I set off from Barnstaple at 1:00pm on Friday heading to Glasgow and arrived at 11:30pm.

Set off from Glasgow at 8:20am on the Saturday morning and arrived at John O'Groats at 9:30pm Saturday.

On the Sunday morning after a photo shoot at the John O'Groats sign I left at 9:30am and arrived home in Barnstaple at 2:30am on the Monday morning. That was 17 hours with only comfort breaks.

Why?!?!

Because it was there.

Marc Kent

Derek Sheils, the man who won two Irish and one Ulster road racing titles this year, has agreed to ride for John Burrows' Tyrone based road racing outfit again for the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and other road races. Another great fillip for the team is the confirmation that Cookstown will continue as title sponsor for an amazing seventh consecutive year.  

John Burrows said:

"I'm extremely happy to announce that Derek Sheils will be the lead rider for Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing in 2017. I'm delighted to have him back as it gives us continuity that we didn't always have in the past. We know Derek, he know the team and the bikes so we are ready to go already.

"Derek will have Superbike, Supersport 600, Superstock and Supertwins machinery at his disposal for the Isle of Man TT, Ulster GP and the Irish Championship meetings. It has yet to be decided if we will compete at the North West 200. We may field a second rider at certain events if the opportunity arises.

"Derek won the Irish and Ulster Superbike titles in 2016 as well as the Irish Supertwins crown and also claimed his first International rostrum when he finished second in the UGP Supertwins race. Next year Derek and the team will focus on gaining more International success and we will have a crack at the Irish Superbike, Supersport and Supertwins championships - that would be a difficult hat-trick to achieve but it's a challenge we are up for.

"Derek joined the 130 mph club at Dundrod this year and I'm confident he can rise to the same mark at the TT in 2017. At both International events Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing will be aiming to be at the top end of the result sheets.

"Finally, it's marvellous to have Cookstown giving us their backing once again. Their continued support has helped us go from strength to strength during the last seven years. We will also have substantial support from Hagan Homes and NMT Shipping. Thanks to all the team's supporters without whom our successes would not be possible."

Conor Cummins, William Dunlop, Steve Mercer and David Johnson rounded out the top ten, having missed out in the morning’s race.

Hutchinson has now moved to the top of the race for the Joey Dunlop Championship with 70 points and with Dunlop retiring, Harrison movea up to second on 47 points with Dunlop remaining on 45 in third.

Meanwhile, Dan Hegarty was again the top privateer in an excellent 11th place. Horst Saiger was the second privateer home in 13th overall with Jamie Coward third and 14th overall.

Hegarty leads the overall privateers table on 50pts followed by Coward on 47 and Saiger 46.

Dubliner Sheils commented:

"I had a great year with Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing in 2016 and I'm delighted to be staying with the team for another campaign. John Burrows has assembled a great crew who are very professional and keep on top of things, when I go out on track I know I will have a great bike underneath me. Winning three titles last year was good but the most satisfying thing for me was my improved International performances and my 131 mph lap at the Ulster GP.

"Next year my focus will be on getting near the sharp end in every International race I take part in. At the TT I'm aiming for top ten finishes but with the quality in every race I know that won't be easy. I know my package will be good enough but sometimes at the TT you need a bit of luck as well.

"At home it would be nice to retain the titles I won in 2016 but I will just take each National meeting as it comes. If I win races every weekend then the championships will take care of themselves."

Derek Sheils will ride the Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing Suzuki GSXR 1000 Superbike in the 50th Macau GP on November 19th. It will be Sheils' first appearance at the famous Far East race.

Mitas, part of Trelleborg Group, is extending its adventure tyre range by adding two new sizes to TERRA FORCE-R and two sizes to E-10 tread patterns.  

In addition, TERRA FORCE-R is featuring the all new Optimum Steel Cord Technology (OSCT), which ensures optimal contact area between the tyre and the surface in all driving conditions. All innovations from the adventure, on-road and off-road Mitas tyre ranges will be displayed at the Mitas stand, L52, in hall 10 of EICMA fairground.

Ksenija Bitenc, Director of Motorcycle Tyres and Tubes Product Area, said: “Our aim is to strengthen Mitas in the adventure segment by offering riders complete range of tyre sizes. The extension of TERRA FORCE-R and E-10 tread patterns demonstrates our strategy.” 

The Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy will be taking centre stage at Motorcycle Live held at the Birmingham NEC from the 19th to the 27th November, with the final day being billed as a special TT Day.

Visitors to the Isle of Man stand 3H30 in Hall 3 will have the chance to hear the intimate thoughts of some of the leading TT stars as they personally talk through stunning on board laps of the course from this year’s races on the stand’s HD big screen in real time.

The highlight will undoubtedly be Michael Dunlop who will be voicing his incredible outright lap record from this year, which saw the Northern Irishman become the first rider to post a sub seventeen-minute lap of the TT Mountain Course.

Others who will be sharing their tricks of the trade include 23 time race winner John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson, who will talk through his remarkable Superstock lap record lap from this year’s meeting, as well as TT race winners Ivan Lintin and James Hillier. 

And if you ever wondered what it feels like to race a sidecar around the 37¾ mile course, you’ll get the chance to get up close and personal with the Birchall brothers Ben and Tom, as well as veteran campaigner, and current overall sidecar Champion John Holden, as they give their unique perspective on race winning laps from 2016.

Signing sessions are planned every day of the show on the Isle of Man TT stand and you will be first to hear the latest news and announcements about the 2017 TT Races and Classic TT Races with many of the riders who made the Mountain Course headlines in 2016 appearing in chat shows with ITV4 commentators James Whitham and Steve Parrish. 

You’ll also get the chance to discuss tickets, travel and accommodation packages with Regency Travel, the TT’s Official Travel Partner and you can also book your grandstand, hospitality and special event tickets on the newly designed iomtt.com website which will launch on Friday 18th November, ahead of the first day of the show.

The stand will also have many of the TT and Classic TT winning bikes including Michael Dunlop’s double TT race winning Hawk Racing BMW Superbike, and the Team Traction Control R6 Yamaha machine on which Ian Hutchinson won both of this year’s Monster Energy Supersport Races. The lap record-breaking sidecar machine that the Birchall brothers raced in winning this year’s Sure Sidecar Race 2, will also be on the stand.

Belgian team Sarolea’s 2017 spec TT Zero machine will be representing the latest technology while nostalgia fans will undoubtedly enjoy the chance to see Team Classic Suzuki’s Classic Superbike TT winning Suzuki XR69 GSXR100 and Valvoline Racing by Padgett’s Motorcycles 250 Honda ridden to race wins by Michael Dunlop and Bruce Anstey respectively at this year’s Classic TT meeting.

The centrepiece of the stand will be the iconic Senior TT Trophy that has been awarded at every TT since 1907. The trophy’s base is engraved with the names some of the most legendary riders in motorcycle racing history including Stanley Woods, John Surtees, Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Joey Dunlop, John Surtees, David Jefferies and John McGuinness and you’ll have the chance to have your picture taken with this stunning piece of history.

The full list of confirmed TT riders to appear during the show is:

SATURDAY 19th NOVEMBER / OPENING DAY
Michael Dunlop - James Hillier - Dean Harrison - Josh Brookes - Maria Costello MBE

SUNDAY 20th NOVEMBER - CLASSIC TT DAY
Michael Dunlop - James Hillier - Dean Harrison - Josh Brookes

MONDAY 21st NOVEMBER
William Dunlop - Lee Johnston

TUESDAY 22nd NOVEMBER
Lee Johnston - Carl Fogarty    

WEDNESDAY 23rd NOVEMBER 
Carl Fogarty - Michael Rutter - Ian Hutchinson - Maria Costello MBE

THURSDAY 24th NOVEMBER
Bruce Anstey - Dan Hegarty

FRIDAY 25th NOVEMBER
Steve Mercer - Jamie Coward

SATURDAY 26th NOVEMBER
John McGuinness - Ian Hutchinson - Dean Harrison - Conor Cummins - Ivan Lintin - Dave Molyneux - Tim Reeves - Ben and Tom Birchall - John Holden - Steve Mercer - Maria Costello MBE

SUNDAY 27th NOVEMBER- TT DAY
John McGuinness - Ian Hutchinson - Dean Harrison - Conor Cummins - Ivan Lintin - Dave Molyneux - Tim Reeves - Ben and Tom Birchall - John Holden - Maria Costello MBE

www.iomtt.com

SIXTH ROW FOR THE APRILIA RS-GP MACHINES IN THE SPECIAL (RED) LIVERY

The Aprilia RS-GP bikes, once again in their red livery today to celebrate (RED), will start from the sixth row tomorrow for the Valencia GP that closes the curtain on the 2016 MotoGP season.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders dedicated the final free practice sessions to solving the grip problems highlighted in the Friday sessions. In the qualifying session, the one that decides the starting grid order tomorrow, Bautista had the right confidence, but then he slid out on turn five, just as he was putting in his best performance, interrupting his efforts for a spot farther forward on the grid. This means that he is forced to settle for the time he made in his first Q1 run (18th at 1’31.847) that places him on the sixth row. Stefan Bradl did better with 1’31.813, overtaking his teammate by one spot on the grid, where he will start alongside him on the sixth row.

The Aprilia RS-GP stand out during the Valencia weekend with an entirely red livery, without any other sponsors or even the Aprilia logo, in order to celebrate (RED), the organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver that, with $360 million in assistance, has contributed to the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in African countries since 2006.

#iRideRED is the hashtag that all of the fans can share on social media in order to show their support for this cause.

ALVARO BAUTISTA
"In FP3 and FP4, we tried some different settings and in the end I felt good with them, lapping well in the low 32s and feeling confident with the bike. That is how I went into qualifying, but with the first tyre I felt a slight vibration that kept me from pushing too hard. With the second tyre I felt good straight away. I did a lap without pushing, just to warm up the tyres, and I was already on the same level as my best time. But when I started to push, I fell on turn five. A pity, because I could have even shaved off half a second. But I am still optimistic. I have a good pace and in the past we have already shown that we can make up a lot of positions in the race".

STEFAN BRADL
"Today did not go extremely well. Despite trying a lot of changes in terms of balance, we were unable to entirely solve the difficulty in getting the bike to turn. This penalized us more than we had expected it to in qualifying, where we struggled and were unable to improve as much as the others did. On the other hand, our pace is not bad. We are able to be consistent even with used tyres, but today the flying lap just wasn't there. I'm sure that we will be able to make up a few positions in the race".