This charming book, packed with unique artwork and engaging photographs, celebrates scooter mania. In a feast of nostalgia, it takes us through the evolution of the scooter, focusing naturally on all things Lambretta and Vespa, but also covering plenty of obscure and eccentric machinery along the way. Scooter enthusiasm in all its forms receives generous attention, whether as fashion accessory for fifties movie stars, style-conscious transport choice for the Mod generation, or object of worship for today’s retro-loving adherents. Quotes in the book such as “The scooters, clothes and music — an unforgettable time of my life” and “Exciting, fun and carefree days when anything seemed possible” sum up the enduring appeal of classic scooters. Anyone afflicted with the obsession will adore this book.  

Key content
• Scooters take off: rising from the rubble of post-war Italy, Piaggio emerged first with its Vespa (meaning ‘wasp’), soon followed by Innocenti and its Lambretta (named after a Milan suburb).
• Evolution: numerous Lambretta and Vespa models over the years are illustrated and explained, accompanied by a look at the myriad accessories available for them. 
• Not just in Italy: a survey of classic-era scooters from Britain (such as Brockhouse Corgi, Sun Wasp and Triumph Tigress), Germany (such as Glas Goggo, Zündapp Bella and Heinkel Tourist), Japan (such as Fuji Rabbit, Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon and Honda Juno) and elsewhere.
• Mod culture: emerging in the sixties and entwined with music and fashion, it made a unique contribution to scooter fandom that has since embraced the globe.
• Scooters as classics: the resurgence of interest since the late seventies and all that has come with it, from restoration and racing to customising and clubs.
• Scooter tales worldwide: Cesare Bataglini’s round-the-world Lambretta odyssey; Mod revivalists in Tokyo; elderly scooters soldiering on in Africa; Indonesia’s Rebel Riders and their crazy Vespa-derived creations; scaling Ben Nevis on a Lambretta; and much more.

Author
Like every boy in the 1950s, Barry John knew the names of John Cobb and Malcolm Campbell and possessed battered Dinky toys of their cars. His fascination with record-breaking has persisted to this day and led to his first book, Quest for Speed (Evro, 2020), which he wrote, illustrated and designed himself. Riding various scooters in the 1960s sparked another lifelong interest and now he has applied his professional skills — he studied at Harrow School of Art and worked as a graphic designer — to his love of scooter culture. He lives in Kent.

• Tommy Bridewell scores three second place finishes at Brands Hatch
• Tommy Bridewell finishes second in the BSB Championship
• Christian Iddon and Josh Brookes finish fourth and sixth in the BSB Championship respectively

Race 1
Tommy Bridewell and Christian Iddon both needed strong results to keep their title hopes alive going into race 1 of the final round at Brands Hatch.
VisionTrack Ducati’s Iddon took the early lead passing Mackenzie in Druids on the opening lap. By Lap 4 Bridewell was into third on his Oxford Products Racing Ducati behind Iddon and Mackenzie, only for the safety car to come out later that lap following a crash by Josh Owens (Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki).
The safety car came in on Lap 7, but Iddon was not able to keep the same pace and Mackenzie took the lead a couple of laps later. Bridewell then got past Iddon on Lap 12 on the run up to Druids, with the riders briefly making contact. 
The Title Fighter trio went on to take the chequered flag in those same positions, with Mackenzie extending his championship lead.

Race 2
Oxford Products Racing Ducati Racing’s Tommy Bridewell ran another fantastic race at Brands Hatch in Race 2 taking a second-place finish behind Tarran Mackenzie.
Bridewell had put in a great move on the opening lap to overtake both Mackenzie and Christian Iddon along the Cooper Straight to take the lead into Surtees, starting his second lap with a 0.597s advantage.
But by half race distance the gap between Bridewell and Mackenzie was reduced to 0.171s with Mackenzie taking the lead back on Lap 12. Bridewell made another move on Lap 15 to retake the lead at Stirlings, setting up a thrilling final as he needed to beat Mackenzie if he was to keep any title hopes alive. But Mackenzie got great drive out the last corner on the last lap to take the chequered flag, and the 2021 crown, by 0.087s.

Iddon crossed the line in fourth, his own title hopes also coming to an end, with his VisionTrack Ducati teammate Josh Brookes taking sixth.

Race 3
Tommy Bridewell completed his final race of the season with another podium position, finishing second at Brands Hatch for the third time this weekend.
In a repeat of Race 2 Bridewell led for most of the race but was unable to provide an answer to newly-crowned Mackenzie on the McAMS Yamaha.
Bridewell’s final second place ensured that he also secured second in the championship, going one better than the third place he secured with his Ducati team back in 2019.
Iddon was on for another strong finish on the VisionTrack Ducati but a late incident with SYNETIQ BMW’s Danny Buchan saw them both crash out of the race.
Josh Brookes had a much better end to his season on his VisionTrack Ducati after getting his best result of the weekend finishing just off the podium in fourth.

Championship positions
1. Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) 1202
2. Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) 1166
3. Jason O'HALLORAN (Yamaha) 1162
4. Christian IDDON (Ducati) 1141
5. Peter HICKMAN (BMW) 1092
6. Josh BROOOKES (Ducati) 1079

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46) – 2nd
“Brands Hatch, phenomenal weekend. To come away with second in the British Superbike championship is a credit to the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team. The team’s done a phenomenal job, the bike was working flawlessly all weekend. We’ve got a bit of work to do for 2022, already thinking about that, but to come away fighting for the race wins, every single race, and to come away second in the championship is a thumbs up from me. Thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it. We’ll see you back in 2022.”

Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati #25) – 4th
“The weekend’s been a reflection of our year in that we’ve been aware of what the problems have been, but we’ve been unable to fully resolve them. We’ve made the best of it and seen progress in the last few rounds with some better results which was how this weekend went. It’s been a constant battle between front and rear end grip and when one’s better, the other’s worse. But we’ve got to the end of the season and I can guarantee everyone, I’ll be back. This year hasn’t been a reflection of myself in terms of my motivation or my desire to win and that’s as strong as I’ve ever so I’m looking forward to the time off and coming back even stronger in 2022.”

Josh Day wraps up his winning Ducati Cup season in style, sharing a win with Chris Walker at Brands Hatch
Chris Walker (4T2 Racing) claimed his second win of the season at Brands at the final British Superbike Round of the season on Saturday.

There was heartbreak in the Autodrome of Most today for the F.C.C. TSR Honda France as the team was forced to retire from the 6 Hours of Most in the last part of the race.

Disappointment for F.C.C. TSR Honda France at the 6 Hours of Most
However, the Japanese team showed another time an outstanding display of teamwork, spirit and determination during the last round of the 2021 FIM World Endurance Championship in the Czech Republic.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France started from fourth place on the starting grid, based on the accumulative times achieved during the two qualifying sessions held on Thursday.

An excellent start by French rider Mike Di Meglio immediately put the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in front of the race, and during the first two hours of the race, the Japanese team was placed in second place.

The Fireblade was doing a very solid race with constant and good lap timings with 1.35 but just entering the third hour of the race, the Japanese rider Yuki Takahashi had a crash that forced the rider to enter the pits.

Although an excellent work from the team to fix the bike, an extended pit stop of almost 17 minutes made the Honda #5 rejoin the race in 23rd position but unfortunately, the team was forced to retired after a technical issue resulting from the crash in the fourth hour when was in 21st position.

Despite the result, Honda’s endurance specialists Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio, and Yuki Takahashi and the entire team end the 2021 FIM EWC season with their heads high and showing superb teamwork throughout all the season.

After a season of highs and lows for the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team, they finished the championship fifth with 91 points in total and are determined to come back stronger for the 2022 season.

Ducati continues on its path of reopening to the public and, after restarting the visits to the Museum in May, the long-awaited tours of the factory in Borgo Panigale will also resume from 11 October.

• The long-awaited guided tours inside the Ducati Factory will resume from 11 October 2021
• Visitors will have the opportunity to walk through the production lines, observing what goes on inside the factory where Ducati motorcycles are created

Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 7 October 2021 – Ducati continues on its path of reopening to the public and, after restarting the visits to the Museum in May, the long-awaited tours of the factory in Borgo Panigale will also resume from 11 October.

During the factory tours, visitors, accompanied by an expert guide, will have the opportunity to walk through the production lines, observing what goes on inside the factory where Ducati motorcycles are created.

Guided tours of the factory can be booked on Monday and Friday, choosing between three visiting shifts in the morning (9.15am - 9.45am - 10.15am) and three in the afternoon (2.30pm - 3pm - 3.30pm). Online booking is required on the dedicated platform for both factory tours and Museum visits.

In order to ensure the safety and health protection of visitors and workers, access to the facility will be possible by reservation only during the hours indicated with a limited number of entries. The presentation of a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate is mandatory, with the exception of children under 12 years and people unfit for vaccination with a medical certificate.

The ticket price for the Ducati Museum entrance only is € 17, while the ticket with combined entrance to the Ducati Museum and guided factory tour is available at € 32.

For more information on visiting hours and days at the Ducati Factory and Museum, visit the dedicated section of the Ducati website.