Max Coates, multiple-race winner and championship favourite in the Renault UK Clio Cup, will be running the IAM RoadSmart logo on his 130mph Clio for the 2019 season.

Max, 25, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, was one of 15 up-and-coming young racing drivers who are part of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Stars and SuperStars programmes who took the IAM RoadSmart advanced driver test during an intensive two-day event called #Formula DriveSmart at Silverstone last December.

#FormulaDriveSmart was championed by race and rally legend Paddy Hopkirk MBE.

Max scored a F1RST in his advanced test and to show his commitment to safe driving he has agreed to donate space on his Renault Clio to promote IAM RoadSmart and its activities for the 2019 season.

He is racing with Team HARD in the 2019 Renault UK Clio Cup. Team HARD is also taking part in the British Touring Car Championship with Bobby Thompson – who also achieved a F1RST at #FormulaDriveSmart.

IAM RoadSmart is delighted that Max has made the gesture, as it puts the charity’s name directly in front of the biggest at-risk age group when it comes to drivers - young men under 25 - with a large television, social media and race-day audience.

Max said: “I am more than happy to be supporting IAM RoadSmart on my car this year. Taking the advanced driving course made me think about observation and planning on road far more than before, and I saw that my driving could become smoother and I would derive more enjoyment from it as a result.

“Those principles of planning, reading the road ahead and anticipation should stand me in good stead on the race track this year – I hope you’ll all come out and cheer me on in 2019!”

Mike Quinton, IAM RoadSmart Chief Executive Officer, said: “Many thanks to Max for agreeing to run our name on his car this year. Getting the word out about our work will be invaluable in showing young drivers how relevant advanced driving can be to them – it is an enjoyable activity and could save a life one day.”

The Renault UK Clio Cup supports the British Touring Car Championship, so look out for Max and his Clio as part of ITV4's race coverage through the year.

If you want to take a look at what #FormulaDriveSmart was all about take a look at our video about the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vp_zr69tXQ

This year the date set by the Royal British Legion Riders Branch (RBLR) in association with the American and Canadian veteran riders to hold the 11^th annual Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride (AMRR) will be Saturday the 6th July 2019.

The ride takes place in Cambridgeshire starting near Cambridge Services on the A14 with a run to the American Military War Cemetery just outside at Madingley. The event commences at 12:30 and runs from the Services with the support of Cambridgeshire Police, ride onto the A14 into Cambridge, escorted by military vehicles and then onto the memorial where there will be a short service.

It’s organised by the Royal British Legion Riders (RBLR) Branch, a UK charity that safeguards the welfare, interests and memory of those who are serving or who have served in the armed forces

This event is open to all bikers, not just for members of the RBLR. Anyone can come and join the run and show their respects not matter what their age or what they ride.  People who just want to watch the event or to come along and show support at the service are most welcome to attend or line the route through Cambridge.

Up to a thousand bikers of all ages and interests from trikes, sidecars, Japanese, Italian, Harleys to classics sports, old and new, attend from all over the country to this growing national event.   Canada and America are also holding many events at the same time as this ride for those fallen heroes of the allied forces past and present who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.   7 rides are taking place across the USA, 3 in Canada and 2 in New Zealand.  

www.alliedride.org

APRILIA IGNITES MUGELLO WITH PASSION

MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND AT APRILIA ALL STARS, THE CELEBRATION OF THE BRAND FROM NOALE

WITH IANNONE AND SMITH, THE MOTOGP TEAM PRESENTED THE NEW RSV4 1100 FACTORY AND THE SPECIAL 225 HP X VERSION THAT CELEBRATES THE RSV4’S TENTH BIRTHDAY

LIVING IT UP ON THE TRACK WERE MAX BIAGGI, LORIS CAPIROSSI, MANUEL POGGIALI, ALEX GRAMIGNI AND ROBERTO LOCATELLI


It was a huge celebration of enthusiasts who responded en masse to the call from Aprilia, a young and Italian brand that lives and breathes passion for motorcycles and racing, more alive than ever with a fantastic fan base and with the capacity to thrill and excite as it always has throughout its history.

More than ten thousand people descended on Mugello for the first edition of Aprilia All Stars, the day on which Aprilia celebrated its past and future, introducing the new 217 HP RSV4 1100 Factory to the public along with the MotoGP team. This new bike is a concentration of technology and racing know-how expressed to an even further extreme in the X version which, created for the tenth birthday of the RSV4 project, reaches 225 HP and a weight of 165 Kg.

These are two bikes that bear witness to the extraordinary bond between the Aprilia product and its Racing department which, backed by 54 world titles won, including seven in WSBK and 294 GP wins, is a true technological banner for the Piaggio Group and for the entire Italian motorcycling movement.
It was the FMI president, Giovanni Copioli, who acknowledged this role, awarding Piaggio Group CEO and MD Roberto Colannino on the track during the MotoGP team presentation.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini were on track with the 2019 RS-GP machines which made their début two weeks ago in Qatar, ridden by Andrea Iannone and Bradley Smith, who were the same riders to unveil the new Aprilia RSV4 versions which were then taken out on track by an extraordinary crew of Champions in the Aprilia World: Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Manuel Poggiali, Alex Gramigni and Roberto Locatelli.

Biaggi’s parade lap astride his 1995 world championship RS 250, the sensational race with all the riders astride Aprilia SR 150 scooters, won in the final stretch by Manuel Poggiali and the display in pit lane of the bikes that have written Aprilia racing history filled an extraordinary day on which the public of Aprilia fans were protagonists. Participants ranged from those who are simply fans of the Italian brand, filling the grandstands and paddock that was livened up by music and games to the hundreds of fans in the Bearacer community who were able to meet the riders and share in a day of celebration with the entire team. And at the end, there was a spectacular parade of Aprilia bikes that invaded the circuit, the same track where the bikes from Noale, the most victorious bikes on the Tuscan hillside, have triumphed no less than 23 times in World GP races.

With a wide-ranging review of transport laws announced by the government today (19 March), IAM RoadSmart has warned that the rise in the use of electric scooters alongside vehicles on our roads is bad news for road safety.

The Department for Transport revealed its report 'Future of mobility: urban strategy' today, which is described as the biggest regulatory review in a generation to explore regulation around new transport modes.

The government plans to invest £90 million in towns and cities to test transport innovation, and the review will explore regulations around new types of vehicles including e-scooters and e-cargo bike trailers.

However IAM RoadSmart believes that e-scooters and their increasing popularity will lead to many people riding them on public roads alongside bigger and faster vehicles – and will put individuals, including the scooter users themselves, in great danger.

The charity welcomes a long-term approach to transport planning by the government, but new modes of transport need dedicated routes to be truly safe.

It added that there is a great need for users of e-scooters to embark on some level of basic rider training and awareness before they start.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “Electric scooters are simply not safe enough to be on our roads alongside full size vehicles.

“Mixing with pedestrians is also potentially very unsafe in shared areas. As with cycling, the answer probably lies in dedicated safe infrastructure for vulnerable road users.  Allied to that there is an urgent need for more for rider training and clarification of their legal status.”

Neil added: “While we welcome this potentially useful announcement, transport changes and trends are happening far faster than the network is developing to accommodate them.

“This ought to have happened a long time ago, and so should be implemented as a matter of urgency.”