On the 28th of September,  Leighton Hall races back to the spirit of 1969 as hundreds of classic and modern motorbikes race up the drive in an exciting Bike Sprint.

The hall has a history of motor racing sprints, however this is the first time in 45 years that Leighton has been fortunate enough to host such an exhilarating event.

The track stretches for 220 metres with a thrilling 50 - 60 degree bend 50 metres from the start-line, adding extra excitement, as it is not just a straight line sprint. Racing is open to all classes from vintage to modern machines and 3 wheelers (with no cc limit), so all enthusiasts can push their bikes to full throttle. For serious competitors, the times at this event will count towards the North West Sprint Championship.

The action doesn’t stop there though. With commentaries throughout the day, a fantastic collection of trade stands, an autojumble and motorcycle club displays, this show gives visitors a chance to get up close to bikes from every era, including entry into the race paddock. Enthusiastic exhibitors will be talking about their passions, and sharing stories of the golden age of motoring. And they’ll be in good company, as very special guest John McGuinness will be there. Used to reaching speeds of up to 200mph around the TT race track, Leighton Hall’s driveway shouldn’t be too taxing for this superstar of motorsport.

Run in association with Sherrard Classic Vehicle Events and Blackline Sprinting, this thrilling family day out came to fruition after organiser, Ian Sherrard visited Leighton Hall last year. “After attending their classic car event in July, it seemed Leighton Hall was the perfect venue for a motorcycle sprint. It’s going to be wonderful to see (and hear) over 100 motorbikes racing through their beautiful parkland. As many of our bikes are true classics, Leighton steeped in history and heritage seems the perfect backdrop”.

Admission price includes entry to Leighton’s picturesque grounds, gardens and tea rooms (there is a small additional charge of £3 for house tours). Practise and public entry starts from 9:30 and racing starts at 1pm. Onsite catering is available to complement Leighton’s tea rooms. Although (due to health and safety) dogs aren’t allowed, there are lots of outdoor activities for younger visitors to enjoy. Children can let off steam racing around the Caterpillar Maze, Woodland Walk and Tree Face Trail as well as playing in Leighton’s dens and sandpit.

So if the purring of engines sets your pulse racing and the sight of beautifully waxed bikes reaching top speeds catches your eye, Leighton Hall on the 28thof September is the place to be.

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The Leighton Hall Motorcycle Sprint will take place at Leighton Hall, Carnforth on 28th Sept 2014 9:30am – 4pm. Admission is £7.50 for adults and £3.50 for children. Free Parking. Admission price includes entry to grounds, gardens and tea rooms. There is a small additional charge of £3.00 for house tours.

For all enquiries and entry forms, please contact Ian Sherrard on 07836 331324 (daytime) or 01772 323654 (evenings 6pm - 8pm) or visit the webpage at www.leightonhallsprint.co.uk

As the warm weather draws to a close, chances of giving our favourite ponies one final ride are dwindling day by day. If you haven't had the chance to hit the road this summer, there's still time to get your motorbiking fix if you're willing to travel for it and ride on the other side of the road.

The great Route 66 is a path that's been favoured by American bikers for years, but there are also a number of other roads you can take across the land of the free, each with their own exciting stop off points. Here are a just a few stops that you can't afford to miss on the trip of a lifetime.

The Grand Canyon

Thelma and Louise may have put this on the map by driving off it, but you don't have to total your motorcycle to enjoy the views of the Grand Canyon! Situated by the Colorado River in Arizona, this 277-mile long canyon offers outstanding views like no other. There's ample parking on all four sides for your wheels of choice, offering the opportunity to walk, hike, or even fly into and around the Canyon.

Las Vegas

Situated 200 miles from the Grand Canyon, one of Nevada's best gems, Las Vegas, offers the perfect stop off point for bikers. If you head over there quick, you can catch the Las Vegas Bike Fest, which lasts from 2nd-5th October. However, for something a little different, you can't miss any one of the strip's famed casinos, offering more games than you could ever imagine. If the party scene's too much for you, you can always play River Belle's Canadian online casino games in your hotel room, or visit any one of the strip's theatre performances.

Pacific Highway

Perfect for the petrol head driver, the Pacific Highway offers a blend of accommodating stopover spots plus an unforgettable motorbike ride. Over on the west coast, the highway bypasses some of California's most beautiful destinations, including San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. If you're a bit of a tourist at heart, you can't miss an opportunity to walk amongst the stars in Hollywood, where you can find the names of your favourite stars on the Walk of Fame. Wherever you go, just make sure you take the route from north to south – it's a common warning amongst locals that driving the wrong way down the highway will make you miss out on the best views of the sea!

With the abolition of the vehicle tax disc taking effect from 1 October and a flurry of confused people asking about the situation through social media, leading road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists has taken the opportunity to clarify the rules.

Basically you will still need to buy vehicle tax to keep any vehicle on the road. You will still receive a reminder from the DVLA, and you can continue paying using the previous methods. However now you will be able to pay by continuous direct debit – meaning there will never be a risk of forgetting to pay, and driving an untaxed car.

The direct debit will continue as long as there is a valid MOT for the vehicle.

You can apply online to tax your vehicle using the 16 digit reference code from your vehicle tax renewal reminder (V11) or 11 digit reference number from your log book (V5C).

One major change the new road tax rules has created is that vehicle tax can no longer be transferred with the vehicle if you sell it – often an added incentive when purchasing a vehicle. If after 1 October you sell a vehicle and have notified the DLVA, you will automatically receive a refund for any full months remaining on that vehicle tax.

You will now always have to buy new vehicle tax when you purchase a new or used vehicle.

As of 1 October, you will no longer be obliged to display a paper tax disc on your car – so you are free to remove and destroy it. However you might want to keep it as a souvenir, if you are feeling sentimental over the disappearance of an iconic part of UK motoring life!

Simon Best, IAM chief executive, said: “As with all new systems, it will take a little time to get used to. But the move to allow people to set up a direct debit will mean greater peace of mind for many, so your vehicle will never be untaxed.

“However, moving more of these processes online will make things very difficult for those without regular internet access – as ever, the poor and elderly could lose out.

“And it will be interesting to see if some people think that without a visible tax disc it will be easier simply not to buy one. We’ll see in time how effective this has been in catching those who avoid paying.”

For more information visit the website

From 1st October 2014, the paper tax disc will no longer need to be displayed on a vehicle.

If you have a tax disc with any months left to run after this date, then it can be removed from the vehicle and destroyed. This includes customers with a Northern Ireland address, however they will still need to display their MoT disc.

What this means to you

To drive or keep a vehicle on the road you will still need to get vehicle tax and DVLA will still send you a V11 or V85/1 renewal reminder when your vehicle tax is due to expire. This applies to all types of vehicles including those that are exempt from payment of vehicle tax or have a nil rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

See more here

Plus Cholmondeley Castle & Hoghton Tower

Well an interesting and challenging weekend over the August Bank holiday for clubs and enthusiasts, traders and autojumblers, organisers and visitors alike. Sunday was a benign day all over the UK with literally dozens of traders, hundreds of classic cars and bikes and thousands of visitors at our Capesthorne Hall event in the north west and at Blenheim Palace in the south.

At around 8am at Capesthorne Hall the organisers were busy building up the four day “Rewind” music festival for this coming weekend and as I was banging in a £2.50 section sign with a hammer my dad probably bought for about three shillings before the last war, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of plant and machinery was thundering through the site just past my left ear. I must say it did make me question how much I have managed to achieve over the last 30 years but thinking about it further I doubt that any of the visitors to “rewind” will currently be having quite as good a time as the classic car and bike enthusiasts who attended Capesthorne last Sunday. Horses for courses and all that and they didn’t even ask to borrow the hammer…

August bank holiday can be quite a difficult time for show organisers to get new things off the ground given that there is so much on in the calendar and everyone sticks to tried and tested events. It has taken five years of hard work and perseverance but this year we feel that Blenheim has finally become firmly established as the no 1 choice of event for many traders, enthusiasts and public over the bank holiday weekend. The turn out on Sunday was simply brilliant with all manner of classics from the Rolls Royce EC and Oxford Motor club etc but Monday was the really interesting day. Thanks to the met office & BBC weather everyone knew that Monday was going to be a wall of water from one end of the UK to the other and lo it came to pass.

However thanks to the hard work of Les Clayton in the arena and an impressive turn out of vehicles from the TVR car club we had an unexpectedly good show at Blenheim and managed to keep the event going until 2.30pm. Much the same story at Thoresby where we were 80% down on trade and visitors, and 100% down on ice cream vendors and bouncy castle providers! The next time a jumbler says to me “we always support you at Thoresby no matter what the weather” you might just see me raise an eyebrow or two. However the clubs and enthusiasts did come along with perhaps a total of two or three hundred cars and two motorbikes (count them) in total on site, all huddled together for warmth. Again Richard Lee and his team in the arena deserve a mention in dispatches for keeping the arena going until 2pm long after even I wanted to go home. In mitigation I did have a heavy cold but being a man I just soldiered on to the bitter end without hardly ever mentioning it at all.

So that’s the bank holiday shows over for another year and time to move on to our biggest one day event of the summer at Cholmondeley Castle this coming Sunday, 31st August. We have over 980 classic cars booked in to attend with around 40 owners clubs and we can accommodate classic cars that turn up on the day in our overspill classic car park. The bike section is always full to bursting with some impressive machinery and we always have an excellent trade and autojumble turn going right around the show field, well worth a visit in it’s own right. Set up for traders is 2pm to 7pm on Saturday and from 7am on Sunday morning. The following weekend we are at Hoghton Tower near Preston for our last all outdoor event of the year. Over the years we have had very good events at Hoghton in September and one or two very bad ones as well so fingers crossed but as always the weather decides.