SEVENTH ROW FOR BRADL AND BAUTISTA'S APRILIAS

The demanding ups and downs of Mugello led to some extremely close MotoGP practice sessions, with narrow gaps and very tight rankings. In FP4, the last free practice session before qualifying, no less than 12 riders were packed into a one second gap and as many as 17 were less than one and a half seconds from the leader.
Bautista and Bradl improved their times with respect to yesterday, Alvaro by almost a second and Stefan by more than ten tenths. This is an indicator that the work being done in the garage is moving in the right direction, despite the fact that the testing done on the two Aprilia RS-GP machines had them putting in a lot of laps on used tyres to gauge race pace.

In qualifying the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider set their sights on maximum speed on the flying lap and the tight rankings placed them in nineteenth (Bautista with 1’48,372) and twentieth place (Bradl with 1’48,646) on the starting grid. And so the battle for a finish in the points will have to wait for the 23 laps of tomorrow's race, where the two will start side by side from the seventh row.

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“With the new engine we improved a bit even in acceleration and in general today I had a better feeling than yesterday. We also worked on the chassis and since this morning we have taken a step forward. Then we worked a lot with the used tyre with the race in mind and our pace is not bad. In qualifying we struggled a bit, partly because of the heat that penalises me a bit, but more than anything, on this track power is quite important and that doesn't yet help us. On the corners and in the braking sections we have made good progress, but we obviously need to improve and the race tomorrow will be an important chance to continue doing that, as we have been since the season start”.

STEFAN BRADL
“It's a shame because we were not able to improve as much as we had hoped. Unfortunately, we are struggling in the direction changes and if we try to improve in that area we lose stability. So it is a rather delicate compromise that, even with the many tests we did today, we were unable to get quite right. We will continue to analyse the data, testing a few other things in the warm up. We are obviously disappointed but we won't give up until the chequered flag comes out tomorrow”.

Padgetts Honda has announced that Conor Cummins will ride for the Batley based outfit on Valvoline by Padgetts liveried bikes at the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy. He will compete for the team in the two Monster Energy Supersport Races and the RL360 Quantum Superstock class. 

The Manxman will continue to campaign his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP in the RST Superbike and PokerStars Senior TT races with the Honda Racing factory team.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have Conor on board,” said team manager Clive Padgett. “When it looked like it might come about I didn’t have to think twice. He’s the perfect addition to the team.  We’re currently building his bikes and look forward to getting to the TT.”

Conor Cummins said:

“I’ve known Clive Padgett for many years. He actually sold me my first ever race bike, a second hand RS125 and I’ve always been impressed with the way that the team prepares the bikes. They have a record that’s second to none around the Isle of Man. I’m really excited about representing the team and it will be a real honour to ride in the famous team colours.”

Of the last 39 TT races that the team has started around the Mountain Course they have finished in the top four on no less than 33 occasions and of those 27 were podium places with 11 wins. The team is probably most well known for Ian Hutchinson’s five wins in a week in 2010. The team has also secured numerous lap and race records including Bruce Anstey’s RST Superbike win in 2015 in a record winning time of 128.749mph (1:45.29.902).

Honda (Europe) team management made the decision to balance the rider line-up within their two partner teams with Jackson Honda Racing focused on John McGuinness and Steve Mercer and Padgetts Honda focusing on Bruce Anstey and Conor Cummins. 

Tickets are now on sale and selling fast for the 2016 TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.  There is very limited availability for the Glencrutchery Road Grandstand race day tickets but there are still TT Fan Zone Grandstand tickets available at Ballacrye, Creg Ny Baa and Nobles Park during qualifying and race days. Grandstand tickets are also available by purchasing VIP or Platinum Hospitality tickets. All tickets are available from www.iomtt.com or by phoning 00 44 (0)1624 640000.

Three years after Warwickshire Police ended their very successful BikeSafe workshops, the British Motor Museum are pleased to announce that they have become BikeSafe partners. Throughout 2016 they will be running a number of motorcycle rider skills workshops designed to hopefully make motorcycle riding safer and more enjoyable.

The workshops are run by ex-police instructors and advanced police riders as well as senior instructors from both RoSPA and IAM, all of whom were previously involved in the Warwickshire Police BikeSafe initiative from 2001-2013. They explore the main riding hazards that bikers face helping improve riders skills, knowledge and hazard awareness.

The workshops include classroom and open road sessions, covering observations, hazard perception, anticipation and planning, cornering and overtaking. Riders will also have their riding assessed out on the open road.

Neil Colledge, Workshop Instructor from the British Motor Museum and former head of the Warwickshire BikeSafe initiative said “Hundreds of motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured each year on our roads. Our workshops are run by bikers, for bikers! They are about learning to assess your riding strengths and weakness, allowing you to improve your riding skills and enable you to get the most out of your machines in a safe and responsible way”.

The first workshop is on Saturday 28 May, it is a full day and costs £65 including tuition, refreshments, a light lunch as well as an opportunity to look around the fantastic newly refurbished Museum.

For more information about the motorcycle rider skills workshops please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk or call 01926 645056. The British Motor Museum will also be exhibiting at the Rugby Bike Fest on Sunday 22 May.

Ride to Work Week 2016 is on between Monday 20^th and Sunday 26^th June. The campaign aims to raise the profile of commuting by motorcycle or scooter and to highlight the main benefits.

These include:

• Time saved – less time in traffic means more time in bed! 
• Money saved – save on petrol spend more on you
• Easy parking – motorcyclists get into the smallest spaces
• Road skills improve - riders who drive are better car drivers too
• It’s just more fun – you’ll turn up to work with a smile on your face

Special content will be shared during the week via social media, using the hashtag #commutehappy

• Riders can share their own pictures and Ride to Work Week content via the facebook page and Twitter in order to show the rest of the UK why their mode of transport is so enjoyable.

• Events will be held across the UK for the public and for employees at motorcycle friendly businesses. These range from ‘bikers breakfasts’ to VIP parking and free CBTs for non-riding staff. 

• The Ride to Work Week team will also put on a programme of events and Get On free ride opportunities in Northamptonshire, where the County Council is the first in the UK to actively encourage a modal shift towards motorcycling (more info available on request).

• Special offers, promotions and giveaways will be available throughout the week.  Watch the facebook page for details. These usually include free commuter cover from insurers, and offers on top brands for clothing and accessories as well as prizes!

• IAM is offering FREE ‘buddy’ advanced taster rides for licence holders who want to check out their commute with a local advanced observer.

• BikeSafe is holding a special ‘Bridging the Gap’ weekend workshop on June 18^th and 19^th at Northamptonshire Police Headquarters for riders who want to improve their riding. Booking is essential. £45 for the course.

• People across the UK who want to try motorcycling for the first time can book a session at a Get On road show event. These are also on regularly throughout the year at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.  Booking is via  www.geton.co.uk

• Special hi-viz vests and t-shirts are available to those organising events by contacting Stevie or Sandra via [email protected]
  
  

Information

• Riders are the happiest commuters. In a one off report by the Office for National Statistics, commuting via motorcycle, scooter and moped was found to have no negative impact on wellbeing on journeys up to 30 minutes long, in contrast to those using the bus, cycling, driving or walking, who all experienced a negative impact after just 15 minutes.
• Be nice to motorcyclists, they are reducing congestion for all road users. A study which modelled a modal shift towards powered two wheelers for one of the most congested roads in Europe found that if just 10% of car drivers swapped to a motorcycle, scooter or moped, then congestion was reduced for all road users by 40%. If 25% swapped, then congestion was eliminated altogether.
• Better car drivers. Motorcycle insurance company Carole Nash found motorcyclists’ knowledge of road safety is almost twice as good as those who only drive a car.  To reflect this, they produced a special car insurance policy aimed at riders.
• More motorcyclists, safer roads. The Motorcycle Industry Association and the National Police Chiefs’ Council produced a framework of actions considering the idea that more powered two wheelers on the roads would increase awareness and reduce accidents. This is the same argument used by cycling lobbies and indeed an increase in both PTWs and bicycles is likely to benefit both groups.
• Ride to Work Week is organised by the Motorcycle Industry Association and it incorporates Ride to Work Day, which is on Monday 20^th.
  
  
  www.ridetoworkweek.co.uk