Michael Dunlop shattered his own outright lap record in Friday’s Pokerstars Senior TT, the final race of the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, as the Hawk Racing BMW rider lapped at 133.962mph on his way to his 13th TT victory. In a repeat of Saturday’s RST Superbike race, Dunlop got the better of Ian Hutchinson and John McGuinness with his eventual winning margin a commanding 31.4s. 

With morning delays, the race finally got underway at 3.45pm and at Glen Helen on the first lap, Dunlop had already established a healthy 1.8s lead over Hutchinson with Harrison a further 1.6s behind in third as Lee Johnston, Gary Johnson and Peter Hickman rounded out the top six, just six seconds covering the top ten.

Dunlop was really pressing on but having doubled his lead by the time they jumped Ballaugh Bridge, Hutchinson had reduced it again at Ramsey to 2.9s while Johnson moved up to third ahead of Hickman, Bruce Anstey and Dean Harrison.

With an opening lap speed of 133.256mph, Dunlop led Hutchinson by 2.8s with the leaderboard places behind the leading pair constantly changing. Hickman had moved into third, eight seconds down on Hutchinson, with fourth to sixth now seeing Anstey, Johnson and Harrison occupying the places.

Hutchinson grabbed the lead on the road on the second lap but he was unable to make any inroads into Dunlop’s time and all the way round the lap, the Ulsterman’s advantage grew. Indeed, with yet another new outright lap record of 133.962mph, Dunlop led his BMW rival by a commanding 9.2s as they made their first pit stop at the end of the lap.

There was change further behind though as Anstey moved up to third, albeit almost 26 seconds behind Hutchinson, after Hickman retired at Brandywell. John McGuinness, down in ninth at the end of the first lap, had jumped up the order to fourth with Harrison in fifth and Johnson now in sixth.

The pit stops saw Dunlop and Hutchinson maintain their first and second place positions but McGuinness’ crew again worked wonders and that helped him take over third by the time he reached Glen Helen on lap three, with the Morecambe man now some 6.7s clear of Anstey. Johnson’s good run ended though with a retirement at Appledene while David Johnson slid off the Norton at Sulby Bridge after posting a 130mph lap on his opening lap.

At half race distance, Dunlop had stretched out his lead slightly to 11.2s and now almost had Hutchinson in his sights on the road. McGuinness had also pulled away from Anstey with the difference between the two Honda riders having gone out to 11.8s. Harrison was holding station in fifth with Conor Cummins moving up to sixth.

Coming into the second pit stop and two-thirds race distance at the end of lap four, Dunlop still didn’t have full control of the race as the gap was still only 10.6s. Hutchinson and McGuinness were circulating on the road together and looked secure in second and third with the lower leaderboard places also becoming more settled, Anstey, Harrison and Cummins still occupying fourth to sixth.

Dunlop’s team got him in and out quicker than Hutchinson and his lead grew by an additional five seconds. Indeed, he now had him firmly in his sights on the roads and was able to ride accordingly for the final lap and a half, eventually overhauling both Hutchinson and McGuinness on the road too.

He eventually took the chequered flag from Hutchinson by over twenty seconds with McGuinness taking his 46th TT podium in third. Harrison grabbed hold of fourth on the penultimate lap from Anstey as Cummins, Rutter, Johnston, James Hillier and Ivan Lintin rounded out the top ten.

The results saw Hutchinson end with 115 points to be a comfortable winner of the Joey Dunlop TT Championship with Harrison second on 80 and Dunlop third with 70.

Meanwhile, Dan Hegarty was the first privateer to finish in an excellent 11th and that saw him clinch the TT Privateer’s Championship with 91 points to Jamie Coward’s 72.

Ace Cafe London's annual Triumph Day, Sunday 12th June, this year includes with Dave Lilley and his team with stand and display from the Triumph dealership Jack Lilley Ashford, along with intrepid two wheel traveller and writer Zoe Cano signing copies of her books, and confirmed attendance includes with West Middlesex Triumph Owners MCC, Mk1 Speed Triple Owners Club and Triumph Tiger Cub magazine and spares – spanning Triumphs unique history and range!

Three "Ace" goodies packs are up for grabs as raffle prizes at the cafe and each of the three prize packs will include items from Jack Lilley, a Zoe Cano book and a pair of tickets to attend the cafe's annual Stunt Fest & Streetfighter Show, Wembley, Sunday 17th July.
One of the prize packs will include a pair of tickets to attend the forthcoming “Simply Bikes Show” at Beaulieu, home of the National Motor Museum, on Sunday 10th July!

Spend £5 or more over the counter from 9am and receive a raffle ticket.

Draw to be held at 3pm.

www.ace-cafe-london.com

500 Veteran and Vintage motorcycles will ride out as a group when the British Motor Museum hosts the nostalgic Vintage Motor Cycle Club Banbury Run on Sunday 19th June. Now in its 68th year, it is the largest gathering of pre-1931 motorcycles & 3-wheelers in the world and visitors will be able to see the motorcycles start and finish at the Museum.

The Banbury Run is aimed at those who enjoy the thrill of riding with other Vintage, Veteran & Pioneer bikes. In addition to the Run, there will also be Club and Trade Stands, 100 Autojumble pitches and special interest displays within the Museum grounds. Camping is also available on the Saturday and Sunday night. 

Tom Caren, Show Manager at the British Motor Museum stated “The Banbury Run is a celebration of vintage and veteran motorcycles. Seeing hundreds of vintage motorcycles ride together is a motoring spectacle that deserves to continue to flourish!”

The Museum will be open from 9am – 5pm with the Banbury Run beginning at 10am. Riders will start at 5 per minute. Spectators tickets for the Run cost £8 in advance or £10 on the day for adults, children and concessions and include entry to the Museum and new Collections Centre.

To find out more about the British Motor Museum please visit the website at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk 

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The Haynes International Motor Museum today (Thursday 9th June 2016) hosted a lunch for nearly 200 guests to celebrate the retirement, after thirty one years’ service, of Founding Curator Mr Micheal Penn. 

Mr Penn was the very first member of staff when the museum opened in 1985. In the early days his work hats were many and in any one day his duties would include: general manager, curator, caterer, bookshop assistant and receptionist. As the museum grew he was able to focus on his passion for curatorial work and building the collection; numerous visits across the globe to source an eclectic mix of vehicles from the rare and precious to the more easily recognised has ensured that the museum now has a vehicle collection second to none.

Mr Penn spoke of his love of education and the part that museums play in this area. Museum CEO Mr Christopher Haynes commented:

“The Chairman, Trustees and staff would like to thank Mike for all his efforts over the past thirty one years. His legacy is clear to see: Today the museum boasts well over 100,000 visitors annually, as well as hosting a large and ever increasing number of conferences and all types of events. The Education Centre is always buzzing with children who visit from many local schools and the Workshop and Restoration Centre have built up an enviable reputation for their excellent work on a broad range of marques including Aston Martin, Ferrari and Jaguar to name but a few.”

Mr Penn’s plans do not include slowing down however:

“A great thank you to all those wishing me well on my retirement. The staff also did a sterling job and spoke very kindly about my 31 years in the job. Just to clear up one point: I will not be hanging up my museum boots yet as I will remain on the museum board of trustees as well as the board of trustees of the British Motorcycling Heritage Trust. I also continue in my role as the Chairman of the World Forum for Motor Museums.”

For more details please visit their website www.himm.co.uk

Severn Freewheelers are not a charity that has a front line operation; they do not fly helicopters, they do not go to the scene of accidents - they do not even operate during the day (except at weekends), so we tend to disappear under the public radar! However they do vital work – once you are in hospital all that urgency to get you there is wasted unless your blood samples, transfusion, medical notes get into the right hands, at the right time and that is where they come in, when hospital transport is not available  – 7pm to 7am, 24 hours at weekends and public holidays, 365 days a year. They even help transport frozen human milk, so very premature babies get a fighting chance. All run by volunteers who receive not a single penny for their efforts.
 
They make 3,500 potentially life-saving calls per year. To raise funds and awareness they organise two great events - The Prescott and Shelsley Bike Festivals. 

All proceeds from the festivals go to the regional Blood Bike group, Severn Freewheelers

Here's a news video from last year that pretty much says it all.

Shelsley Bike Festival, 4th September 2016

A great Festival in 2015 and 2016 will be bigger and better. A great day out for motorcycle enthusiasts and their families. 

See here for more