I am going to ‘Stickie’ this post until around the start of the Season because I think all road racing fans need to read and share it. The future of Irish Road Racing is in the balance and that balance is slowing tipping the wrong way!
It is relatively bleak reading, but it raises some very valid points. In 2020 we have definitely lost the Enniskillen Road Races with that event opting to relocate to a circuit. Also the Ulster Grand Prix looks very like it will not have a 2020 event – its future beyond that looks grim if the rumoured figures of debt are even remotely true and Cookstown have went on record saying that another bad year or two will put their event in real jeopardy.
The 2019 Irish Motorbike Awards in association with Cornmarket Insurance and Charles Hurst Motorcycles were held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Belfast on Friday 17th January 2020. Here is the full list of the winners.
It’s 2020 and we are now in almost into the preseason. Chat and rumours are flying about who is moving where? Who is staying put? And who do we still not have a clue about? Then there is the reason you are here – what is the 2020 Isle of Man TT Prize Breakdown?
One of the most read posts annually since 2017 on this site is the Winners’ Payout Details (with over 45k unique hits at the time of writing) and since 2017 I have updated annually it with the latest information from the current Regulations Booklet. You can read the entire 2020 book here : (may not be available after 2020) :
Paulo Gonçalves, racing on motorbike no. 8, has passed away from a fall sustained 276 kilometres into today’s special. The organisers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest. Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead.
40-year-old Paulo Gonçalves was taking part in his 13th Dakar. He made his debut in 2006 and had finished four times in the top 10, including an impressive performance as runner-up to Marc Coma in 2015. Paulo Gonçalves, the 2013 cross-country rallies world champion, was sitting in 46th place overall after stage 6 of the 2020 Dakar.
The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family.
Welcome to 2020 and the countdown to the start of the 2020 Road Racing Season. The winter break is now half over so I thought I would put together a quick post of some of the rumours (and facts) that have surfaced over the last couple of months.
If the news and gossip continues to come in at a similar I will need to do another one of these before April because there is a lot of interesting news to get through, unfortunately once you get past the positive and exciting stuff there is some really devastating news out there too, but more on that in a minute.
Happy New Year 2020 : May it be a great one for you all, and all of yours!
Motorcycle Live returns to the NEC, Birmingham in 2019 from 16th – 24th November 2019, so at the time of writing you still have time to visit the show and I can easily recommend that you do visit the show.
I have reviewed the Motorcycle Live Exhibition a number of times of already – so have a look at them if you are undecided on your attendance. In summary though I have been going since 2014 and that trip requires getting up before 3am to make my flight and not getting home to around 11pm. That should be enough to make anyone think it is worth checking out – but let’s put it simply – it is a day walking about looking at bikes, talking about bikes, spending money on bikes or at least thinking about how you would spend money on bikes – how else would you rather spend a cold, damp November’s day?
Just for reference in case anyone – cough BMW Motorrad cough – is feeling generous this is now top of my wish list…
BMW R Nine T GS Urban ‘Option 719’
Previous MotorcycleLive Resources :
Motorcycle Live 2014 : Includes the first pics of the new Africa Twin – that was exciting and a dyne testing of the Kawasaki H2
Motorcycle Live 2017 : MCL in a Day – from Northern Ireland : A detailed review on the event as a traveller – getting flights, getting fed, getting round the show and getting back to Northern Ireland all for about £50 – and this is still the method I use.
Motorcycle Live 2018 : A detailed review on the event with some highlights picked out – from Best Display – to Most Wanted – to Bike that Got Me Thinking.
Back to Motorcycle Live 2019 :
At the bottom of this post you will find my full Motorcycle Live 2019 Gallery, but it is worth checking out my Instagram for a regular boost of Motorcycles | Technology | Photography – I would really appreciate the follow.
TBNI.Blog Instagram
A few other bikes really caught my attention – this Suzuki DR800S has 5 miles on the clock!
The 2019 Macau GP will be running from 13th – 17th November 2019, if you are visiting on these dates make sure you miss none of the action – bookmark or save the link to the live stream! If you have arrived after the event and just want to know the 2019 Macau GP Results then just keep scrolling down.
Love Road Racing? Then make sure to subscribe to our free road racing iCal Calendar – it updates automatically with all the dates and details for every Irish / Northern Irish and Manx race. Read More about it here : http://tbni.blog/road-racing-calendar/
The 2020 Isle of Man TT Schedule has been released and we have all the important dates and times to help you plan your trip, or if you can’t make it to the island at least you will know what time to tune into Manx Radio to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Peter Hickman at the Isle of Man TT Races
Two things of note though. The first may actually benefit you if you are heading over for practice week from Dublin – the first scheduled practices are now on the Sunday of Practice week. Traditionally the first day of practice was Saturday, however the first 2020 session will now be on Sunday 31st May afternoon – so if you are on that Dublin sailing think sharp – get off the boat and you will hopefully catch some Sunday qualifying.
Secondly – and sadly – there will be no TT Zero qualifying or racing in 2020 and 2021. The class has been dropped for two years, allegedly to ‘allow development’. TT Zero has been running for a decade and the electric machines from Mugen are responsible for a 121.824mph lap. I get that the entry is low and also that the Mugen will win, but still, TT Zero showed innovation and look at that lap time! I fully understand that many argue passionately that a TT Zero win shouldn’t really be counted as a TT win. I am all for opinions, but that opinion is one I’ll just have to disagree with. It may ‘only‘ be 1 lap – but that one lap is potentially 120+mph and considering the lap size of 37 miles then it really isn’t to be sniffed at. That one lap is still more than most full length Irish and Northern Irish National races. Hopefully come 2022 more teams will be in the field, on the track and ready to race!
Finally – this schedule is subject to change and given the weather we have had over the last couple of years this schedule will change. At the time make sure to follow :
And of course don’t forget the TBNI Road Racing Calendar – that will keep you up to date with all the Irish / Northern Ireland and Manx Road Racing Schedules.
The 2019 Road Racing Season is now over (with the exception of Macau).
You will notice a bit of a change in the site content over the coming winter months – with more ‘tech’ content. Just go with it, you might even like it – and be safe in the knowledge that when the bikes are back on the roads all the important info will still be here.
If you have no interest in anything that else that the site has to offer I won’t hold that against you either – just bookmark or save the site to your favourites and I will see you again in April 2020!
In the meantime make sure you subscribe to the TBNI Road Racing Calendar – as always it is free, keep up to date and already is starting to get the 2020 dates added to it. If you haven’t already subscribed have a read and get that sorted.
