Jerez gears up for party of the year as Bonnie Tyler and Toseland provide soundtrack to landmark event.

With the first ever World GP Bike Legends just around the corner, southern Spain is soon to be gripped by festival fever as an amazing mix of racing and rock and roll blasts into Jerez on 19-21 June.

As well as unmissable races that will feature the legends like Kevin Schwantz, Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner and Loris Capirossi, there will be music legends closing the show on both Friday and Saturday nights.

World famous tribute acts will hit the stage on Friday, as The ZZ Tops and QueenMania blast out some of the best known songs of all time from ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ to ‘We Are The Champions’ – a fitting theme tune to World GP Bike Legends!

The event kicks into top gear on Saturday night when double World Superbike Champion James Toseland takes to the stage with his eponymous hard rock group before Bonnie Tyler blows the crowds away with her incredible repertoire of legendary hits.

With live music headlining the evenings, there’s plenty more to keep fans entertained throughout the day. Shows from Trials World Championship riders Marcel Justribó and Jordi Pascuet plus a comedy motorcycle show ‘No Limits’ will undoubtedly draw attention, and there will be static displays of both classic and modern bikes.

Thanks to all this off-circuit action the riders will be keen to put on a special show, and with the spectacular list of entries below fans are sure to leave Jerez smiling.

The full list of confirmed riders is as follows: •Freddie Spencer
•Wayne Gardner
•Christian Sarron
•Didier de Radiguès
•Kevin Schwantz
•Graeme Crosby
•Steve Parrish
•José Luis Cardoso
•Carlos Cardús
•Loris Capirossi
•Juan Garriga
•Ángel Nieto
•Jorge Martínez
•Carlos Lavado
•Tadayuki Okada
•Phil Read
•Manuel "Champi" Herreros
•Hubert Rigal
•Niggi Schmassmann
•Michael Neeves (Guest Rider)

The National Motorcycle Museum is proud to announce that four times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty MBE has chosen the Museum’s workshop to restore his very first motorcycle!

This little Honda C50 based special was the product of Honda dealer Ken Martin who made the bike for his son Chris around 1972. Indeed, the specially manufactured tank badge’s still read “motochris” in recognition of the little bikes first owner.

Purchased from Ken Martin in 1975 by Carl’s dad George the bike was given to Foggy for his 10th Birthday.

Recently re-united with the bike after nearly 40 years, Foggy was looking to get the machine restored and phoned Museum Director James Hewing.

Speaking of the call James recalled: “I have worked with Carl in the past & was really pleased that he thought of the Museum’s restoration team to restore the bike for him. We have restored everything from the earliest and rarest veterans through to superbikes of the 1970s but never anything like this!”

Foggy commented: “It’s in a rough state but I know the lad’s at the Museum will restore it back to just how it was when my dad gave it to me back in 1975”

www.thenmm.co.uk

ASSISTANCE AND RACE: EVERYONE GOES TO BOLIVIA!

WARNING. Going through the Bolivian winter requires an intensive preparation: rain and cold are to be expected!

The Dakar caravan takes altitude and will travel trough Bolivia.
New specials, new bivouacs, breathtaking landscapes from the Titicaca Lake to the Uyuni Salar, an equally welcoming and passionate local population… all the ingredients for this edition to remain engraved in the memory of everyone involved in this 38th edition of the Dakar.

However, it is essential to be prepared to the extreme conditions of the Bolivian Altiplano, and to provide oneself with the appropriate equipment: raincoats, sleeping bags (suitable to cold temperatures), spare clothes for the pilots, etc.

Important clarifications on the conditions encountered on the Bolivian Altiplano:
• Altitude: from 3500 to 4000 meters between Lake Titicaca and Uyuni.
• Uyuni military barracks: The Uyuni stage won’t be realized as a « marathon stage ». The pilots and race teams will stay with their assistance, on the bivouac.
• Bivouacs: Unlike the last 2 editions, the Bolivian stages won’t be « marathon stages » and the entire caravan will be present on the bivouacs. No accommodation will be provided by the organisation for the competitors.
• Rains and Winds: some of these areas are very rainy, most particularly near the border between Peru and Oruro. It is a must to anticipate and have some spare pilot suits for the pilots and co-pilots, as well as rain clothes.
• Cold: If the temperatures could be pleasant or even hot sometimes during daytime, they might be cold (or freezing) from sunset to sunrise. To bring suitable sleeping bags is very important.
• Road networks: the roads taken by the assistances are asphalted and will be secured by the local police forces and the organization.

This is the best finish thus far for the Aprilia RS-GP which continues to improve race performance

Barcelona (Spain), 14 June 2015 – It was a weekend of hard work for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini with the changes tested during the week at Misano brought straight away to Barcelona setting a furious work pace for the entire team. It was an effort rewarded by Alvaro Bautista's great race, riding his Aprilia RS-GP to a tenth place finish and the best result thus far in this first part of the season.

Alvaro, who started from the seventh row, got off to an excellent start which allowed him to overtake several riders and immediately lock onto the central group which is the current race goal. He held the pace of the central group well and in the final laps he engaged in an exciting duel with Miller which, thanks in part to a few DNFs, resulted in the first top ten finish and 6 championship points. Marco Melandri had an unlucky race, delayed at the start and then forced to withdraw by problems with the gearbox in the seventh lap.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“Alvaro's great race is a good result that lifts our morale. There is a lot of work left to do to close the gap behind the leaders but if you think about the fact that we are racing with a bike which is a laboratory we are rather pleased with today. We see that we are improving race performance and we are often with the centre of the group. Races like this one make it clear which points we need to work on to close the gap behind the leaders. I feel bad for Marco who had a mechanical problem, but that's part of the experience we are building, given the amount of new things we are testing each time."

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“In a race that promised to be very difficult Bautista battled with great determination, managing to win various battles with other riders. There were some DNFs but Alvaro managed to keep a good pace despite difficult conditions. I'm very pleased with the efforts being made in this project so my compliments go to him and the entire team. It's a nice result, important for morale and to keep progressing.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“After a good start which helped me make up a few positions I rode the first laps of the race trying not to be too aggressive in order to conserve the tyres. In fact, we knew that their performance would drop a lot. The track conditions were very difficult with not much grip so I couldn't push like I did in practice. In any case, today we saw a lot of crashes so making it to the finish was important. We made it and we are pleased because we were able to gain more experience with the bike and other valuable data to improve in the coming rounds. In the finale I had fun battling it out with Miller. I felt like I was faster than him and in the end, after overtaking one another several times, two laps from the end I managed to pull ahead a bit to finish in the top ten.”

MARCO MELANDRI

“I had a setup that was different than usual and I was hoping to take a step forward, but unfortunately hard luck reared its ugly head with a problem in the gearbox between third and fourth from the first lap. Anyway, that's normal considering the fact that this is only the second GP for the seamless gearbox. We'll see about continuing the work we weren't able to complete today in the tests tomorrow. Congratulations to Bautista for finishing in the top ten. That's a good sign for everyone.”

Around 500 Veteran and Vintage motorcycles will ride out together when the Heritage Motor Centre hosts the nostalgic Vintage Motor Cycle Club Banbury Run on Saturday 21 June. Visitors will be able to see the motorcycles start and finish at the Museum. The event, now in its 67th year, is the largest gathering of pre-1931 motorcycles & 3-wheelers in the world.

The Banbury Run is aimed at those who enjoy the thrill of riding with other Vintage, Veteran & Pioneer bikes. In addition to the Run, there will also be Club and Trade Stands, over 100 Autojumble pitches and special interest displays.

Tom Caren, Show Manager for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “The Banbury Run is a great day out for those participating and those watching the bikes. Seeing hundreds of vintage motorcycles ride together is a spectacle not to be missed!”

The Museum will be open from 10am – 5pm with the Banbury Run beginning at 10am. Riders will start at 5 per minute. Tickets for the Run cost £6 in advance or £8 on the day for adults, children and concessions and £25 for a family on the day.

For more information about the Heritage Motor Centre please visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or call 01926 641188.