Andy

There are riders who just enter for the ride-around (I was involved on the administrative side of the event for long enough to know that!), but their numbers are tiny and it's well known who they are. My understanding is that they're being weeded out by tracking the "ask for five" brigade using new processes that weren't available when I was involved. However, it's not an ovenight process. With an event that happens for one week a year it's going to take time to record and identify the consistent "can I have a five?" riders and eradicate them (they've already clamped down on folk making registrations under multiples names and clamped down on payment dates being adhered to). I'm sure it will happen that entry control gets tighter to ensure those who actually WANT to ride and do their very best are the ones who are in the Parc Ferme Monday morning thinking "Oh my God. What am I doing???" As far as the success of the modern day SSDT goes, it is largely down to that cantankerous, argumentative bugger many of us knew as the late Willie Dalling. As much as it pains me to admit it, having had more run-ins with him than I care to mention (and over stupid little things that you don't appreciate till folk have gone), he did an awesome job in shaping the SSDT to where it stands today. Knowing the guys behind this event, I've every confidence in Mark and his fellow management team taking on Willie's legacy and can only see the event go from strength to strength.

Funding is always welcome, especially when you're getting free promotion

I'm not too sure if I'm happy about a new user appearing and using Trials Central resources to do their homework...

It's too early to say exactly what will be happening, but whether I run something as a Trials Central get-together or in conjunction with the organisers, it won't just be supporters/forum members/site visitors alone and no exceptions. There's a lot of guys would get ****** off if they were allowed and their wives weren't (hmmm...on second thoughts, maybe not!) A balance needs to be found, but whatever happens it will most likely require pre-registration via the website. After last year, I'm certainly keen to do something again, but a bit more geared towards those who actually use this site (supporter, forum member or just casual reader) - not just any Tom, Dick or Harry who happens to see a bit of a party going on. I'm also keen to do more for the kids on site. The big screen DVD showings in the tent went down great with the kids and gave them something to do whilst the parents socialised, but I have other ideas around that too. The route I'll most likely take is to arrange a Trials Central get-together in conjunction with the organisers. That way I can take advantage of their security people and ensure whatever I do is endorsed by them (It was last year - they even supplied one of the generators, but I think working closer with them is a good idea moving forward) Watch this space.

I think I'd probably have to give the Beav the benefit of the doubt on this one given the way the press like to twist things to their own means. Anyway... the reason I'm replying is that I'm trying to give James (not John!) Lampkin some coverage of his trip stateside. I already have some reports from the organisers of the various schools, but I'd be interested to include any stories, comments, anecdotes etc that any of you have who attended any of the schools he ran. This was a bit of a unique trip and I'm keen to give it a bit of exposure.

You can only attach certain types of files and only up to a certain size. I'd need to check, but I don't think video formats are allowed. To publish them you'd need to find somewhere to host them and then create a link here to wherever they're hosted. Sorry, but video eats bandwidth so it's better if they're hosted outwith Trials Central.

Photos and video (including one of the legend that is Bikespace!) online now. Clicky here Only comment I'd make and, as a non-rider, it's purely based on my observations at other Trials is that the sections were a tad on the long side. This was also commented on by a couple of riders. However, if the majority were happy then sod it!

HONDA RACING INFORMATION MotoGP test Catalunya. Final day of three-day test March 5, 2006. Nicky Hayden second in rain lashed Catalunya timed shoot out The final day of the three-day IRTA MotoGP test at the 4.727m Catalunya circuit, on the outskirt of Barcelona was run in varying degrees of wet weather. On arrival the MotoGP riders were greeted by a damp track. The track surface had barely dried out when at lunchtime torrential rain took control of events restricting the teams and riders to testing wet weather tyres and machine set up in time for the shoot out timed session in mid afternoon. Repsol Honda team rider American Nicky Hayden, fastest Honda rider on all three days of the test, ended the wet timed session in second place headed only by fellow American MotoGP star Colin Edwards. Hayden has been working with the latest 2006 version of the five-cylinder 990cc Honda RC211V machine he will campaign in the 17-round world championship that opens at Jerez on March 26. Hayden's team-mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, a MotoGP debutante in 2006, spent the day getting used to his 240 hp plus RCV in the wet conditions and was not looking to make a name for himself in the timed shoot out. Pedrosa was happy with his performance and announced himself satisfied with the results of the three-day test. Fortuna Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias enjoyed mixed results on the final day. Italian Melandri the fastest of the two men finishing in 6th,just over a second down on Hayden. Elias didn't get to grips with his RCV in the wet conditions leading up to the timed session and eventually finished down in 15th. Makoto Tamada spent the entire day working to find the best wet weather machine settings. The Konica Minolta Honda rider worked on a softer feeling. Once he had the feed-back from the bike that he needed Tamada moved onto rain tyre testing for Michelin before taking to the track for the timed session ending up in 12th place. Team Roberts wrapped up a successful three-days of testing with definite improvements to the KR211V. The major work has been done and the team is concentrating on detailed work to the latest version of the Team Roberts built chassis that houses the Honda RC211V five-cylinder engine. Team owner Kenny Roberts Senior was in buoyant mood as he discussed the next stage of development for the KR211V. Team Roberts rider, Kenny Roberts Jnr was setting faster an faster lap times as the shoot out wore on but the Californian slid off the KR211V when seventh place ruining any chance of top honours on the day. "Things are definitely moving in the right direction and we will use the data we gained at this test to build the next generation chassis in time for the GP at Jerez." Explained Roberts Senior. Honda rider lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 58.921s. Official timed session. "It's really nice to see a little bit of the winter's work pay off and have a good feeling in the wet. I know this session doesn't really mean anything but when I crossed the line and looked at the screen I was actually on top, so I was pretty excited there for a second. I'm not one of those guys to talk about how hard we've worked because normally those are the lazy guys! But this winter we've spent a lot time in the wet at Phillip Island and Sepang, finding a set up I like in the wet, so I'm pleased. It would have been nice to run in the dry today. We've got plenty of work to do at the next test so it would be nice to have some good weather in Jerez. I'm sure it will be a three full days of testing." Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 07.326s. Official timed session. "Today we didn't do many laps because only two of the runs were dry before the rain came. But this test was really useful because it was good to test at a different track for the whole team as well as for me. I'm still learning how to ride a MotoGP bike and I'm happy because I'm making the kind of progress that I'd hoped, taking things step by step and going forward. So the timed session wasn't really important for me." Makoto Tanaka Repsol Honda Team Manager "It's a shame Nicky just missed out on top spot from the timed session! Nicky found quite a good set-up for wet conditions but hadn't enough time to get the quickest time. I think Dani needs more experience, especially in heavy wet conditions, but he brought back his bike looking good! Over the three days of this test we had some very good results, especially on the engine side, but we still have an issue with rear traction. It's disappointing that we couldn't go as fast as we'd have liked here and we have a lot of work still to do, but we know what we have to work on." Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 2m 00.218s. Official timed session. "We have improved over this difficult weekend but we now have a clear view of our problem with the bike. In these wet conditions the bike is very easy to ride. But even in the conditions here we got a lot of interesting data to work with so even a wet day like today was not useless. Now we go to Jerez for the final test before the championship and we will run a race distance and hope we are ready for the season." Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 2m 05.961s. Official timed session. "I'm sorry for the fans that came to watch us today, the weather conditions spoilt their day, and ours. It's true that we are having some problems at the moment that we have to solve as soon as we can but today's conditions didn't help us too much. I'm positive with the situation and we will stay working hard day by day - stay focused and be ready for Jerez." Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 2.02,197. Official timed session. "Today's test day has been nearly unhelpful. I could only test the bike on wet conditions for the fist time this year. The impression is the same I had already had with a dry race bike setting, therefore, even in this conditions the last part of the corner approach, is still the phase to be improved.. I am not able yet to ride as I would like to, because I have to force the bike too much to make it lean. In Jerez, we hope to find better weather conditions in order to have all the necessary time to close this development phase of new Honda RC211V basic setting." Giulio Bernardelle - Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director "There have not been the right conditions to work profitably, neither with dry ground nor with wet ground. The rain, which started falling around midday has never been constant therefore the grip conditions on the ground were continuously changing. For this, after the qualifying session, we decided to interrupt the test in advance because the work we have to do in this moment would not lead to any useful information if done in these conditions." Kenny Roberts Junior, KR Honda: 2m 00.205s. Official timed session. "We have made good progress at this test especially now we have adjusted the seating position. I'm much more comfortable on the bike now and feel I have a better balance. We are much closer to the top group. Up until now e have been making big changes to make improvements but now it's just small things, the closer you get to the top it gets like that. Generally I'm happy with everything the team has done this weekend in the conditions we faced, we have not had a single problem. The bike feels great, especially in the wet and I found a good rhythm in the timed session but I made a silly mistake and threw it away. It's just one of those things. When you are getting close to he limit you push a little harder. But I'm happy as we can see the future is bright, there's lots more to come."

There are obviously folk on this topic who weren't there last year so to fill them in... I ran a bit of publicity on the site as to a Trials Central "Party In The Park" on the campsite. It was initially aimed at forum members, but I underestimated the popularity of the site. We organised a decent sized tent for the numbers I expected. Even on the Friday night there were over a hundred turned up. It was a great night - the weather was kind so all the adults were outside enjoying themselves while we were showing Trials DVDs on a big screen inside the tent that the kids loved - and kept them amused. Saturday night was 2-300 people. Still a great night with a few downers like folk stealing and freeloading the free drink both Trials Central and our supporters had put up, but overall an undeniable success. It was a first and lessons were learned - particularly around the freeloaders and the very small minority who tried to steal. I will be running something this year, but it will most likely be more closely tied in with the organisers to take advantage of their security - i.e. only open to either forum users and people who book access in advance so I can ensure it's a party for Trials Central users and not just anybody who happens to pass by. More on this to come.

Great analogy! Absolutely spot on though I think it might go over the heads of some!

I spoke to Julian about it too and meant to get some pics, but left before the end. They are being designed with the Scottish in mind. Looked very slick on Wiggy's bike.

Normally advertising is not permitted in these forums, but considering the gentleman above not only gave me a lift to the airport today, but has helped Trials Central many times in the past, I'll not only let him off, but will testify it's quality work Graffics do. Now all he has to do is slip me a fiver and I won't publish the video I took of him today

Sorry to wonder a bit off topic, but as I said to Ian last night - I absolutely love that Avatar!

Thanks Andy and also to Ian and Julie for their hospitality, to Carlton for the several complimentary face-washes and to Breidden Hills for a great day out - even if I was gritting sections at 8am this morning! Photos later. Got a backlog of World Indoor stuff to do

HONDA RACING INFORMATION World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2006 Round 2 Phillip Island

HONDA RACING INFORMATION MotoGP test Catalunya. Day two of three-day test, March 4, 2006. Nicky Hayden again fastest RCV rider at IRTA Catalunya test. Repsol Honda rider was again the fastest Honda RC211V rider of the day at the IRTA test at Catalunya. Hayden shaved two-tenths of a second off his best time of yesterday despite struggling to find rear wheel grip in the cold and blustery conditions at the 4.727 km Spanish GP circuit, close to Barcelona. American Hayden is putting in a mammoth stint each day of testing as he runs through a heavy HRC test programme with the 2006 RCV. Despite the low temperatures and high winds Hayden managed to get in a staggering 107 las today. Dani Pedrosa, on the second Repsol Honda, improved his time by over half a second but crashed just after lunch. The youngster lost the front end of his RCV entering turn four but escaped injury and was quickly back on track and up to pre-crash speed. The Fortuna Honda riders experienced mixed fortunes with their efforts to improve performance. Italian Marco Melandri was faster than yesterday but he struggled to come to grips with the new Michelin rear tyre. Melandri had been the Honda man to catch during the winter test series but the ideal RCV set up on the previous best Michelin rear proved to be way off the mark for the latest upgraded product from the French tyre supplier. Melandri

Are these reports useful? I get them anyway so it's no hassle to copy and paste.

Whatever. I don't drink the crap! I'll have Miller in the Limo instead!

And you know the fridge in the limo should be at it's coldest setting and contain only Kristal Champagne.

Me apparently. If I can drag myself out of bed in the morning. What moron booked that early flight?

MotoGP test Catalunya. Day one March 3, 2006. The MotoGP teams returned to Europe this week for the closing stages of winter testing. The teams began a three-day test at the Catalunya circuit, close to Barcelona today with final testing taking place at the Jerez circuit in, Andalusia scene of the opening race of the 17-round world championship series. Cold weather and strong wind made for a difficult early morning but as soon as the track surface warmed the teams set about finding machine base settings the riders will need to get the best out of the three-day test. Fastest Honda rider on the opening day of test was American Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda). The former AMA Superbike Champion ran the whole day with the latest version of the all-new 2006 Honda RC211V five-cylinder 990cc GP machine he will campaign in the championship. Hayden spent his day finding a good base setting and machine balance for the RCV before working on a range of tyres for Michelin in a bid to find the optimum package before moving on to fine tuning and chasing fast lap times tomorrow. Hayden

I've got lots and lots of lovely :wall: Now to stuff envelopes PS. The Red is a lot more vivid on the real thing and the background is white. They didn't photo very well due to flash reflection and compression to publish the pic. Thanks again to VinnieD and AtomAnt for their help on this and my neighbour for taking delivery today!

"Hi Andy, Just to confirm your stickers have been printed and despatched to you today. You should receive them tomorrow (Friday before 4pm). Thank you for your custom, and apologies we couldn't speed up getting these to you any sooner. Kind regards,"

Irrelevant post deleted!

I have two lenses I use - a Canon 24-85mm (bought from IanJ!) and a Sigma 15-30mm. My preference is to use the Sigma whenever possible aspherical lens and nice wide angle shots. Great for close-up work. As Trialsrfun said - anything less than 1/250 and you'll get motion blur which is a pig for me when using Flash as the 10D only syncs with flash up to 1/200. Methinks a 20D will be purchased very soon I was talking to Eric Kitchen about flash at the Colonial and he reckons we use it too much. I'd agree it does look kinda artificial and stark in dull conditions, but then he was shooting at ISO 800. I can't do that for print quality (ISO 400 is max for me). It's fine for printed publication like TMX, but nobody is going to buy a "photo quality" print from Trialsphotos if it's grainy - not that I'd sell a grainy print anyway!