The Pata Honda World Superbike team has completed a private three-day test at the Circuito Cartagena near Murcia in Spain.

It is the first time that riders Leon Haslam and Jonathan Rea have ridden their new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines since returning from the opening round of the 2014 World Superbike championship at Phillip Island in Australia one month ago.

The pair used the test to continue development of chassis settings on their CBR machines, as well as refining power delivery and traction control. They will stay in Spain this weekend and move further south to Circuito de Jerez for another three-day test which starts next Monday.

Round two of the World Superbike championship will also take place in Spain, at Motorland Aragon on 11-13 April.

Leon Haslam

Yeah, I’m happy with this test and we were able to make some good progress with the overall CBR package. We tested a new swingarm and some other chassis settings and we’re still waiting for one or two other elements to come through. We also worked on traction control which is a lot better now and to go 0.3s under the circuit record was a good way to finish. We’re going to do a bit of cycling before heading down to Jerez and we’ll see what the weather brings us down there.

Jonathan Rea

We’ve made some really good steps here and our test rider, Michele Magnoni, did a really good job over the first couple of days, especially on Wednesday when it was really windy. I rode with some new strategies that he was developing and I’m happy to be able to ride more aggressively on longer runs. The speed over one lap was good, too, but I was more satisfied with the longer runs. We also tried a lot of chassis settings, varying pivot points and things, and the bike is definitely steering better on tighter lines.

Pieter Breddels

It’s been a really good test. I can’t really say much more. Apart from the really strong winds on Wednesday, the weather has allowed us to get through a lot of work and both Jonathan and Leon were able to go faster than the old lap record here at Cartagena. Apart from the chassis settings, we concentrated on throttle opening and getting the traction control to catch slides more predictably. I think both riders are feeling a lot more confident about that. We have three more days testing at Jerez next week but, at the moment, the weather forecast is not looking too good for that, so I’m glad we got this time at Cartagena.

... on 30th March. It leaves Black Swan Horncastle at 10.30am and gathers up more paricipants at Holdingham roundabout Sleaford at 11.15am. Destination fry-up! Somewhere in the Bourne (ish) direction.

Politically Lembit and Leon have done very well getting the Bedford roundabout project postponed - this was going to be a roundabout with raised ridges seperating lane of traffic... imagine that in the dark and wet whilst cranked over.

Things that you don't see are MAG getting it's voice heard in the right places - we have had 3 mentions in "LTT", a publication that Leon Mannings describes as "very anoraky but read by key influencers in UK Transport Policy".

MAG had a stand at the Manchester Bike show where Lembit went down a storm and a lot of interest shown. There's yet another new branch this time in the New Forest.

This is what Lembit had to say in a recent email:

"Although it probably sounds a bit soft to say it, it's an honour to be part of an organisation which unpretentiously moves mountains when it thinks and acts in unison. While there may be a lot of frustrations - the largest one being a lack of time to do everything - I do feel extremely fortunate to be working with Doc Mannings, and for yourselves. It's alright for us to be proud of MAG - and I certainly am". 

Discover the new Dainese GORE-TEX® jackets with Valentino Rossi, Guy Martin, Andrea Iannone and Nicky Hayden. With their claim of “I'm a racer..and I wanna be”, the four Dainese riders invite you to discover the features of the GORE-TEX® jackets from the 2014 collection.

For the Touring market Dainese presents the CARVE MASTER GORE-TEX® and RIDDER GORE-TEX® jackets.

The CARVE MASTER GORE-TEX® jacket has an aggressive look and was designed for those who use their bikes for sports and medium range touring, and for whom ergonomics, comfort and functionality are important. The sporting nature of the jacket is underlined by leather covered thermoplastic pads on the shoulders and by the design that resembles race suit tops.

Made entirely from Mugello elasticised fabric and with plenty of scope for adjustment, the Carve Master jacket provides exceptional mobility. Reflective inserts are positioned in key locations to ensure high visibility and improved safety on the road.

The RIDDER GORE-TEX® jacket was designed for motorcyclists looking for a technical garment to use on long trips, but that will also protect from the rain and cold temperatures. RIDDER has been designed to offer excellent comfort; it has a laminated GORE-TEX® membrane, is waterproof and breathable and has a removable thermal lining.

At the same time it is among the lightest jackets in the category so it does not over strain the body and restrict movement. It also features a padded removable collar, ventilation on the chest and back, many fit adjustments, the possibility of including the Chest Protector and reflective inserts make this jacket an inseparable travelling companion.

For the City market, Dainese has the CONCORDE GORE-TEX® jacket, which with its laminated GORE-TEX® membrane and soft outer fabric, facilitate quick drying and reduce wind-chill. Thanks to exceptional soft Pro-Shape guards made from an innovative material that adapts perfectly to the body and offers a ratio of impact energy absorption to weight, far in excess of our competitors.

This hooded jacket offers a similar fit to non-technical garments, while maintaining contained volume near the protectors. Attention to detail includes the reflective inserts and the black metal opaque logo, which perfectly set off the look of this jacket.

For more information, or to find your local dealer visit www.dainese.com

Now available in UK SHARK dealers is the new Vision-R Series 2 helmet. Designed with touring riders in mind, the helmet sits in the brands Discovery division. Taking features from the original Vision-R, the Series 2 has received some upgrades to make it even better.

The helmet as the name suggests, still benefits from the largest panoramic vision field available on the market. The visor aperture is 25% larger from top to bottom and 10% wider horizontally, compared to that of a standard visor aperture. The extra 10% given to peripheral vision increases lifesaver visibility, which makes the helmet ideal for learners or those new to motorcycling.

The Series 2 has an upgraded ventilation system with improved airflow and bigger vents and operating switches. Noise has also been reduced in the new version and its auto-seal system makes the visor adhere to the helmet, ensuring a better seal and insulation. The visor can also be opened and set into a de-mist position.

For glasses wearers it has SHARK’s Easy Fit system where glasses can sit comfortably into a recessed partition of the helmets lining, which is fully removable and washable. There’s also a handy pocket to fit a SHARKTooth Bluetooth system.

The Vision-R Series 2 is available in a variety of styles and colours, with an RRP of £219.99 for the Blank and Blank Matt versions. The RRP for the Syntic, Synctic Matt, Escapade, Inko, Diekel, Smoke and Smoke Matt is £249.99.

The Vision-R Series 2 is now available in UK dealers, to find your nearest dealer visit www.nevis.uk.com or call 01425 478936.

The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, based at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire has been awarded a Round Two grant of £1.45 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its Museum Collections Centre project, it was announced today. The award is the culmination of more than 2 years work to develop plans for a new building in which to store and display more than 200 historic British cars from the collections of both the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and its partner the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust.

The £4 million project received initial support from HLF in 2011, and the latest HLF grant, together with match funding from Jaguar Land Rover, The Garfield Weston Foundation and both Trusts, will enable work on this exciting new project to begin in the spring of 2014.

The new Museum Collection Centre will enable people to view many cars from the reserve collections of both Trusts for the first time in a purpose-built facility which will also include a vehicle restoration and conservation workshop and space for enhanced education and lifelong learning programmes. In addition, the project will also include an ambitious programme of activities aiming to involve people locally and regionally through outreach and learning events. It will also aid the further development of the Trust’s existing volunteer programme which allows people to become more involved with the collection, by helping with its conservation and interpretation.

Tim Bryan, Head of Collections & Interpretation at the Heritage Motor Centre said: "We are delighted that, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Jaguar Land Rover and our other partners, this exciting project will become a reality. It will allow us to make our collections far more accessible and will enable people to learn more about the motor industry, which has played such an important role in the West Midlands".

Reyahn King, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the West Midlands said: “We are delighted to support this project that not only provides a new and improved display and storage venue for these historic cars, but also creates opportunities for more people to learn about their conservation."