After a record breaking season for Kawasaki, which includes winning the World Superbike Championship, the Manufacturer’s Championship at British and World level and being top of the table in Superstock 1000 and 600, Kawasaki UK has today launched Team Green – a banner to cover both the on-road and off-road racing efforts at all levels.

Originally launched back in the 1980s by Alec Wright – Racing Manager at Kawasaki Motors UK Ltd – Team Green represented the pinnacle of racing. Back in the day, Team Green became the name on everyone’s lips and something everyone wanted to be part of, both on the dirt and tarmac, and success followed with John Reynolds winning one 600 Championship and two 750 titles and other riders sweeping the board winning all the UK schoolboy championships plus the AMCA 125 and 250 titles in 1985.

In 2013, Team Green Youth MX Team was launched and represented Kawasaki UK at all major British Youth Championships. There was success on track with the team winning the Small Wheel 85 Championship in 2013 and the Big Wheel 85 Championship in 2014.

Mark Spiller, Kawasaki UK Marketing and Brand Development Manager, said: “Racing has always been an indulgence and the personal pleasure of many and that is certainly very true of all at Kawasaki Motors UK. However, the KMUK Team Green approach to racing includes more than the action on the track. We have reinstated the values of the past and this means we operate in a true working partnership with all our officially supported teams at every level.”

“2015 saw the re-launch of Team Green in the UK, an umbrella brand supporting all UK off-road race activities from Youth to GP’s. Team Green is a community that introduces the Kawasaki brand to the youngsters at club level, providing the “ladder of opportunity” to help achieve aspirations and remain with the family at every level of the sport.”

For the 2016 season, all on-road and off-road teams will be under the Team Green umbrella, a term that also covers the Team Green Sport partners, including: stunt performer Lee Bowers and Freestyle MX rider Jamie Squibb as well as Team Green Kids Ambassador seven-year-old, Lottie Trenchard.

Ross Burridge, Senior Racing Co-ordinator, said: “We’ve created a team that’s very much akin to how Team Green was in the 80s and 90s in that the riders – despite some being young – operate in a very professional manner. This has helped, not only our success on track, but also created a desire for many other riders to want to be a part of it. For 2016, I’m personally very excited to see Team Green feature in the road racing scene too with GBMoto and I feel that the ethos of Team Green will be replicated at the highest level of road racing in the UK. Roll on 2016.”

With the Ninja 300 Cup run by the British Motorcycle Racing Club entering its fifth season, now known as ‘The Team Green Junior Cup’, and with Team Green being represented in a number of British Championships – including: Superbike, Superstock 1000 and 600 and Supersport – and across a number of off-road disciplines, Kawasaki is the team on track to watch out for in 2016.

Keep up to date with the latest Team Green news on the website at: www.kawasaki.co.uk

With wet weather continuing to engulf the UK, the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) director of standards, Mark Lewis, looks at how drivers can best prepare for driving in heavy rain.

1. Before setting off, check for any weather alerts, traffic updates or planned road closures that may affect your journey. Only travel in extreme adverse weather conditions if it is really necessary.

2. Check lights and windscreen wiper blades are clean and working properly. Also check the tyre pressure and tread depth to ensure the best possible grip on wet surfaces.

3. Plan your route in advance and try to avoid any roads that are prone to flooding, even if it extends your journey.

4. Heavy rain often leads to damaged road surfaces and puddles can hide deep potholes – look for clues such as loose chunks of tarmac.

5. In heavy rain, don’t forget to switch on your dipped headlights so other motorists can see you easily. Reduce your speed when travelling in the rain to decrease your stopping distance. This will also help you pass through large puddles and potholes smoothly, without spraying other road users or risking aquaplaning.

6. Torrential rain may interfere with the electrics of a vehicle causing a breakdown. Prepare for the worst by keeping your mobile phone charged and with the number of your breakdown service provider already saved on it. While you wait for help keep your bonnet closed as soaking the engine will only make it worse.

In 2016 we celebrate our 20th anniversary with a 'non-stop' party from 24 March till 30 October ;-)

The booking system is OPEN! Be assured of your room and BOOK HERE

www.grd.be

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Prescott Bike Festival will take place once again on Sunday 17th April 2016 at Prescott Hill Climb, near Cheltenham. The Festival prides itself on its diversity and celebrates engineering excellence; from rare, classic, modern, customised to hand built bikes, this year the organisers have secured some pretty eccentric contraptions including the World’s fastest motorised shopping trolley.

Owner and creator Matt Mckeown from Plymouth found the trolley abandoned in a ditch, and with the help of a modified second-hand Chinook helicopter starter engine, a set of go-kart wheels, his motorcycle leathers and nerves of steel - raced into the history books claiming the Guinness World Record for the World’s Fastest Shopping Trolley. The jet-propelled shopping trolley has reached a staggering average speed of 70.4mph/ 113.298kmh (faster than the national speed limit). We are looking forward to seeing Matt do a trolley dash up the legendary hill climb course!

Another wacky contraption joining us for 2016 is Tom ‘The Atom’ Anable, a British Monowheel top speed record holder. The Lincolnshire based stunt rider, designed, built and engineered several Monowheel machines. Over the past 8 years, Tom has been working on his own single wheeled vehicles, after a university project got out of control! The 2014 Winner of the Wheel Whores ‘Best Wheels’ trophy will be another great spectacle, when he completes an extraordinary run of the renowned hill climb course.

We also welcome the return of MADMAX Race Team and their ‘Streetfighter’ Bike Madmax which will take to the hill in spectacular fashion. The Madmax currently holds a land speed record for the World’s first jet turbine streetfighter street legal motorbike, having set a record of 224.9mph from a standing start. Racer Zef said ‘I attended the event for the first time last year and it was a fun and friendly informal atmosphere, I particularly enjoyed meeting such a diverse age group of motorcycle enthusiasts, who are genuinely interested in the engineering of our bikes. It's also nice to put a smile on people's faces, when they see the bike in action. I look forward to returning again.’

Also in the paddock, will be Nuclear Research Engineer and iconic motorcycle builder Allen Millyard who will regularly fire up, and take to the hill on his home-built ‘Flying Millyard’. Despite resembling a classic 1920s sedate two-wheeled Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this beast has two cylinders from a Pratt and Whitney 1340 radial, and a 5.0-litre V-Twin, engine designed for an aeroplane.

Prescott Bike festival is a big celebration of man and machine with large displays of historic, modern and race bikes, plus a Paddock Specials Show ‘n’ Tell area and the unique opportunity for members of the public to take part in the spectacle by ‘running the hill’ or participating in a thrilling passenger ride experience. There’s also a whole raft of entertainment too from live music, stunt shows, biker celebrity appearances and hundreds of trade stands, motorcycle manufacturers, dealer zone, motorcycle clubs, demo areas - what’s more it helps to raise vital money and awareness for the Bloodbikes charities.

Prescott Bike Festival is a ‘Must Do’ day out for all motorcycling enthusiasts. What’s more, all event proceeds of the event go to The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and Severn Freewheelers.

Gates Opens at: 08:30am, Track starts at: 10:00am, Festival closes at: 17:00.

Advance general admission tickets cost just £12 and are available online at: www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk

Free parking, free motorcycle side stand puck and free helmet park for bikers. 

All details of exhibitors and celebrity appearances are available on the website.