It was a mixed opening round of the 2015 British Superbike Championship for Ducati at Donington Park today (6 April). Problems in the main BSB class were overshadowed by a sensational debut performance from James Eagan in the National Superstock 1000 class.

Jakub ‘Kuba’ Smrz returns for a second season aboard the increasingly competitive Ducati Panigale riding for the Lloyds British Moto Rapido team. It wasn’t to be an ideal start to the campaign, however, as a crash for Kuba in free practice put him out of contention for qualifying.

Despite the best efforts of the team and a complete rebuild of the #96 machine following the accident, there was yet more bad luck in store for the squad as Smrz was forced to start race one from pit lane with tyre issues being discovered just before the green flag lap. Having made progress in the early running the Ducati racer was forced to retire with arm pump – a symptom of having had so little track time this weekend.

For the second race of the bank holiday Monday Smrz made a great start and was up to 22nd from 28th on the grid after lap one. A small mistake saw him run wide, however, and gave him all the hard work to do again. He closed the mammoth gap of over 14 seconds to the pack ahead and began to make up places, but ultimately could only manage 24th across the line.

Team Owner Steve Moore said: “The team have done so well this weekend so a massive thanks to everyone. The total number of laps we completed over the whole weekend is what we'd normally expect to do on day one, so actually all things considered it's not too bad. We had a bit of bad luck with a tyre that Pirelli has confirmed was faulty, and starting from pit lane always sets you back. That's racing though, the key is we completed the second race. Kuba ran wide on lap one but we said let's take the risk and push as hard as we can, and then use the rest of the race as a test session. We've got loads of data to go on to Brands Hatch, so onwards and upwards!”

There were better fortunes for Ducati in the intensely competitive National Superstock 1000 category. Having signed South African rider James Eagan for the 2015 campaign, this weekend was expected to be something of a learning curve as the MWR Motorsport team enjoyed precious little testing in the off-season.

Having had just a single dry session aboard the Ducati Panigale R prior to the weekend, the 24-year-old was able to secure 30th on the grid for Monday morning’s race. The performance of this new bike/rider pairing as the race got underway was something extraordinary, as within a few laps of the Leicestershire venue Eagan was already inside the top twenty.

With his pace increasing at every circulation the Ducati continued to pass rider after rider, and by the end of the 17-lap contest Eagan crossed the line an incredible 11th.

Eagan said: “The bike is just something else – I immediately felt comfortable on it, but the really exciting thing is that there’s so much more to come. Last year in this championship I was just about knocking on the door of the top group by the end of the season, but we’re already at that level after just a couple of sessions on the Ducati – it’s by far the best bike I’ve ridden! We were making big steps forward all weekend, and it’s just a shame we don’t get more track time – if I’d started that race 11th instead of 30th, who knows what might have happened!”

The championship now moves to Brands Hatch in Kent on 17/19 April where in addition to British Superbike and National Superstock classes, the prestigious Ducati TriOptions Cup will blast off for its first event of the year.

Ticket sales seem to be going crazy this year for all of our rallies.

The introduction of Saturday only tickets represents our commitment to ensure access to our rallies is affordable and allows those that can't escape work on Friday to show their face - and have some fun! Our free T-shirt that comes with purchase of tickets for all three events has also been very popular. Don't forget that you can buy tickets for Into The Valley by cheque up to the 17th of April and on-line until the 24th of April - after that you will have to buy them on the gate.

Into The Valley will be offer the first Back Street Heroes Bike Show of the year and a range of top notch food vans providing quality food. Beer will be cheaper than through the local pubs. Full details of Into The Valley bands and comedians below.

Just to let you know that you can now obtain tickets from outlets and MAG reps in certain parts of the UK. We are hoping this will encourage a few of you to get out on your bikes and engage with MAG. Links to these outlets and contacts as well as other methods of buying tickets are below.

As always, our events are held on behalf of Riders' Rights throughout UK and Europe.  No Cars, No Vans, No Pedestrians, No Excuses.

MAG is inviting all motorcyclists and Scooter riders to come along and quiz representatives of Political parties on their party’s policies on motorcycling issues.  This is your chance to ensure politicians are aware of your views and concerns on motorcycling issues.

Issues such as secure bike parking, bikes in bus-lanes, ITS and the erosion of rider control through state use of telemetric data and automatic speed restrictions, VED, the rider testing regime, parity with other vulnerable road users on sentencing and justice and locally the proposed ban on learners on the existing Forth Road Bridge when the new Forth Crossing opens.

Where and when 7th April 7pm to 9pm at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre 25 Palmerston  Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AP

We currently have representatives from the Green Party, Scottish Conservatives, SNP, UKIP, Scottish Labour and are expecting the Lib Dems to confirm a representative on Monday.  What we need now is riders to show we care passionately  about our bikes and scooters and being able to ride them.

MAG's Director of Public Affairs and Campaigns Lembit Opik will be chairing the meeting, but in keeping with MAG's policy will take an apolitical stance and will ensure we get to hear all views without favour or bias.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch via e-mail or on 07833264878 and please feel free to pass this message on to other riders you know or share my facebook post on the hustings.

Steve Wykes

Regional Representative

Motorcyle Action Group (Scotland)

Bike4Life organisers have announced an exciting line-up for this year’s Festival taking place on Sunday 26 April.  The much-loved event held at RAF Museum Cosford returns for its 5th year at the end of this month, raising money for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC).

More than 8,000 people attended the event last year, making it one of the biggest and best biker events in the region. This year’s Festival promises to be even bigger with a great number of attractions on offer on the day.

Bike4Life Fest 2015 promises to be a great day out for bikers and families alike with more than 40 exhibitors signed up to showcase some of the latest motorbikes, including luxury motorbike retailer, Stratstone. Bikers on the lookout for accessories and clothing for the new biking season are sure to find what they are looking for at the Festival with all the latest brands on offer.  Also on board are Halesowen-based company Revs Suspension, so whether you’re revamping an old bike or giving your current bike a bit of TLC, the team will be on hand to offer you advice. 

Families looking for an entertaining day out are guaranteed to enjoy the family fun lined up. Visitors can take tours of two of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s EC135 air ambulance helicopters and watch energetic performances from extreme mountain biker and British Trials Champion Danny Butler and daring displays from stunt bikers Inch Perfect and Moto Gymkhana. In addition to all of this, youngsters can have a go on the climbing wall, ride on the kiddie quad bikes and have their faces painted. 

Planet Rock 105.2FM will be showcasing the best in the Midlands’ music talent with Cairo Son, Fireroad, Good Companies, Redline and Skam lined up to rock the Festival. Keeping festival goers fuelled for the day, there will also be a fantastic range of food and drink on offer. 

Current King of the Jungle and seven times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty will be taking part in a live Q&A on stage at the event, where visitors will also have the chance to meet and greet the racing champ. Carl will also be leading the much-anticipated 23-mile Ride Out from Meole Brace, Shrewsbury to the event’s home in Cosford.

Jason Levy, fundraising and marketing director for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said “It’s the final countdown to this year’s event and registrations have already gone through the roof. Over 3,000 bikers will ride out with Carl and thousands more are expected to come along to RAF Museum Cosford to see all that Bike4Life Fest has to offer.” 

Abi Betteridge, public events manager at RAF Museum Cosford, said “You don’t have to be a biker to enjoy Bike4Life 2015, there’s plenty to see and do for festival goers of all ages. In addition to the Spitfire flypast, live music, arena displays and family entertainment, visitors will also have access to the RAF Museum Cosford, with over 70 historic aircraft on display. We look forward to welcoming new and familiar faces to the museum on 26th April.”

The event, which is partnered with RAF Museum Cosford and the Safer Roads Partnership, aims to raise awareness of biker safety.

Any bikers wishing to take part in the Bike4Life Ride Out must register in advance through the Bike4Life website www.bike4lifefest.com as spaces are limited (£5 per bike). Any biking enthusiasts, fans of Carl Fogarty and live music lovers are welcome to head straight to the Festival at RAF Museum Cosford.  Entry to the Festival is free of charge with all donations on the day going towards the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists’ Drive & Survive division has been investigating the true extent of company car accidents – and found a shocking 86% of fleets have experienced an accident in the past 12 months, while 100% of fleets have had an accident where one of their drivers was ‘at fault’.

The findings come in IAM Drive & Survive’s first report of the year, titled ‘An analysis of bent metal amongst company fleets.’

IAM Drive & Survive surveyed fleet professionals within 100 businesses on their approach to and experience of accidents involving their fleet. The report stated: “The research shows that many companies are not addressing correctly this significant and avoidable overhead by putting in place sufficient measures to reduce the risk of incidents happening, or more worryingly, happening again to the same drivers.”

The report was commissioned in autumn 2014, and has produced some fascinating results. Some of the top-line figures revealed by the report include:

• Only 14% of fleets confirmed they had not had any vehicle incidents in their fleet in the last 12 months • Every fleet had suffered on-road incidents that were caused by their driver, i.e. an ‘at fault’ incident • Nearly half of all fleets said the average cost of repair per vehicle was over £1,000 • Only 33% of fleets said at-fault drivers faced some sort of punitive measure, i.e. fine, excess payments, etc • Over half said they didn’t offer any post-incident driver training as a means of reducing the risk of repeat incidents

The report added: “Few provide any driver training as a way of reducing the chance of the driver having another incident. Is this a good situation for company, fleet, vehicle or driver?”

In 2014 IAM Drive & Survive conducted a survey in 2014 which revealed 72% of people who drove for business reasons had been offered no training by their employer at all – even though 44% of them said they would welcome the opportunity.

According to Government figures, between 2008 and 2013, 3,493 people were killed in accidents involving a driver/rider driving for work, including 515 in 2013 (1).

And Driving for Better Business says up to one in three road crashes involves a vehicle being driven for work. It added that every week, around 200 road deaths and serious injuries involve someone at work (2).

IAM Drive & Survive also discovered that drivers of company vehicles are 25 per cent more likely than company drivers using their own vehicles to have a minor accident (3).

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “Accidents involving company car drivers represent a sizeable proportion of accidents on UK roads – and it’s a problem which needs tackling in a meaningful way.

“Fleet operators have a duty to their businesses, employees and other road users to ensure those individuals’ driving conduct is of the highest order. Often companies have full processes and procedures for Health and Safety, HR and Environmental best practice; but often none in place when the employees get behind the wheel of a car or van?”

IAM Drive & Survive’s report ‘An analysis of bent metal amongst company fleets’ can be downloaded by clicking here