Countryside La Vie Magazine

The 28th International Classic MotorCycle Show attracted a record-breaking 30,000 visitors to Stafford County Showground.

With Giacomo Agostini, the Italian multi-time world champion and Grand Prix ace Kork Ballington in attendance, the event sponsored by Carole Nash and Central Wheel Components on 26-27 April, was always going to be bigger and better than ever. Glorious sunshine on the Saturday and an eclectic array of motorcycles topped a fantastic weekend.

Agostini formally opened the show wowing the crowds with stories of his 122 Grand Prix and 15 World Championship title victories. Visitors flocked to hear this motorcycling icon’s tales and never has the show seen a more popular star guest.

The return of the Classic Racer Grand Prix Paddock, sponsored by Footman James was another huge success. The impressive and diverse line-up of race ware on display was not only a striking spectacle but it brought all the sights, sounds and smells of road racing to life at the show. A new addition for 2008 was the Classic Competition Hall, again sponsored by Footman James. Full of competition clubs, both road racing and off-road and with the many traders all very busy its debut was one of the highlights of the show.

As usual, a focal point to the weekend was the club stand competition, in which clubs vote for one another as they try to win one of the many coveted awards and with it a cash prize. Competition was fierce to see who would take this year’s £1000 star prize but it was the Rudge Enthusiasts who scooped the award in the end, closely followed by the Malmesbury Motorcycle Club and in third place the Gold Star Owners Club.

With the record breaking event now over for another year, a tired but delighted Show Manager Nick Mowbray said: “I am absolutely overwhelmed with the achievements of the 28th International Classic MotorCycle Show. With Ago and Kork Ballington as our guests of honour the crowd attendance was just unbelievable and traders are already re-booking for next year; all of the classic bike shows team are exhausted but very, very happy.”

A Hugely Versatile, Innovation-Packed Gt

The first official photographs have been published of the Ferrari California, the latest addition to the new generation of Ferraris launched in 2004 with the 612 Scaglietti and added to more recently with the 430 Scuderia.

The Ferrari California joins the Prancing Horse’s 8-cylinder family which has always been defined by power and performance. It also flanks the flagship 612 Scaglietti in the prestige sporty Grand Tourer segment.

The new Ferrari California will satisfy even the most demanding of owners in terms of its superb vehicle dynamics and driving pleasure. The new model will be available exclusively as a convertible with a folding hard top. Both chassis and bodywork are aluminium, in line with the rest of the current range. The California will be powered by a new V8 engine mounted for the first time in the marque’s history in the mid-front position.

In line with Ferrari tradition, the new model also features several innovations. Apart from its folding hard top, these include the original 2+ concept which guarantees exceptional versatility of use in the rear of the car. The California’s 4,300 cc V8 engine features direct fuel injection and a “flat” crankshaft. It generates 460 CV at 7,500 rpm with a torque curve that enhances vehicle dynamics and provides maximum driving pleasure which is typical for Ferrari. As per the traditional Ferrari transaxle layout, the engine, which allows the Ferrari California to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4.0 seconds, will be coupled to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission that boosts the car’s performance while enhancing the driving pleasure, improves ride comfort and reduces fuel consumption and emissions (c.310 g/km CO2). The comfort is further enhanced by a new multilink rear suspension system. The Ferrari California is also equipped with the exclusive F1-Trac traction control system which made its debut on the 599 GTB Fiorano and has been further honed to suit the typical driving conditions expected for this new GT. Brembo brakes featuring carbon-ceramic material discs as standard guarantee superbly efficient braking.

In addition to sporting the marque’s classic styling cues, the cabin has also been beautifully trimmed using quality materials by Ferrari’s own skilled artisans. New accessories and equipment, such as the seats, steering wheel, instrument panel and infotainment system, together with optimised aerodynamics ensure that this is a highly ergonomic and enjoyable car to drive regardless of whether the top is up or down.

The Ferrari California is aimed at owners who desire a car which embodies everything the Prancing Horse represents in terms of sporty design and innovation, but also seek a car with greater versatility than ever. The car will be officially unveiled to the public at the Paris International Car Show. However, over the coming weeks, new photographs and further details about it will also be published.

The motorcycle journey of a l i fetime reached its epic conclusion 4 August as television adventurers Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman were greeted by champagne, media and roaring motorbikes as they cruised into Cape Town to complete the final leg of their 3 month, 15,000 mile journey from the north of Scotland to the tip of Africa.

The adventure began in May 2007 in John O’Groats, Scotland and they rode their BMW 1200 GS Adventurer motorcycles through eighteen countries, including Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Rwanda. They encountered some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth and negotiated blinding sandstorms, searing temperatures, dodgy border crossings and extreme riding conditions.

Ewan and Charley spent three months planning the expedition, deciding which countries they should visit and preparing the bikes for the ride. It was important to Ewan and Charley that they explored parts of Africa that are less travelled including western

Ethiopia near the Eritrean border, Gulu in northern Uganda and western Tanzania close to the shores of lake Tanganyika. “The Long Way Down has been an amazing journey and it has been a real privilege to be able to experience these diverse and beautiful places. We’ve had the opportunity to see such different ways of life to ours and have travelled to remote places very few people have access to. The sense of freedom and exploration has been incredible.” says Ewan.

“We were both up for an adventure and Africa has certainly given us that,” says Charley. “There have been times when it has been unbelievably hard going but that has been countered by amazing riding and ex t raordinar y people. Africa is a continent full of undiscovered wonder and we both feel incredibly lucky we’ve been able to experience this together and to have survived with some brilliant stories to tell.”

Travelling with Ewan and Charley have been Russ Malkin of Big Earth and David Alexanian of Elixir Films, who are producing and directing a documentary of the journey, as well as three cameramen and a medic.

In an effort to raise awareness for CHAS (Children’s Hospice Association of Scotland), UNICEF and Rider’s For Health, Ewan and Charley and the Long Way Down team visited sites for these three charities to raise awareness. In addition, Ewan and Charley, plan to host a charity event in November to raise money for these selected charities. Coverage of ‘The Long Way Down’ journey has been acquired by BBC Two and will be broadcast during Autumn 2007. The television series will air worldwide on National Geographic in 2008.

Sphere are delighted to be publishing the book Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. It will be out on 4th October 2007 in hardback, priced £20.00.

A DVD of the complete TV series to Long Way Down will be released on 3rd December 2007. Following the adventures of Ewan and Charley on their extraordinary journey from John O’Groats to the southern most tip of Africa, the two disc DVD will also include a number of previously unseen extras, photo gallery, interactive route map and much more.

Copies of the DVD can be pre-ordered by going to:

www.longwaydown.com

The roads and car parks surrounding Hinckley & Bosworth Council offices hosted a unique event recently when the Trinity Hyundai Rally of the Midlands staged a rally super special.

More than 70 specially-prepared rally cars were waved off by Civic dignitaries at the beginning of their 250 mile competition, the first mile of which was to take place in front of the Council head office.

“The Rally is unique in as much as it is the only occasion in the whole of Great Britain to use roads in a town centre for such a high speed event,” said event organiser, Peter Young of Creative Media Communications.

“This is the second year we have staged this event in Hinckley and our plans are already well in place to run the same competitive stage again next year,” he added.

Spectators, who turned up in their thousands, were able to enjoy two hours of high speed, tyre smoking action totally free of charge as part of the promotion of Hinckleys’ new Hyundai dealership in Coventry Road.