The British Motor Museum is to host the Harley Davidson Sportster at 60 Show on Saturday 24 June. The show, organised by American-V Magazine, will celebrate this iconic American middleweight tourer and the world’s fastest production motorcycle. On display will be the largest number of Sportsters gathered together in one place outside America!

The show will feature a display from Warr’s Harley-Davidson, Europe’s oldest dealer as well as bikes from private collections and owner/riders. Visitors will be able to track the evolution of the motorcycle from birth to the present day and see the 7 bike model range on the stands of Harley-Davidson’s UK dealerships, plus race bikes, chops, bobbers and a host of bikes based round the Sportster engine.

Harley-Davidson will bring their “Jumpstart” rolling road where novices can run a Harley-Davidson Sportster through the gears under power while more experienced riders can test their riding skills on the Motorcycle Gymkhana. Other activities include technical talks and watching unseen footage of the legendary Cal Rayborn working with the Harley-Davidson race team at Bonneville in 1970 where they set a speed record of 265.492mph! Authorised dealers and nationally recognised custom builders will also be available to talk to inside the Museum along with dedicated trading areas outside. Camping is available for the Friday and Saturday nights along with a bar and bands to add to the atmosphere.

Tom Caren, Show Manager at the British Motor Museum stated “We are delighted to be celebrating the 60th anniversary of this iconic motorcyle which is still in production today. The show is a must for anyone who rides, has ever dreamed of riding a Harley or wants to learn more about them.  Added to that will be the iconic lazy sound of Harleys coming and going during the course of the day”.

Tickets are available from the Museum website and cost £9 for the day in advance, £14 on the gate, or with camping from Friday evening to Sunday morning cost £25 in advance or £35 on the gate. All tickets include entry to the Museum and Collections Centre. To find out more about the British Motor Museum please visit the website at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk  or call 01926 641188.

Kawasaki riders claimed podium finishes in all three race classes yesterday as the racing at the NW200 commenced – including the first International Road Race victory for the all new Kawasaki 650.

In the Supersport class, JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider James Hillier achieved the first Kawasaki podium of the evening after battling for the race win, he crossed the line in an impressive third position.

In the Superstock class, Dean Harrison showed his Silicone Engineering Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR had the pace to fight at the front as he battled hard with Lee Johnston, finishing in third place as the chequered flag was waved.

The last race of the evening was the Lightweight race, in which it was a clean sweep for Kawasaki, taking a top-ten lock down as the race ended.

Lightweight race winner, Martin Jessop, was aboard the brand-new 650cc machine which meant the 2017 model took its first win in this competitive class. Powered by a compact 650cc parallel twin, liquid-cooled engine both the Z650, and its sporty-faired brother the Ninja 650, are brand new for 2017.

Racing Co-ordinator for Kawasaki Motors UK, Ross Burridge, said: “What a great evening for Kawasaki! The Supersport class isn’t even James’ strongest, so to get a podium finish is fantastic. Dean is also continuing to prove he is a force to be reckoned with in all classes, so we can’t wait to see what they can both do on Saturday. The highlight has to be the Lightweight race though, a great win for Martin on the new 650, and taking a clean sweep of the top 10 places is awesome. We are now expecting to see many more new 650 Kawasaki’s – especially the Ninja 650 – on the Lightweight grid at the upcoming TT in June.  For now, let’s hope the weather holds for more great NW200 racing on Saturday.”

For more information on the Kawasaki range, visit: www.kawasaki.co.uk

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Sam Lowes is also satisfied, able to find the pace he had demonstrated during practice at Jerez. He and his team had some important confirmation today, with his best lap in 1'40.572 out of a total of 64 laps done.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'

“I am satisfied with this test. We tried a lot of things and I was able to be more competitive than I was in the race yesterday. We are working to better understand how the bike behaves in load transfers. In fact, the RS-GP is extremely stable in braking, but it suffers when I release the brake. The front tyre with the more rigid carcass provides benefits in this sector. I think it may be interesting to try it again. Overall, we took a step forward in terms of getting to know the bike and we have a lot of data to work on from now until the next race.”

SAM LOWES

“Today we worked mainly on understanding what happened yesterday. In fact, I started with the bike in identical conditions to the race, immediately improving my times. It is strange. It could be due both to the track conditions and to my lack of experience. The important thing was getting back to lapping at the times I was doing during practice. I also tested a new swingarm that should increase stability, but I think it may work better on tracks with more grip. Both the new front tyre that Michelin brought and the downforce fairing gave positive signals. They are not massive differences, but in any case it is a tangible contribution to my feeling with the RS-GP. Honestly I think this has been the best test for me so far”.

Check out the latest MotoGP Championship 2017 news here

Five former race winners are in the line up for this year’s two Sure Sidecar TT Races, at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, with no less than 25 victories between them.

Almost fifty entries have been accepted for the two three lap races with the first on the opening day – Saturday 3rd June and the second forming part of the ‘Championship Day’ on the final day of the meeting – Friday 9th June.

The competitive field includes thirteen crews have already lapped the Mountain Course at more than 110mph and the strength in depth extends through the field. Only ten drivers are seeded but the top thirty have all lapped at more than 106mph.

Like the solo seeds, there’s change in the sidecar ranks as Ben and Tom Birchall take the number one plate for the first time. With four wins in total, and three in the last two years, as well as being the current outright lap record holders, the Nottinghamshire brothers are the crew to beat and will be confident that they can add to their tally of wins.

Setting off ten seconds behind them are the most successful driver and passenger in TT history – Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle. With seventeen and eight wins respectively, the Manx duo have an unbelievable record but the last few years have been marked by a dip in their fortunes and they will be hoping a switch to Yamaha will elevate them back to the top step of the podium.

John Holden, last year’s winner, is at number three. The Silicone Engineering-backed driver took his second individual win in the opening race of 2016. With 15 podiums to his name, the Blackburn driver has made a change to his wing man with local passenger Lee Cain joining him in a formidable looking combination.

Conrad Harrison, another race winner, is at number four.  The Bradford driver took victory in the opening race of 2014 but has had a year to forget in 2016 and failed to start a race for the first time in his TT career. Having recruited Holden’s former race winning passenger Andy Winkle, he is likely to be challenging for honours again.

The same applies to five times World Champion Tim Reeves who takes the number five plate this time around on the Klaffi Racing Honda. His sole victory came in 2013 and although he has a rookie passenger, to the TT at least, in Mark Wilkes, he’ll be looking to build up his challenge during race week and in contention come race day.

Last year’s sensation, Cheshire’s Peter Founds, who took second place in the opening race in just his second year of competing as a driver at the TT, starts ten seconds behind them. Passenger Jevan Walmsley had a dream debut and having already lapped at close to 113mph, the duo will be hoping to make even greater strides in 2017.

Peter’s brother Alan was also on the podium last year, finishing third in the same race and he takes the number seven plate. He also has a new passenger in the shape of Jake Lowther who last competed at the TT with his brother John in 2015, the duo lapping at close to 109mph.

Next up at number eight is another local driver, Karl Bennett. He had his best ever TT result 12 months ago when he took fourth in the second race and also broke the 112mph barrier for the first time. He too has a new passenger on board and, having partnered with Cain since 2010, he’s now recruited Frenchman Maxime Vasseur.

The father and son pairing of Steve and Matty Ramsden are at number nine and deservedly become a seeded pairing after two great drives in 2016 saw them claim fourth and sixth place finishes while at number 10 Gary Knight is the last of the seeds. The former European Champion lines up with Daniel Evanson again after they finished eighth and twelfth in 2016.

The rest of the field will confirm their starting positions during qualifying week including Tony Baker/Fiona Baker-Milligan, Wayne Lockey/Mark Sayers, Michael Grabmuller/Manfred Wechselberger, Mike Roscher/Ben Hughes and the returning Rob Handcock/Ken Edwards and Allan Schofield/Steve Thomas who will all be looking to secure low start numbers for the two Sure Sidecar TT Races.