It was Horsman, Hart, Ogden over the line for the final lap and Hart attacked immediately into Turn 1, before Horsman hit back at the first opportunity. Jack Nixon then looked like he was going to try a multi-buy manoeuvre into Brooklands, but he couldn’t quite make it stick as Hart was able to stay ahead and Horsman hung it round the outside to hang on to the lead. Ultimately, he’d manage to do just that to the line – but Hart was tucked in close behind round the final corner and it was incredibly close as the two blasted towards the chequered flag. 0.048 separated them over the line, just in favour of Horsman as he shut the door to avoid losing out to another pickpocket move on Sunday.
TCX Street Ace Air boots join the booming trend in recent years for commuter riding shoes that you can wear on and off the bike in equal comfort with some protection.
The trend is understandable. The last thing most city riders want is to have to carry a spare pair of work/casual shoes because their motorcycle boots look like SS stormtrooper boots.
Most of this new generation of commuter boots wouldn’t look out of place in a casual office, at the movies, in a restaurant or bar, or most other social occasions.
TCX’s Street Ace Air boots cost $219 which is about average for these types of shoes. They come in sizes EU 36-48 and US 3.5-13.
Tough boots
TCX’s Street Ace Air stand out from the commuter crop as a slightly tougher-skinned boot.
They are made of a thick and stiff leather that is perforated all round, except the toe and heel. Inside is a breathable lining so your feet are less likely to sweat and stink out the office.
After several weeks of use, my gear shift has hardly scuffed the left boot. Perhaps that’s because the aged or vintage “anthracite” leather disguises any rubber marks from the shifter.
The branding is also discrete so they don’t look like kids’ gym shoes.
Unlike most other commuter boots we’ve tried, these have a very stiff, non-slip rubber sole.
They actually feel a bit too stiff for a lot of walking. They may soften with age.
However, that stiffness protects your foot from rotational forces in a crash.
TCX has also added tough toe, ankle and heel impact protection that is padded on the inside so they still feel comfortable.
Laces or no laces?
These TCX boots feature a lace system which some riders claim can be dangerous because you can get them caught in the pegs or levers.
That happened to me once and I quickly learnt the lesson to tie the laces short or tuck them into the top of the boots.
Despite that incident, I actually prefer lace-up boots because you can get a good solid fit as you can vary the tightness along the length of the laces.
This works particularly well for me as my right foot is bigger than the left thanks to breaking it in an off-road jump (even though I was wearing expensive MX boots).
Elasticised boots can be more dangerous than lace-ups as they will pull off in a crash, while zip-up boots never fit as well.
Besides, these TCX boots have a high ankle so the laces would have to be tied up very loose for the loops to get caught in any levers or pegs.
I didn’t even do them up to the top eyelet and the laces still don’t droop low enough to cause any concerns.
About TCX
TCX is an Italian company that started in 1999 as Oxtar. They make a range of road and off-road race, touring and leisure boots for male and female riders.
The company has patented their TCS (Torsion Control System) that controls the movement of the riders foot in both directions to protect from ankle injury.
TCX was the first boot company to have CE Certification on all its products.
Tarran Mackenzie claimed his first pole position in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone this afternoon, holding off his hard-charging team-mate Jason O’Halloran by 0.054s whilst Scott Redding fired himself onto the front row ahead of his BSB race debut tomorrow (Sunday).
Jason O’Halloran
There was a dramatic start to the opening Datatag Qualifying session of the season for Josh Brookes, who suffered a technical problem with his Be Wiser Ducati, causing a brief red flag delay and the 2015 champion will start 18th on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race.
Josh Brookes Ducati failed him
It was a close battle to qualify for Q2 with 24 riders covered by just 0.728s and the first rider to narrowly miss out was Quattro Plant – JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Ben Currie in the closing seconds of the opening session.
Ben Currie
In Q2 there was another incredible battle to be inside the top nine to qualify for the final Q3 stage; the Honda Racing pairing narrowly missed out on making the cut, just 0.056s putting Andrew Irwin the first in the drop zone adrift of Christian Iddon, who held ninth for Tyco BMW.
Josh Elliott
When Q3 got underway Mackenzie was straight out of pitlane and instantly on the attack for a flying lap, setting the benchmark early ahead of O’Halloran and Josh Elliot as OMG Racing Suzuki qualified for the final qualifying stage for the first time.
Redding meanwhile had been building momentum during his first Datatag Qualifying experience and he moved into sixth, before a final attack put him into third and on the front row ahead of his much-anticipated race debut.
Elliot was able to hold off his team-mate Luke Mossey to head the second row as the OMG Racing Suzuki celebrated their strongest qualifying performances to date ahead of Dan Linfoot on the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha.
Tommy Bridewell
Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Racing Ducati team will start in seventh place after their hard work to rebuild the stricken machine after yesterday’s crash with Christian Iddon and Luke Stapleford completing the top nine.
2019 British Superbike Round One – Silverstone Qualifying Times
Tarran Mackenzie – Yamaha 53.549 Q3
Jason O’Halloran – Yamaha 53.604 Q3
Scott Redding – Ducati 53.607 Q3
Josh Elliott – Suzuki 53.738 Q3
Luke Mossey – Suzuki 53.808 Q3
Dan Linfoot – Yamaha 53.874 Q3
Tommy Bridewell – Ducati 53.893 Q3
Christian Iddon – BMW 54.081 Q3
Luke Stapleford – Suzuki 54.223 Q3
Andrew Irwin – Honda 54.122 Q2
Xavi Fores – Honda 54.181 Q2
Claudio Corti – Kawasaki 54.238 Q2
Ryan Vickers – Kawasaki 54.274 Q2
Danny Buchan – Kawasaki 54.309 Q2
Glenn Irwin – Kawasaki 54.325 Q2
Bradley Ray – Suzuki 54.381 Q2
David Allingham – Yamaha 54.680 Q2
Josh Brookes – Ducati 54.213 Q1
Ben Currie – Kawasaki 54.380 Q1
Keith Farmer – BMW 54.489 Q1
Peter Hickman – BMW 54.507 Q1
Sylvain Barrier – Ducati 54.656 Q1
Matt Truelove – Yamaha 54.711 Q1
Joe Francis – BMW 54.730 Q1
Shaun Winfield – Yamaha 55.104 Q1
James Ellison – BMW 55.288 Q1
Dean Harrison – Kawasaki 55.332 Q1
Fraser Rogers – Kawasaki 55.341 Q1
Dean Hipwell – Kawasaki 55.357 Q1
James Hiller – Kawasaki 55.568 Q1
Sam Coventry – Kawasaki 55.734 Q1
Conor Cummins – Honda 55.744 Q1
Tarran Mackenzie – P1
“It feels really good to be on pole position as I didn’t have the best pre-season really. I felt good on the bike but I just wasn’t that fast, so coming here after the test I was a bit more confident. In Q2 the bike felt perfect so I felt happy going into Q3, I didn’t expect pole position so this is awesome and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Tarran Mackenzie
Scott Redding – P3
“If you are an adrenaline junkie that was exactly what you want to do – for me that was insane! I am used to one qualifying session and then maybe a second one. You don’t want to make a mistake in Q1 but then in Q3 you just close your eyes and go all in. That was so much adrenaline and I am super happy with that. I was a bit nervous to start with but this system is amazing as you can get clear laps at the end. I wanted to go for the pole position, that was my mindset and I think how it was for everyone. Unfortunately it wasn’t me today but it is a good start to my season.”
Scott Redding
British Superstock 1000
Richard Cooper enjoyed a perfect start to his Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship with a double win in the two opening races.
Richard Cooper leads STK1000
In the first 24 lap race, it was Cooper who grabbed the holeshot ahead of Taylor Mackenzie and Alex Olsen. Maintaining positions for the opening half of the race, Olsen made his move into the lead but was unable to break away leaving it a battle until the last lap to decide the victor.
Richard Cooper
Coming into the final corner in the lead, a problem for Olsen saw Cooper slice his way past to take victory with Mackenzie also taking advantage to claim second place.
The start of the second 24 lap race was almost a replica of the first as again Mackenzie, Cooper and Olsen were able to break away from the rest of the field to fight for the victory amongst themselves.
STK1000 Podium – Cooper P1, Mackenzie P2, Olsen P3
Trading places throughout the race, it came down to another last corner move as Cooper fought his way past Mackenzie and was able to fend off a late challenge to the line to claim a double win. Olsen was again third whilst behind him Lee Jackson took a brace of fourth place finishes.
Billy McConnell
South Australia’s Billy McConnell scored 18th and 7th places across the two races while Brayden Elliott finished 26th in the first bout before improving to 16th place in the second race of the weekend.
Brayden Elliott
British Supersport
Jack Kennedy kicked off his title defence with victory in the opening Dickies British Supersport race after an epic battle with Alastair Seeley over the final few laps. Kennedy grabbed the holeshot into the first corner, with team mate Brad Jones in close contention behind and Seeley running third.
Jack Kennedy leads Supersport
The two Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha riders were able to pull a gap of one second over the Seeley during the opening third of the race but a string of fast laps from the ‘Wee Wizard’ saw him close up, taking the lead at the start of lap. The trio traded places throughout the closing laps, coming down to the final lap as Kennedy past Seeley coming onto the back straight to take victory.
Lee Johnston was fourth whilst Kyle Ryde was the leading GP2 Cup rider in fifth. Sam Wilford was second in the GP2 class, sixth overall, whilst Jamie Perrin was third in the class (ninth overall).
British Supersport Race One Results
Jack Kennedy (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha)
Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) +0.194s
Brad Jones (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) +0.440s
Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) +7.701s
Kyle Ryde (Kovara By RS Racing Kalex GP2) +7.926s
Sam Wilford (IDWe RAcinh Honda HP2) +11.398s
British Supersport Race One Results Jack Kennedy (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) +0.194s Brad Jones (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) +0.440s
As it came down to the latter stages, it was Horsman in the lead and Scott Swann making some choice moves and headlines in the group on the chase, he another who made some serious progress up from his starting position. The number 23 of Horsman had just enough breathing space at the front, however, and it seemed as though he’d have a chance to break away. But even as those just behind squabbled, it wasn’t quite enough and the gap kept the group close but not quite close enough – until Ogden really pulled the pin. First fighting through to the front of the chasing pack, the number 4 then unleashed a lap half a second quicker than Horsman to immediately reel him in. Not wasting much time attacking, it became an almighty fight for the win.
D3O LP2 Pro armor is available in shoulder, knee, hip and elbow shapes.
UK-based armor specialist D3O has released its latest in motorcycle rider protection, the LP2 Pro range. This lightweight and highly breathable armor is certified to CE Level 2 in ambient wet, hot and cold conditions, meaning it protects you even in temperatures ranging from 14 degrees (not that many of us want to ride when it’s that cold!) to 104 degrees. LP2 Pro armor is available in knee, hip, elbow and shoulder shapes, with prices starting at $34.99.
One rider has died and another serious injured in allegedly single-vehicle motorcycle crashes in Brisbane over the past couple of days.
In the first incident, a 26-year-old Cornubia man died in a crash on Lytton Rd, Bulimba, at 5.30am yesterday (19 April 2019).
Police say it was a single-vehicle crash, although they have not yet concluded their investigations and are still calling for witnesses and dash cam vision.
In the second incident, police say a 47-year-old male rider from Kingston sustained life-threatening-injuries “following reports a motorcycle had left the Kingston Road and crashed”.
Again, police have not finished their investigations and are calling for witnesses and dash cam evidence.
Our condolences to the family and friends of the first rider and our best wishes for a speedy recovery for the second rider.
Single-vehicle crashes
The police allegations that these are single-vehicle motorcycle crashes are a concern.
It raises the spectre that the riders were at fault. Such assertions should not be made until investigations are completed.
Other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or a stray animal could have caused the crashes.
Claiming they are single-vehicle crashes only confirms in the minds of the public that riders have a death wish and do not deserve their respect and consideration.
These are dangerous assertions that jeopardise the safety of all riders.
In fact, the statistics show that more motorcycle fatalities are in multi-vehicle crashes.
“I think there is a view that riders are more likely to be at fault in accidents involving motorcycles and that speed is the common factor,” Steve says.
“We see this in single-vehicle accidents involving a motorcycle, where the rider is automatically deemed to be at fault.
“This ignores factors such as road condition, line markings, recent roadworks, lack of signage.”
Witnesses sought
If you have information for police on either of these incidents, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
In the rider fatality, quote this reference number QP1900767388 and in the second incident, quote QP1900775488.
The final qualifying session of the 24 Heures Motos on the Bugatti circuit was a ripper and when the times were tallied at the end of the day it was Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance that were the big improvers.
All three riders of the team in the 1m36s, Kenny Foray the quickest on 1m36.232, Julien Da Costa on 1m36.652 and Mathieu Gines on 1m36.909 saw the trio’s combined qualifying marker set at 1m36.597.
ERC-BMW MOTORRAD TAKES POLE POSITION
YART Yamaha are right behind them in second place on the starting grid. Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa also substantially improved their lap time and remain very serious contenders for the win
YART Yamaha
VRD Igol Pierret Expériences continue to amaze. Third on the starting grid, the Viltaïs team, who have moved up into EWC this season with big ambitions, stood up to the favourites with a trio of riders straight from speed championships. While Florian Alt is a long-time rider with the Yamaha-mounted endurance team, Florian Marino comes from Superbike and Xavier Simeon from MotoGP.
VRD Igol Pierret Expériences
The leading trio on the starting grid presages an all-out battle of the manufacturers. Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance are Pirelli-shod, while YART Yamaha are using Bridgestone tyres and VRD Igol Pierret Expériences have Dunlop’s support.
Honda Endurance Racing Team
Team SRC Kawasaki France are in 4th place on the starting grid ahead of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. Honda Endurance Racing, who gave it their all in Thursday afternoon’s qualifying, ended up in 6th place ahead of reigning World Champions F.C.C. TSR Honda France, who opted to focus on preparing their new 2019 CBR 1000 RR SP2 for the race.
BMW also took the top spot in Superstock. GERT56 by GS Yuasa, once again the best-in-class, will start from 10th place on the grid with riders Julian Puffe, Pepijn Bijsterbosch and Lucy Glöckner.
GERT56 by GS Yuasa
The other teams are right behind the German squad (winners of the Superstock class at the Bol d’Or) on the grid: Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto, Motors Events, SC Project Paton Reparto Corse (who have hired Nico Terrol, 125cc world champion) and Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki, in that order.
Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto
2019 Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying Results
ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance – Foray-Da Costa-Gines / BMW 1m36.597
2019 BSB Round One – Silverstone Friday Free Practice
The McAMS Yamaha begins BSB 2019 strongly with young Tarran Mackenzie setting the initial benchmark ahead of Team WD-40 Kawasaki’s Claudio Corti and Scott Redding, but Josh Brookes was gaining momentum after setting the pace in FP1.
Jason O’Halloran
Jason O’Halloran went to the top of the times ahead of Mackenzie and Corti with 20-minutes remaining but it was Dan Linfoot who climbed the order into second in the final five minutes for the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha team to split the McAMS Yamaha team-mates with Luke Mossey inching into the top five.
Mossey was then on the move and he moved into second, just adrift of O’Halloran who continued to improve his pace with Christian Iddon again showing the pace of the new Tyco BMW to edge into the top five.
In the final three minutes Mackenzie improved again; moving into second where he would stay until the end of the session as his team-mate had the edge with Mossey completing the top three for OMG Racing Suzuki.
Tarran Mackenzie
Josh Brookes held fourth place to lead the Be Wiser Ducati charge while Scott Redding finished day one in eighth place on combined times.
In Superstock 1000 a huge field of 52 riders took part in two practice sessions with Buildbase Suzuki’s Richard Cooper topping proceedings ahead of Alex Olsen and Billy McConnell. Levi Day was 15th while Brayden Elliott was 28th.
In the Supersport ranks it was Jack Kennedy on top ahead of Integro Yamaha team-mate Brad Jones and EHA Yamaha’s Alastair Seeley.
2019 BSB Round One – Silverstone
Superbike Friday Free Practice Times
Jason O’Halloran – Yamaha 53.775
Tarran Mackenzie – Yamaha 54.074
Luke Mossey – Suzuki 54.077
Josh Brookes – Ducati 54.164
Josh Elliott – Suzuki 54.209
Christian Iddon – BMW 54.210
Dan Linfoot – Yamaha 54.214
Scott Redding – Ducati 54.270
Claudio Corti – Kawasaki 54.308
Keith Farmer – BMW 54.397
Andrew Irwin – Honda 54.397
Luke Stapleford – Suzuki 54.398
Danny Buchan – Kawasaki 54.428
Glenn Irwin – Kawasaki 54.692
Ryan Vickers – Kawasaki 54.784
Xavi Fores – Honda 54.800
Tommy Bridewell – Ducati 54.832
Ben Currie – Kawasaki 54.832
Peter Hickman – BMW 54.848
Sylvain Barrier – Ducati 54.978
Bradley Ray – Suzuki 55.173
Shaun Winfield – Yamaha 55.212
Matt Truelove – Yamaha 55.232
Dean Harrison – Kawasaki 55.351
David Allingham – Yamaha 55.370
Joe Francis – BMW 55.436
Fraser Rogers – Kawasaki 55.443
James Hillier – Kawasaki 55.721
James Ellison – BMW 55.860
Sam Coventry – Kawasaki 55.912
Dean Hipwell – Kawasaki 56.238
Conor Cummins – Honda 56.325
Superstock 1000 Friday Free Practice
Richard Cooper – Suzuki 54.805
Alex Olsen – BMW 55.132
Billy McConnell – Suzuki 55.234
Taylor Mackenzie – BMW 55.266
Leon Jeacock – Suzuki 55.469
Lewis Rollo – Aprilia 55.625
Ashley Beech – BMW 55.633
Lee Jackson – Kawasaki 55.676
Benjamn Godfrey – Suzuki 55.683
Chrissy Rouse – Kawasaki 55.688
Tom Neave – Honda 55.724
Tom Ward – Suzuki 55.724
Luke Jones – Ducati 55.785
Joe Collier – Kawasaki 55.788
Levi Day – Aprilia 55.881
Eemeli Lahti – Kawasaki 55.915
Luke Hedger – Kawasaki 55.944
George Stanley – Suzuki 55.995
Tim Neave – Kawasaki 56.001
Michael Rutter – BMW 56.128 28. Brayden Elliott – Suzuki 56.388
These Merlin Maple street-style gloves look stylish with their mix of denim and leather, but they don’t offer fashion at the total expense of protection.
Merlin Maple gloves
The $139 Maple gloves come in grey denim with black leather or blue denim with brown leather in sizes small to XXXL.
Despite having denim on the backs of the gloves, that is only a covering.
Underneath is perforated leather, so the combination with denim means you get slightly more abrasion protection as well as plenty of flow-through ventilation.
There are also hard thermoplastic polyurethane protectors across the knuckles and a padded protector on the “heel” of your palm which often contacts the ground first in a fall.
Like all Merlin gear, the Maple gloves are double-stitched everywhere, with extra layers of leather on the palms and down the outside of your hands.
They aren’t made for MotoGP riders, but for street riders who need comfort and fashion as well as urban-speed crash protection.
I’ve also felt confident enough in their protection to wear them on tour.
I found they remained comfortable all day long which is a primary safety issue.
Mind the gap
One of the usual problems with short gloves is that when you reach forward to the bars, your jacket sleeves ride up, leaving your wrists exposed to sunburn.
These short gloves have an extra long cuff so they don’t leave a gap.
The cuffs also have an oversized velcro area for maximum range of fit on the fattest and skinniest wrists.
Another benefit of the soft denim covering is that it acts as a visor wiper when it showers, although the gloves are not waterproof.
Unlike most summer gloves, they have a lining. It’s made of a soft polyester microfleece that is stitched in so you don’t annoyingly pull it out when you take your gloves off.
In these days of touchscreen phones and GPS units, I would have liked the fingertips to have touchscreen-sensitive material.
IMS Discover The Ride reveals positive data from moto-curious participants.
Begin Press Release:
Recent Motorcycle Survey Finds an Astonishingly High Number of Youth Plan to Start Riding
New Data From IMS’ Discover the Ride Initiative Reveals a Hopeful Future for the Motorcycle Industry
Santa Monica, Calif. (April 19, 2019) – The Progressive® International Motorcycle Shows® (IMS), the industry leader for connecting powersports’ top brands with enthusiasts and buyers, today announced data gathered from survey feedback provided by participants of IMS’ Discover The Ride initiative, which found that 81 percent of currently non-motorcycle-licensed consumers who experienced the thrill of two-wheels on the program’s New Rider Course plan to get their motorcycle license. Of those non-licensed riders, 64 percent were under the age of 35. The combined findings suggest there is a high percent of youth interested in joining the motorcycle industry.
Discover the Ride, which launched during the 2018/2019 IMS tour and has since hit seven major cities throughout the nation as well as the 2019 Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Auto Show, is the only approachable motorcycling experience designed to give non-motorcycle-licensed consumers the experience of riding in a safe and controlled environment. The interactive program, which includes the New Rider Course, The Kids Zone, educational seminars within New To 2, and a dyno and wheelie experience, was specifically designed to introduce riding motorcycles to consumers of all ages in an effort to counteract the industry’s high barriers of entry.
“It is important for the motorcycle industry to recognize there is a deep pool of potential riders, especially within the younger generation, as Discover the Ride’s data suggests,” said Tracy Harris, Senior Vice President, Powersports, Informa. “Discover the Ride does a fantastic job providing a quick and accessible opportunity for non-riders to experience the rush of two wheels. The program additionally takes the next step in converting non-riders by providing continued education and resources to those interested through New to 2, a series of online videos and live presentations educating new riders on the world of motorcycling, and guidance from Total Control Training who provides tailored information on where one can pursue obtaining their motorcycle license.”
The Discover the Ride feedback, provided by non-motorcycle-licensed participants, was contributed by over 2,000 consumers spanning Long Beach, New York, Dallas, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., and Chicago. In addition to its presence at each stop of the 2018/2019 IMS tour, Discover the Ride’s feature at the DFW Auto Show resulted in a comprehensive dataset pulling from both industry and non-industry consumers.
Additional key highlights from the Discover the Ride survey feedback are as follows:
Across the seven IMS tour stops throughout the nation and the DFW Auto Show, over 6,800 consumers participated in Discover the Ride.
47 percent of all non-motorcycle-licensed Discover the Ride and New Rider Course participants were female.
More than 2,340 kids rode StaCyc bikes in The Kids Zone.
“The motorcycle industry has struggled with Millennials and Gen X’ers not entering the market at the same rate as baby boomers are aging out,” said Robert Pandya, Team Manager, Discover the Ride. “Thus, it is critical for the future of motorcycling that current industry leaders come together to bring approachable opportunities for the next generation, as well as underserved demographics, to experience and get on board with riding. As the nation’s largest consumer motorcycle tour, IMS is currently leading that effort with Discover the Ride.”
IMS is dedicated to increasing new ridership; as a follow-up to the onsite Discover the Ride initiative, IMS will be reaching out to the non-motorcycle-licensed riders interested in obtaining their license to further provide the tools they need to start their journey.
These TCX boots feature a lace system which some riders claim can be dangerous because you can get them caught in the pegs or levers.
