On Saturday June 3rd, the UEFA Champions League Final will be held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Welsh capital city and two-time European Capital of Sport. For bikers around the UK and beyond this means only one thing: it's road trip time! 

If ever we needed an excuse to get on our motorcycles, then this is it. The Champions League is a football match of the highest calibre, an international sporting event held right on our doorstep. It would be rude not to get involved.

And here's the way to get involved, whether you are a fan of the beautiful game or not. Get on the blower to your friends, get on your motorcycle, and take a planned route down to Cardiff to see what the fuss is all about.

If you are riding from London, the fastest and most direct route is to take the M4 through Reading and Swindon, and carry on straight through to newport and Cardiff. This ride is about 150 miles and won't take long if you put your foot down.

But we're not always about the most direct route. As you all know, the pleasure is in the ride itself, not just in arriving at the destination. Consider heading towards Oxford, either using the M40 or by taking smaller roads if you prefer, and then jump on the A40 to enjoy the AONB the Cotswolds. Take a further detour and go around the River Seven at Gloucester. From here, you can drive through the stunning Wye Valley before arriving in Cardiff.

A road trip from the North of the UK also offers equally promising opportunities for scenery and the freedom of the road. The most direct route is to take the M6 to Birmingham and then the M5 to Ross on Wye before joining the M4 to Cardiff, but this is not the route that we recommend. There are much more attractive options.   

Instead, take the A55 at Chester along the north coast of Wales towards Bangor. This is great road for thrills and ocean views. From Bangor, you can either continue around the whole of the Welsh coastline until you hit Cardiff in the south, or you can cut through Snowdonia National Park to take to the lonely mountain roads and then head on through Brecon Beacons. Both are stunning options. 

Once you reach Cardiff you will need somewhere to stay, and even if you plan on staying at a campsite or a B&B that is far out of the city you should consider booking long in advance to secure accommodation. There are plenty of options available both indoors and outdoors. If you prefer a quieter location away from the football crowds (to get the best of both worlds), then consider a stay at nearby Newport, or venture further into the countryside and stay at the Afan Forest Park or Brecon Beacons.

Tickets for the Champions League Final are no longer available through UEFA, but some will be available to the public and sold by the semi-final winners.

You don't have to have a ticket to enjoy the final. The atmosphere around Cardiff is set to be electric, and there will be plenty of pubs and venues to enjoy the game. You could also consider taking a bet on the outcome to increase the adrenaline. Real Madrid and Juventus are currently joint favorites to win the competition, though Atletico Madrid and Monaco are both worthy competitors.

There are four excellent teams left in the competition this year, and a great UK city to host the game. Motorcycle enthusiasts – it's time to start planning the road to the Cardiff Champions League Final! 

You've Been Nabbed 26 (5th – 7th May 2017)
The Cheshire Showground, Tabley, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0HJ

The entrance to the Showground is on Pickmere Lane adjacent to the end of Flittogate Lane. (Not far from Junction 19, M6). Please note that the postcode above will take you to the wrong end of Flittogate Lane.

For several very valid reasons we have been asked by the Police and the Highways people at Cheshire East Council not to use the Windmill Pub junction of the A556 and Pickmere Lane for event traffic coming from the M6 junction 19 roundabout.

If you are coming from the direction of the J19 M6 roundabout you should follow the ‘NABD’ signs along the A556 then fork right onto the A559 into Lostock Gralam for a 3/4mile, then turn right onto Hall Lane. At the first crossroad turn right onto Pickmere Lane the Showground Entrance is on the right two-miles along Pickmere Lane.

Please Note: There is no right turn permitted into Flittogate Lane off the A556.

If you are travelling on the A556 from the direction of Davenham & Chester you can turn left into Flittogate Lane then follow it to the T-junction at the other end and the entrance is 20 yards to your left.

These routes will be signed with “NABD” directional signs.

Be Aware- There are quite a few speed cameras on the A556 in both the Manchester and Chester directions.

The site will be open for Traders and Marshals only from 12:00 noon on Thursday, May 4th.

The rally will officially open to the public at 12:00 noon on Friday, May 5th.

Please remember that NO ALCOHOL OR GLASS BOTTLES will be permitted through the gate (don’t panic the bar prices will be cheap). Please respect this – anyone found with alcohol NOT purchased at the rally will have the items confiscated or be asked to leave the rally.

The enclosed tickets must be handed over for entry to the event. No refunds will be made before, at or after the event for any reason.

Please remember no dogs will be permitted on site (except licensed disability assistance dogs, by prior arrangement only).

If you wish to leave the site at any time please ensure you collect a pass-out from the gate or you will be charged for re-entry.

Car passes can be purchased at the gate (previous restrictions have been lifted). Caravans/mobile homes still need to purchase passes via the NABD office or website. Blue badge holders do not need a car pass, however, they do need their blue badge with them when entering with their vehicle.

We reserve the right to check vehicles for alcohol and/or dogs when you enter the site.

See www.nabd.org.uk for tickets and other info:

Ride Safe, Arrive Safe, And Party With A Purpose!

Rick Hulse
NABD Chairman

ESPARGARÓ FINISHES THE RACE DESPITE A PIT STOP - LOWES CRASHES IN THE 12TH LAP

ALBESIANO: “WE HAD THE POTENTIAL TO STAY IN THE TOP TEN”

You need to search through the various sessions of the Texan weekend between practice, qualifying and the race to “filter” the performance of Aleix Espargaró and his RS-GP from the extraordinary chain of adverse events that clipped the wings of his ambition. Having started from the last spot on the grid for not having participated in the qualifiers on Saturday, Aleix found his pace after a few laps, catching up to 15th position. His times, improving decisively, even made a top-ten finish seem possible, something that would have been quite an undertaking. Instead, from the seventh lap, problems with the front end first slowed him visibly and then forced him to pit lane.

After changing the tyre and re-joining, without any more hope of a placement, Aleix lapped at a pace even better than the riders who were battling for tenth. This feedback and the times in the Sunday warm-up, the only positive notes on a weekend that was difficult like few others for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, confirm the potential of the Espargaró-Aprilia duo. Sam Lowes' race came to an early end after a crash when, after finding his pace, he had moved in behind Smith just behind the points zone.

Now it is time to head for Europe, with two days of testing at Mugello on Wednesday and Thursday. The goal is to pick up from all the positive that had been demonstrated in the first two rounds of the season.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"From the first laps I had a bad feeling with the front tyre. I kept losing it. I thought maybe it was because of the full tank, but things got worse lap after lap, so much that at a certain point I was no longer riding but just trying not to crash. Making a pit stop is always the last thought for me. It seems like a lack of respect for the work my team has done, but today I had no choice. When I re-joined with a new tyre, I lapped at my own pace without pushing, with the times we had expected. Now I want to forget this weekend quickly. In two days we will be on the track at Mugello to continue working and to be ready for the European races."

SAM LOWES
"I think that today was the slowest crash of my career. To be honest, it was a strange weekend for us. Even in the race, the harder front tyre was perfect on the left side in terms of feeling, whereas on the right I wasn't able to ride. The pace was what I had expected. I was able to stay in the group that was battling for points and despite a mistake in the early stages, I had managed to close the gap. Even on a weekend like this one, we were still able to take a few steps forward. My goal is to stay focused and to continue working with my team so that I can get to the point of exploiting the full potential of my RS-GP."

ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
"Even with the handicap of a start from the last spot on the grid, we had the potential for a top-ten race, but instead Aleix had a problem with the front. After replacing the tyre he found the sensations and the times we expected, the ones from warm-up where he finished in ninth place. Sure, it was a particular track, with bumps and different grip than the previous tracks, which put us to the test, but without everything that happened to us, we were definitely capable of finishing in the top ten. But even here, we learned something and now we are headed to Europe confident because of what we demonstrated until now and even hoping that this whole series of episodes that hindered us here is over."

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"The many crashes in practice conditioned the entire weekend, both for Aleix and Sam. When you begin like that, it makes everything harder. It's like starting on an uphill slope. The team was unable to work at their best for the race. But even an unlucky weekend has plenty to teach us and it has to be used to continue improving. Now we are waiting for the European races so we can leave this weekend behind us, well aware of our potential."

ESPARGARÓ HARD AT WORK ON HIS RS-GP, GRIP AND FRONT SETTINGS ARE THE ISSUES TO RESOLVE

LOWES IMPROVES FROM ONE FRIDAY SESSION TO THE NEXT

Partly due to the Texan track, which proved to be in less than stellar conditions, the first day of practice for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini was spent looking for the best setup on the RS-GP machines ridden by Espargaró and Lowes. The Circuit of the Americas in Austin was found in much different conditions than in 2016, with a series of bumps and dips. The two free practice sessions were therefore dedicated to finding the right settings for the front end in order to handle this irregularity of the American track and to a series of comparative tests to choose the rear tyre.

Aleix Espargaró, fresh from two encouraging performances in the initial races of the season, finished FP1 in ninth place (time: 2’06.411) and FP2 in fourteenth with 2’05.468. The standings are very tight, with 11 riders “squeezed” into 2’05. An improvement of a few tenths could be decisive in the final free practice session tomorrow that will determine who goes through to Q2. Sam Lowes continues his bike and category apprenticeship. His 2’06.741 in FP2 demonstrates a clear improvement compared to his 2’08.292 in the morning.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"It was certainly not our best day of practice. I struggled, especially with front end stability. We also had some trouble with direction changes. The RS-GP is still not as agile as I would like it to be. Now the guys on the team will analyse the data. I think for tomorrow that we will work on the geometry and on weight distribution. Rear tyre choice, on the other hand, shouldn't be a problem. I tried two options and both felt good, so we will focus on the feeling with the front end, which is our main problem for now."

SAM LOWES
"The second session went rather well. I was able to improve both in terms of time and my feeling. As often happens, our pace is better than our flying lap. I must say that this is a demanding track with the MotoGP bike, but these are difficulties that help me to improve quickly, changing lines, riding style and my position in the saddle. The track has a lot of dips and our bike is usually stable, but here we will need to work on absorbing the bumps. I think it is a problem that a lot of the riders will have. We will try to solve it by both working on the setup and by trying to change a few trajectories."

The Monster Energy Supersport 600cc races received more entries than any of the other classes at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, and the two four-lap races see minor changes from the 1000cc bikes in the order among the twenty seeded riders.

The man to beat is undoubtedly Ian Hutchinson.  The ‘Bingley Bullet’ has won the last four 600cc TT races with doubles in both 2015 and 2016. He will again be riding for Keith Flint’s Team Traction Control Yamaha team and, with seven wins in the class already - half of his 14 TT career victories - he will start the races as the clear favourite. As in the 1000cc races, he will have the number four plate.

The rider with the honour of starting at number one on this occasion is Lee Johnston. The Ulsterman will be leading the field away for the first time in his TT career. Riding the Jackson Racing Honda, Johnston is still seeking his first podium in the class and 2017 could well be the year he achieves it.

Bruce Anstey (Padgetts Honda) and James Hillier (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), the next two riders on the grid, will have the same start position as the three 1000cc races. Anstey won the race for the Batley-based team in 2011 and 2012 and has taken no less than six successive second places between 2013 and 2015 so will be a major threat. Hillier enjoyed strong runs in the two races in 2016, finishing second and fourth and clocking a new personal best 600cc lap marginally under 127mph.

John McGuinness (Jackson Racing Honda), Michael Dunlop (MD Racing Yamaha) and Conor Cummins (Padgetts Honda) continue at numbers five, six and seven respectively and although Dunlop hasn’t won a 600cc race since 2014 he still holds the lap record of 128.666 (17:35.659), which he set in 2013.  He will be keen to get back to winning ways after the controversy of last year that saw the Northern Ireland rider disqualified from the opening race.

Gary Johnson moves back into the top ten for the Supersport races with the Lincolnshire rider taking the number eight plate. He continues with Triumph machinery, this time riding the bikes campaigned in 2016 by Lee Johnston, and having been victorious twice already, in 2011 and 2014, he certainly cannot be discounted.

Dean Harrison will start at number nine on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki and, with two podiums in last year’s corresponding races, he will be firmly gunning for his second TT win. Peter Hickman, the second Triumph rider in the top ten, goes ten seconds behind Harrison and his Smiths Racing team have already won the race in 2014 with Johnson.

Michael Rutter, who posted his best ever 600cc lap at more than 125mph in 2015, retains the same number 11 slot. He will be riding a Yamaha for former racer Stephen Thompson. David Johnson starts ten seconds behind Rutter although the Norton Racing rider has yet to confirm his ride for the middleweight division.

Jamie Coward will take the number 13, usually run by Johnston with the Radcliffe Racing rider becoming a seeded rider for the first time – recognition for his results in 2016 when he took a pair of 12th placed finishes and lapped in excess of 124mph.

Three historically fast riders follow Coward although two of them – Dan Kneen (14) and Josh Brookes (16) are still searching for competitive mounts. Another potential winner, William Dunlop, riding the Caffrey International Yamaha, bisects the pair.

Steve Mercer and Martin Jessopp will start at number 17 and 18 on the Devitt RC Express Racing Kawasaki and Riders Motorcycles Triumph respectively with further changes from the 1000’s start list at 19 and 20. James Cowton will start from number 19 on the McAdoo Racing Kawasaki with Dan Cooper setting off at number 20. Dan Hegarty and Ivan Lintin, both seeded riders in the 1000cc classes, drop out of the top twenty for the Monster Energy Supersport Races.