Firstly, we want to thank those people that completed the rally survey in March. We had a much bigger response to it than expected, which goes to show the continuing support from regular rally goers as well as increasing interest from bikers new to the rally scene. With the high level of response and suggestions, it may take some time to put actions in place to make Yorkshire MAG rallies even better but we are hoping to introduce some in 2016. At Farmyard Party, for example, we are providing some prepared tents for those wanting to travel light and putting some additional entertainment on the Friday afternoon so that you can start the party early.

Moving on - Into The Valley is now only a few weeks away. As you may have seen on our Facebook page, we have decided to put heaters on in the entertainment and bars areas so that you're kept warm on the spring evenings. We will also have Zoopa "the hot soup and goulash man" to help keep you warm with his ex-German Army field kitchen bike. And, of course, we have a fantastic line up of bands for evening entertainment and comedians for Saturday afternoon, full details of which are provided below. It's been a while since last year's rally season and so we are looking forward to catching up with friends around the camp-fire or over a few beers.

Don't forget our cut off dates for Into The Valley tickets, which are the 15th of April for postal bookings and the 24th for telephone and web bookings.

See you all on the 29th of April at Into The Valley.

No Cars, No Vans, No Pedestrians, No Excuses.

Flat trackers, drags and customs will be blasting around the demo hall at KICKBACK!

It's always thrilling to see the best custom made motorcycles in the metal, but at next weekend's KICKBACK exhibition visitors will get the chance to see dozens of display bikes fired up and blasting around the demo hall!

See the website for more, including a small collection of specials from Steve at Redmax; they're going to be fired up and ridden in the demo hall during the weekend.

www.TheCustomShow.com

We would like to thank you for passing by our stand @ the Manchester Bike Show last weekend and we hope you had a great time at the show!

Some of our winners who visited THE BIKER GUIDE stand... 

Winner Biddy Fisher, with Lisa Isam, Jo Williams and Catherine Howe at the Manchester Bike Show 2016

Geraint James -  winner of tickets for the Manchester Bike Show

Robin Coates and son Isaac - winner of tickets @ the Manchester Bike Show

Kevin and Jane O'Kane - winners of tickets @ the Manchester Bike Show

Sandra Elizabeth Wood - winner of tickets for the Manchester Bike Show

Alex Lally - winner of tickets for the Manchester Bike Show

Also Chris Thomas who did pass by (no photographic evidence), however had his picture taken with the lovely girls from Ducati... We love you anyway Chris!

There were lots of entries to win tickets to Stormin' the Castle, a BIKERS WELCOME BANNER and also for the 2 night stay for two @ the very Biker Friendly Stair Arms Hotel on the main Edinburgh to the Borders route, in Midlothian, Scotland... Winners will be announced soon!

MOTOGP - APRILIA HEADS TO TEXAS SEEKING CONFIRMATION

AFTER THE POSITIVE SIGNS IN THE FIRST TWO RACES, BRADL AND BAUTISTA ARE KEEN TO CONTINUE IMPROVING

In 2015 the Austin circuit in Texas had Aprilia taking its first championship point in their new MotoGP adventure. This year things are rather different. The new 2016 Aprilia RS-GP began its path of growth well and, despite being a brand new project, in the first two races of the season it demonstrated reliability and finished in the points (in Qatar) and twice in the top ten (in Argentina) with Bradl seventh and Bautista tenth across the wire.

This is an encouraging start for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini as they will now take on the COTA - Circuit of the Americas - seeking important confirmation.
 
ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
"We are coming from a race where we skilfully managed a complicated situation, finishing with an encouraging overall result that could have been even better. In any case, this does not distract us from our main objective which, in this first part of the season, is still to develop and to get in as many kilometres as possible. In Texas we will continue to follow our testing schedule. We have identified a few good solutions, especially where electronics are concerned, but we have also found a few factors that limit our performance where we need work, in particular a vibration at the rear that keeps us from being 100% incisive. The track in Texas is a complex one that puts various characteristics of the bike to the test, so it is a good test bench for us".

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"Despite some difficult conditions, in Argentina we brought home a positive result. Let's not forget that the new RS-GP has barely a thousand kilometres behind it and obviously there is still a lot that needs to be developed. The project started off well and finishing the race with both bikes in Argentina as a team along with other riders allowed us to collect important information and see more clearly which direction to take. Now we are preparing for the Austin round that will finish out the first phase of the championship, with three non-European races that are traditionally the toughest".

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“We are headed to a track that is new for us, very different than Qatar and Argentina. There are a lot of tight turns, a lot of acceleration points, a long straight stretch and a few changes in slope. It is a rather complete track where we'll be able to see how the new Aprilia reacts. We are in a good period where performance in the last race was positive, especially in the first part of the race where I was competitive against much more experienced bikes. The pace we demonstrated makes us confident, although we are still not at 100%. Our goal is still to get as many laps in as possible in order to gather information and get to know the new bike better. It would also be nice to earn a few more important points before heading back to Europe”.

STEFAN BRADL
“The result at Termas gives us great motivation. Austin is completely different. The layout of the track is quite demanding in terms of setup. As always, we will try to improve session after session. I must say that I like the track and that I've had good results in Texas before. We'll see how my Aprilia performs here. For us every race is a début and it gives us the chance to discover knew characteristics of the 2016 bike. The growth trend is encouraging and we need to keep going in this direction”.

The Royal Automobile Club, has awarded the Segrave Trophy to motorcycle road racer John McGuinness. Acknowledging the Lancashire man’s success, the citation read; ‘An outstanding contribution to motorcycle road and circuit racing, including setting the outright lap record at the 2015 Isle of Man TT. He is the greatest living exponent of the TT, with 23 victories to his name.’

Speaking at the awards Tom Purves, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said,

‘It is our honour to salute John’s career and his remarkable success, particularly at the Isle of Man TT where he became the first rider to achieve an average speed of over 130 mph and, in 2015, set a new outright lap record of 132.701 mph.

‘Lady Segrave commissioned the Trophy in 1930, soon after her husband, Sir Henry Segrave died after breaking the water speed record on Lake Windermere. It was her wish that the Trophy would celebrate and encourage those individuals who demonstrated outstanding skill and courage, whether on land, sea or in the air. As one of Britain’s greatest motorcycle racers of his generation, John’s bravery and sheer speed are the exact qualities Lady Segrave wished to celebrate.’

Upon receiving the trophy, McGuinness said:

‘I’m absolutely honoured to receive this prestigious award. It’s something a little different and I’m definitely in good company when you look back at the motorcycling greats who have previously received this, with the likes of Geoff Duke, Barry Sheene and Joey Dunlop. The award has been running since 1930 and I have massive respect for everyone who has been a part of its history and I am so proud to now have my name alongside some of my heroes.’

About the Segrave Trophy:

The Segrave Trophy is named after British pilot and pre-war racing driver, Sir Henry Segrave - a man who pushed himself and his machines to the very limit in the pursuit of ultimate speed. He was the first man to hold both land and water speed records, though the latter would cost him his life in 1930. With such drive and determination in mind, the Trophy is awarded for ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water and in air - the Spirit of Adventure’.

The first recipient of the Segrave Trophy was Air Commodore Sir Charles Kingsford Smith for his transatlantic and England to Australia flights in 1930. Previous holders of the trophy have included Amy Johnson (1932), Donald Campbell CBE (1958), Sir Jackie Stewart (1973) to Allan McNish (2014). The Trophy is only awarded if the Segrave Nominations Committee judge there to be a suitable recipient that meets the criteria of the award.

The Segrave Trophy has been awarded to eight motorcycle racers including Geoff Duke, Barry Sheene MBE, Mike Hailwood, Steve Webster, Carl Fogarty, Joey Dunlop and John Surtees CBE.