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 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.
The 2019 East Coast Racing Festival concludes the 2019 Irish Road Racing Season.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get anywhere near Killalane due to a mechanical incident with my bike – well some a**e left a massive screw on the M1 motorway near Dublin and ruined my chances of getting anywhere near the racing. So thanks for that you inconsiderate t**t!
However well done to all involved in the event. If you would like a decent recap of the event check out the
Just like for the 2019 TT Races the weather did its upmost to put a dampener on things for the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix over the 2019 Festival of Motorcycling.
Just like for the 2019 TT Races the weather did its upmost to put a dampener on things for the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix over the 2019 Festival of Motorcycling.
The Bruce Anstey comeback is complete as the Flying Kiwi takes the Lightweight Classic TT #TeamPagetts#LoveTT - I keep on saying but honestly, what a guy. Inspirational. 👏 pic.twitter.com/AP7jwpnhyS
Let’s cut to the chase here – thanks to Peter Hickman – the Ulster Grand Prix is once again the Fasted Road Race in the World! Well done Peter Hickman and your amazing 136.415 mph lap!
2019 Ulster Grand Prix : The World’s Fastest Road Race : Credit @ulstergrandprix Twitter
Thursday 8th August 2019 : Thursday Evening Race Session :
After a pretty grim Wednesday Practice Session that was effectively ruined by rain it was over to Thursday and the promise of a much more road racing friendly wether forecast.
The promise was fulfilled and the Dundrod skies were bright, maybe a little cloudy at times, but generally blessed with plenty of sunshine. All of which raised the expectations and crowd numbers for the Thursday evening race session.
In previous years the Superbike Race (1) was the last event on the Thursday but due to the fact that in recent years the race did not get run the organisers made what, I believe to be, a great decision and moved it up to the first race of the session.
There was also a ‘little‘ bit of pressure on this race; looking forward to Saturday the weather forecast was / is not looking positive. That meant that if the Ulster Grand Prix was to take back its former crown and title of being the ‘World’s Fastest Road Race’ then the only real likelihood of this happening in 2019 was in Superbike Race 1.
