Blood Bikers might sound like a less than friendly motorcycle gang, but in reality, this is actually an organization that saves lives and makes a huge difference to healthcare. Essentially, blood bikers provide a professional rapid response medi-cal transport service to the NHS transporting things like blood, surgical instru-ments, human donor milk, medication and more recently COVID-19 serial testing.  

A Noble Charity

Run by unpaid volunteers, Blood Bikers have roots going back over 50 years with the rapid response motorcycle charity providing a highly valuable service to the NHS and public as a whole through delivering key medical products in the quick-est possible way. The group is constantly growing too, which means that they can provide a nationwide service and make a big difference to public health

Life as a Blood Biker

Motorbike insurance specialist Carole Nash supports Manchester Blood Bikes and looked into what a day in the life of this important role is like with Malcolm - a Blood Biker from Sunderland. Malcolm decided to join the cause after his sister was involved in a serious accident with her life being saved by the air ambulance. This led Malcolm to seek out ways to support them, which took him to the North-umbria Blood Bikes website. Malcolm described his best experience as a blood biker:

“One time I got an urgent job for some blood to be taken to a hospital about 15 miles away. Because I was on a blood bike, I could cut through the traffic and ar-rived there very quickly before delivering the blood on time. The next day some-one posted a story about the lady we’d saved on Facebook. Apparently, this lady had cancer, and wouldn’t have survived without the blood transfusion she was able to have as a result of our work as Blood Bikers. That is one of the things that stands out for me. You never know who you are helping from one night to the next.”

Blood Bikes Leinster

Blood Bikes Leinster, which was established in 2013 and supports hospitals throughout Ireland. Fergus Lennon, Director of Blood Bikes Leinster, commented on the support offering by the Dublin-based motorbike insurance specialist:

Blood Bikers do fantastic and noble work helping to transport vital medical supplies in times of need to save lives and make the work of NHS staff much easier. This is also a growing organization and one that deserves as much support and praise as possible.

“We are truly grateful to Carole Nash who have sponsored us and provided our bike insurance for the fourth year running. Every penny adds up for our small charity and we are so appreciative of their support.”

“We also take the Carole Nash Blood Bike teddy bear with us on our Blood Bike travels which has brought a smile on the face of many a poorly child.”

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Ducati returns to track day action in 2021, with not two but three of the best UK circuits to choose from.

The 2021 World Championship season has just started, with teams Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 and Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE sporting the new brand RidingStyle that will provide all teamwear for both squads in 2021.  

This is a partnership with the company director Tedy Suryadi that gets to its seventh year, making it a natural continuation of a historical working path for Gresini Racing and RidingStyle, two institutions united by passion, experience and competence.
TEDY SURYADI - RIDINGSTYLE DIRECTOR
“It is always an honour for me and RIDINGSTYLE to work hand in hand with GRESINI RACING, a world-class company that has been involved in the Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and MotoE world championships. I have interacted directly for 6 years in providing the needs of the Gresini's team uniform in a family atmosphere, called the #gresinifamily. The interaction makes me have a real feel like part of the Gresini family. Both RIDINGSTYLE, my brand, and GRESINI RACING share common vision, mission and passion, which is to build and advance the business, the family and also the Nation through the MotoGP world championship. I would like to thank Gresini Racing for providing this great opportunity for RIDINGSTYLE, a start-up business company with its world-class qualified competences to become a technical supplier for Gresini Racing through the Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 Team and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 team projects. This collaboration does not only bring benefits to each party in the MotoGP world championship but also encourages the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs/UMKM) in Indonesia. "We are Gresini Family, Terimakasih!"
CARLO MERLINI – GRESINI RACING COMMERCIAL & MARKETING DIRECTOR
“We are really delighted to announce the partnership with RidingStyle. We know Tedy for long time as we have been working together in the development of the Gresini’s team clothing and merchandise already for 6 years now, therefore it came natural to embrace the opportunity to keep the partnership going also in connection with his new brand Riding Style. The experience that Tedy brings is extremely important to understand the specific needs of the team. Gresini Racing, as a world level team, is always on the quest for improvements and R&D and RidingStyle has proven to be the right partner to meet such demanding requirements. Welcome RidingStyle among the technical partners of Federal Oil Gresini Moto2, Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 and Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE teams!”.

The British Motor Museum is all set to reopen its doors on 17 May in line with Stage 3 of the Government’s roadmap.  Having been awarded the ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry charter mark by VisitEngland, the Museum is confident that everything is in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit. 

The Museum will be open 7 days a week from 10am – 5pm with limited numbers per day and pre-booking is essential for all visitors including those returning with an annual pass. There are 10am, 11am, 12noon and 1pm arrival slots available and once at the Museum visitors can stay as long as they wish until closing.

New for 2021, the E-type Evolution Exhibition from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the Jaguar E-type. The Exhibition tells the story of the car from the racing C and D-types of the 1950s, the E2A Prototype, its launch at Geneva on 15 March 1961 and finishes with two very successful Racing V12 E-types from the 1970s. The exhibition runs to the end of June and is included in the standard Museum admission. 

For the May half-term week from 29 May – 6 June, the Museum will be hosting a full programme of family friendly activities to celebrate the Jaguar E-type’s 60th Birthday. Visitors will have the chance to meet Dotty or Dougie, the car designers from the swinging 60s and explore this amazing car and it's design.  Younger visitors will also have the chance to take home their very own cardboard cut-out Jaguar E-type! There are also online celebratory activities for those not able to visit the Museum.

The ‘Gaydon Gathering’, a free monthly evening gathering aimed at motoring enthusiasts, will return on Tuesday 11 May. The first gathering took place last October and the Museum plans to fun this friendly event on the second Tuesday of every month until the autumn. Pre-booking is essential. 

The Museum is also gearing up to run a full schedule of motoring shows and events this summer, all in line with Government advice. Over 14 shows and rallies are being planned to include the return of several popular events such as the Land Rover Show, Retro Truck Show as well as some brand-new events including ‘Autolicious’ on 29 August. This event presented by Audi-licious is a rare opportunity to see an array of stunning cars on display including Audi, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Bentley, Porsche, Mercedes, Lamborghini and VW.

Jeff Coope, Managing Director at the British Motor Museum said “We are delighted to be able to re-open our doors and welcome back visitors after being closed for such a long period. Thanks to funding from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and the success of the furlough scheme, the Museum is in a good place and is now keen to get back to business. We’re looking forward to seeing the return of our much valued and loyal visitors as well as the staff, some of whom are already hard at work preparing to re-open the Museum once again”.

2021 admission prices remain the same as in 2020 and are: Adults £14.50, Concessions £12.50, Children £9 (5-16 years), under 5’s free, and a Family ticket £40 (2 adults & up to 3 children). If you Gift Aid or donate your entrance fee you receive an annual pass at no extra cost. All visitors must pre-book tickets so the Museum can fulfil its NHS Test and Trace commitment.  Visitors must adhere to the ‘Rule of 6’, wear a face covering at all times and observe social distancing.

For more information on keeping visitors safe please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/news/welcome-back

Those with annual passes will automatically have their passes extended by the number of days that the Museum was closed. More information about this and to book tickets please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/plan-your-visit/book-tickets. Museum tickets will go on sale on 11 May.