Andy

Oooh - got both the modern and the Retro look! Nobody else got theirs then? Took me bleeding ages on Friday night to sort that lot out then caused a major queue in the Post Office on Saturday morning. "These are going within the UK and are pre-stamped. These are UK too, but can you weigh them just in case, this one is to France, this one to Canada, these to the USA, oh and these to Australia". There was a lot of tutting and sighing behind me

Yup. Went out on Saturday. Should start arriving with folk today. Would have been sooner, but I was working in the Western Isles last week.

Sounds pretty much spot on!

Are you into Pushbike Trials or Motorcycle Trials? If you're not into Trials on a bike with an engine then you'd be best to post in our forum dedicated to that subject or seek a site more dedicated to that discipline. This site is 99% dedicated to Motorcycle Trials.

AS iow does. He's even met the pixie.

Well AGiow or ASiow could email the results to website AT trialscentral.com and the magic news post pixie could sort it

MotoGP pre-season testing came to a close when the teams and riders ended their three-day IRTA test at Jerez today. The next time they fire up their 990cc four-stroke grand prix machines it will mark the start of the 17-round world championship which opens on the same 4.423 km Jerez circuit on March 26. Honda fields its youngest ever senior class line up for a championship campaign this year. The six RCV riders have a good balance between youth and experience averaging 23 years of age, with Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner the youngest at 20, Makoto Tamada the elder statesman at 29. Nicky Hayden 24, Marco Melandri 23, and Toni Elias, a 24 year old complete the line up. In addition Team Roberts have chosen Honda power for their all-new for the 2006 season KR211V. The RCV engine housed in a Team Roberts built rolling chassis. Kenny Roberts Jnr will race the machine he has helped develop since the drawing board stage. On the last day of the three-day test the Repsol Honda pairing of Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden set the pace for their fellow RC211V riders to chase. Pedrosa ended the day with a flourish setting fourth fastest time of the day, Hayden a tenth of a second behind in sixth. Both riders worked hard on race simulations using the latest Michelin rubber. While Hayden feels he improved the rear end of his all-new 2006 factory machine he hopes for more feeling from the machine at the grand prix. MotoGP debutante Pedrosa is on a fast learning curve but ends winter testing in better shape than he could have hoped for. The young Spaniard has improved each time out on the 240 hp plus RC211V but the real test comes when he returns to Jerez to race. Fortuna Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias emerged from the final day of testing in confident mood. Both men spent the day tyre testing running a series of tests on 2006 race rubber. Melandri set his fastest time of the day on lap 12 of a 15-lap session on race tyres. While Elias worked his way through an intensive tyre testing programme ending the day more as one with his RCV than at any time during winter testing. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda) ended the day faster than yesterday but the gritty Japanese rider is still searching for the optimum base setting for his RCV. He is still trying to eliminate the chatter problems he ran into yesterday. Kenny Roberts Jnr ended the test with fifth fastest time aboard the KR211V. Roberts spent the day gathering as much data as possible for the team before they return to their UK base to decide upon the next phase of chassis development. Honda rider Lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.570s - 109 laps."Well all the testing's all over and now it's time for the real deal. Next time we get on the bikes it'll be showtime. I'd like to say we're right there and everything's all gravy but the truth is still couldn't quite get the bike to stay in line and get hooked up as good as we wanted. We've made some progress today and at the end we put on some soft tyres, not qualifiers, just to see what it would do and that definitely helped my lap time a lot. And I did a full race run to get a feeling but I it was hard to maintain the pace. Nonetheless, I'm excited to go racing. Testing's cool but going toe-to-toe with the boys is the fun part!." Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.416s - 81 laps. "It's been a very good pre-season for me because each time on the bike I've been able to improve step-by-step. I did a lot of laps over the winter and this is very useful to get to know the bike because the step up from the 250 to MotoGP is much bigger than the step from 125 to 250. Physically I'm getting stronger and this will continue throughout the year. I'm starting to understand how the tyres work, though I need more experience with the electronics, on race starts and qualification tyres. I don't know if I'm ready for round one - we'll have to wait and see!" Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager. "We have worked through a demanding menu of testing here, in readiness for the up-coming Spanish GP. Both Nicky and Dani have done lots of laps. Thanks to all of our staff, they all worked very hard during this pre-season test schedule. Dani showed very good progress today, especially with his consistency during the long run with race tyres. Dani made good progress, more than what we hoped, so we are very much looking forward to the opening race. We are the quickest Michelin runner throughout three days of testing here and Nicky showed good speed and he gave us the top two times of the Michelin runners. But Nicky hasn't got the perfect set-up yet and we still have a lot of work to do to improve his machine for the race. We have some positive feeling from a good race tyre pace but still need more hard work. We'll do our best to ensure a good race here in Jerez." Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 40.753s - 101 laps. "Today we concluded our pre-season testing plans. My evaluation of the work done by all the team is very positive, in that respect I'm very satisfied. We have improved steadily which has allowed us to lap faster and also helped me feel more comfortable on the bike, which I think is the most important thing. I must thank Michelin for all the work they have done. I can't wait to race here at Jerez in front of these great fans

I'd rather see this on the front page than stuck away in here.

Crowd: 45,000 Climate: Warm, sunny Temperature: 25 Zemke Takes First Daytona 200 Win American Honda

In that case, damned good job I bought a camcorder

Can I interview you for the website? I don't think we've had a gay Trials rider before.

IRTA MotoGP test Jerez, Spain. First day of three-day test March 10, 2006 Pedrosa springs surprise on opening day of IRTA test at Jerez The final pre-season MotoGP test got underway in bright sunshine at the 4.423 km Jerez circuit in the south of Spain. Three-days of intense testing for the MotoGP teams prepare the 990cc four-stroke grand prix machines they will race in the 17-round World Championship that opens at the same Jerez circuit on march 26. Repsol Honda factory team rider Dani Pedrosa was the fastest Honda rider on the opening day of the test with fourth place, and also the fastest Michelin equipped machine on the day. Spaniard Pedrosa, the reigning double 250cc World Champion, was riding a MotoGP machine at Jerez for the very first time and worked step by step to set up the big five-cylinder 990cc grand prix machine for the demanding Andalusian track before setting fast times. Nicky Hayden, on the latest version of the Repsol Honda RC211V put in a mammoth 108-lap stint as he worked his way through an extensive opening day test programme. Hayden was pleased with the improvements made to the front end of his RCV and tomorrow he will concentrate on finding more rear wheel traction. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) worked to find a good base setting for his RCV at Jerez spending time on total machine balance for his RCV before moving on to analysing various suspension alternatives available to him. Melandri's Fortuna Honda team-mate, Spaniard Toni Elias worked on a range of suspension and tyre combinations for his RCV getting faster as the day wore on. Once he had found the best combination for the conditions he settled into a fast consistent rhythm and ended the day with fifth fastest time. Konica Minolta Honda rider Makoto Tamada and his team worked hard on rear suspension settings riding exclusively with the new Michelin rear tyre searching for better mid-corner speed. The popular Japanese had been the fastest Honda rider on track but after he slid off his RCV in late afternoon he called it a day. Team Roberts started the Jerez test running the KR211V Honda powered KR rolling chassis in the same specification as on the last day of the Catalunya test. The team comparing data from one circuit to the other as they build up a solid data-base of information on the all-new GP machine they will bring to the line on the opening day of the season. Honda rider Lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda:1m 41.984s - 108 laps. "We came out today and got on the pace pretty quick which I was happy about. We've got the front of the bike working a bit better but it's still spinning a bit at the back so we didn't quite get down to the lap time we'd hoped for. We got into to the low 1m 42s but we just couldn't jump down to the 1m 41s which is where I really wanted to be to take a big step. We're just searching for a bit of traction. Tonight we'll put our heads together and see if we can make a bigger step tomorrow." Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.499s - 96 laps. "This is another new track for me on this bike so we started little-by-little in the morning. Until noon we were just playing with the bike - the seating position, handlebars and footpegs. Then in the afternoon we started tyre testing for Michelin. The results were good today, though we haven't finished and we have to do more laps and further improve the set-up of the bike." Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager "It's perfect weather for testing today and we got along very well with today's test menu. We had tested a lot of things in the past few tests so we analysed a lot of data and narrowed the set-up menu down to one direction for the up-coming race here. Both Nicky and Dani worked hard today. Nicky did a lot of laps and I know we need more work tomorrow to get the right set-up. Dani showed good progress here with the quickest time of the Michelin runners. We're getting closer to the top time but still have much work to meet our target." Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 1m 42.106s - 88 laps."The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. We tested many different solution in order to understand the behaviour of the bike and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track." Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 41.680s - 95 laps. "Today we started adapting to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track the best base of last week test. We worked mainly with suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1'41"high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I 'm confident to able to do another step forward." Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.558s - 69 laps."Today we could carry out a very important day of testing apart from my fall at the end of the day. For a long time I have been the fastest Honda rider but it gives me no satisfaction because even here, as in Catalunya, the gap from the first positions is remarkable. We still have to work before I find a good feeling with my new bike, especially in the central part of the corner. In this phase, the behaviour is not as natural as I would and I think this is the reason of my slip." Giulio Bernardelle - Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director "We have deeply verified the setting of the bike rear suspension and set-up starting from the basic solution we defined in Sepang. The telemetry data analysis showed that Makoto is fastest than last year in some parts of the track while we loose too much in the sections where riding is demanding, as we are not still able to easily cover the ideal line. In other words, Tamada is still obliged to force intensely the bike and this prevents him to be constantly efficacious. Tomorrow and Sunday we should have all the time to solve this problem." Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 1m 42.33s - 82 laps. "Basically we used the same chassis we ran at Catalunya all day today running through a bunch of stuff and got better as the day went on. We are pretty close on the chassis now so tomorrow we can move forward with other things we need to work at."

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!