seasoned road racers Ben Wylie and Brandon Cretu at this year's Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy as well as the other international road races.

Wylie and Cretu will campaign onboard the proven Bimota BB3 at the Northwest 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix before finishing the season in China at the Macau Grand Prix.
The Bimota BB3 has proven itself an outstanding platform in WSBK competition with regular top 10 finishes in their first season and Christian Iddon put the bike on pole at Assen during a round of British Superbikes.

This will not be the first time Wylie and Cretu have shared an awning, with Cretu working out of the Wylie Racing tent during the 2011 and 2012 TT. Wylie is no stranger to a full season of real road racing, being a regular contender and top 10 finisher, but 2015 will mark the first time an American has been seen to compete at all of the big four internationals.

Brandon Cretu, Team Rider, commented:

"After I thought I wouldn't be riding this year, to be able to work up a deal so quickly with Bimota and Ben is a dream come true. Ben and I have known each other since my first TT and I rate him, his family, and his racing program in the highest regard. I can't wait to begin testing with the team and bring not only my riding but also my experience in acquiring sponsors and managing team operations. I think the Bimota BB3 is going to allow me some of my best finishes ever. 2015 is going to be an outstanding year!"

Ben Wylie, Team Manager/Rider commented:

"Constantine and myself are delighted to announce our two rider Bimota team for 2015. Bringing Brandon on board completes our vision for a full on attack on the International roads and puts everything in place for a solid season. I am confident we can get the best out of Brandon and having worked together before I feel we can really benefit and learn from each other's experience. I'm looking forward to riding a bit more this year on a very competitive bike and getting myself back to where I know I should be, fighting for top 10 positions in all 3 big bike TT races."

www.bimota.uk.com

Losail (Qatar), 15 March 2015 – The second day of testing on the Losail circuit marks a milestone in the growth process for the Aprilia RS-GP. After the autumn tests in Valencia and Jerez and the two test sessions in Malaysia, Bautista and Melandri, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders, chose which version will be the one to make its début in the MotoGP world championship.

Both Melandri and Bautista dedicated the day to developing solutions that will be taken to the races in two weeks when – on 29 March – the circuit just outside of Doha will host the first act of the 2015 season with night races.

Alvaro made a clear improvement, lapping with a time of 1.57,273, more than a second less than his time of 1.58,459 yesterday. Marco Melandri suffered the consequences of a pesky flu again today, significantly compromising his work. In the end Bautista put in 46 laps and Melandri 23 with a best time of 1.57,982, which is also progress compared to his time of 1,58.990 the day before.    

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager) “We have now defined a version that we worked on all day. It is, as would be expected, a combination of the various RS-GP versions that we've tested on the track thus far. Tomorrow we'll pick up where we left off. For Alvaro it's a question of reacquiring the good feeling he had in Sepang, whereas for Marco, although hampered by poor health conditions, closed the gap behind the front runners. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us on the setup, especially in terms of managing the engine brake, electronics strategies and the chassis. On the other hand, I'm quite pleased with our progress session after session in terms of reliability. We need time and a lot of work and that is exactly why we are here.”  

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager) “What we need to do is simply continue working hard with the riders and stay united as a team in order to achieve a common goal, which is to improve constantly throughout the entire season. There is a lot to be done, but it is quite normal and we have always been well aware of that. These tests are very important for defining a base to use in the first Grand Prix, although we know that there will always be changes at each round.”  

ALVARO BAUTISTA “Today we focused on the base that we selected for the first Grand Prix, trying various solutions in terms of chassis geometry in order to try and improve corner entry and my feeling with the front end. We need to eliminate some vibrations in mid turn that keep me from holding a good line. This track definitely has less grip than Sepang, but we still have a day left to work and we'll try to take the best possible advantage of it to gather as much information as possible so the racing department can work in view of the first race."  

MARCO MELANDRI “We improved a bit today but we need to do better, especially on corner entry and getting the bike to close the line on the exit opening up the throttle. Unfortunately I still had a cough when I got to Qatar and I'm having trouble breathing, but today I'm a bit better than yesterday. I'm still short on energy but tomorrow I'm confident that I'll be a little stronger for the last session.”  

Losail (Qatar), 14 March 2015 – The first session of night testing on the Qatar circuit has the riders, Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri, working hard testing the many changes made by the Noale factory. The tests, organised over three days, are the last trials scheduled before the launch of the MotoGP season, which will also be held on this circuit and at night on 29 March.

The four RS-GP bikes available for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini at Losail represent yet another step forward with respect to the versions initially seen during the Spanish tests at Valencia and Jerez and then during the February test sessions in Malaysia. Along with changes to the frame came new electronic management strategies. These are all changes that need to be tested throughout a season that promises to be one of trial and growth for the Italian team, which chose to jump straight into the racing mix a year ahead of the originally scheduled plans. Marco was only able to begin the work scheduled for today as he was hindered by an extremely irritating flue that initially limited his performance and then even forced him to end his track day early for a visit to the Mobile Clinic. Bautista was able to lap more consistently to “smooth out” his RS-GP, and this is the most important information for a project that needs time and testing to grow.

In the end 53 total laps were put in, 34 for Bautista (with a best time of 1.58,459) and 19 for Melandri (1.58,990).    

ALVARO BAUTISTA “Today we worked quite a bit on the electronics to improve going into turns and rear grip. Even after changing bikes I still continued testing the electronics. Toward the end of the session we also tested the new material. We had some good results, so tomorrow we'll pick up our work from here to improve further.”   MARCO MELANDRI “Unfortunately today I was very ill and I was only able to take a few laps. Losing time right now is a shame, but I preferred stopping today so that I can take the best possible advantage of the next two days of testing.”