Latest news with #motorcycling
BBC News
a day ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Isle of Man TT: Fans not deterred as weather delays racing
Isle of Man TT fans have not been put off the world famous motorcycling festival, despite action on the course facing several delays. It comes after the start of racing at the 2025 event was pushed back by two days to roads on part of the 37.7-mile (61km) course have also been to blame for Tuesday's Supertwin and Superstock races being moved to the Donaghy from near Ballymoney in Northern Ireland has been coming since 2015 and said he has seen worse weather. Mr Donaghy said when he came in 2019 the bad weather meant he saw "just two laps of a race"."The weather is OK, it is what it is... you don't know until you come here," he the delays, he said he been able to watch "good racing" on Monday and had already booked his ticket for next Wellbrock from northern Germany travelled to the island for the races for the third time this said the weather was "not so fun" but was hopeful it would improve as she loved watching the event. "You can't see anything like it in Germany," she said. Having grown up in Port Erin 40 years ago, Mark Jones returns to the island each year for the living in Goostrey in Cheshire, he said the island was "still in my heart" and he enjoyed coming home for the said while weather delays were "a little frustrating", people understood that things "shift and change" in road he said hold-ups in racing offered "a chance to have a look round the rest of the island" and he had even "hopped on a steam train down to Port Erin". Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
The National
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The National
Born to ride: Emirati mother embarks on epic motorcycle journeys across Middle East
In 2022, mother-of-two Fatima Alloghani decided she was going to get a motorbike licence. It was the start of a journey that began with her learning to ride a bike with a Deliveroo driver in Dubai, before she headed off to explore northern Iraq. 'I didn't know how the streets would look while riding a bike,' the 46-year-old Emirati said of her earliest experiences as a motorcyclist, sparked into action by the boredom of the Covid-19 pandemic. Back then, she had no idea that her emerging passion would take her to the Alps, across Scandinavia, the Himalayas and much of the Middle East. She has managed her passion alongside being a mother to two daughters, aged 16 and 13, and has passed on her passion to them both, with her eldest due to turn 17 and attain her licence later this year. Bruised but determined As a learner, she started off with no ego. 'I remember a funny moment where I had to hire a Deliveroo driver with his motorcycle to come on a Saturday and ride with me because I was afraid something was going to happen to the bike or something was going to happen to me,' she told The National. Her first major trip came in the summer of 2023, when she joined a Spanish group going to the Alps. What she didn't realise is the crucial difference between street bikes and those designed for rough terrain and adventure. 'I was given a bike I'd never ridden before and suddenly I was on a trip for eight days, riding 2,500km, climbing different passes and mountains in the Alps.' Despite falling as soon as she got on the bike, Ms Alloghani was determined not to give up. 'I really, really did not want to fail,' she said. 'I was falling all the time in these mountains, sometimes getting hurt, sometimes not, sometimes coming back with bruises, sometimes not, but I kept going and I eventually got through the eight days.' Ms Alloghani said this trip became a crucial confidence-builder and the catalyst for the rest of her adventures. Challenging stereotypes The following year, Ms Alloghani managed to reach the peak of Khardung La, 5,400 metres up in the Himalayas. Getting there by bike was not without its challenges, but the main hurdle she faced was the fact she made the trip alone – something she is now immensely proud of. 'I was a little bit terrified and there was water, rain and fog, so I could not see at times. I was also hyperventilating because of the high altitude,' she said. 'I fell [off my bike] at the summit, so I had bikers coming around me, helping me. They asked what group I was with and I said I was alone and they all laughed.' When Ms Alloghani first started her motorcycle journeys, she feared she would be stigmatised as an Arab woman travelling in groups that were 90 per cent male. 'At the beginning 90 per cent, if not 95 per cent, of the riders were men,' she said. 'The space for a woman to enter that kind of hobby is not huge but I wanted to change that.' Her next step was to join motorcycle groups made up of GCC nationals, which mainly travelled across the Gulf region. 'I feel more safe and more happy being with my own people, which is something I hesitated to do in the first two years because I did not know how these Arab men would accept a woman riding with them,' she said. Staying optimistic Ms Alloghani enjoyed travelling with groups but said she found that the peace and quiet of travelling alone was valuable to her. 'You build a relationship with your motorbike where it's you, your bike, the road and your helmet, and then silence,' she said. 'You do a lot of soul-searching. [Before,] I never had the chance to cut the noise and just start analysing me, learning more about who I am and what I am. There's a certain beauty in doing that while riding a bike.' Her biggest solo trip was from Dubai to northern Iraq, in which she travelled for six days and passed through Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Ms Alloghani said young adventurers should always be optimistic and believe that wherever they are, and whatever happens, they will recover and someone will be there to help. 'I was leaving from Erbil, Iraq, to Zagreb, Croatia, and I had a pretty severe accident where the front visor of the bike broke and my helmet cracked. On the street, the bike fell and there was metres between me and a lorry. I almost thought the trip was over. 'A Kurdish family helped me up. They didn't let me just get up and leave. They took me to the hospital and, when I was done, they had me stay at their house for a couple of days and had my visor and helmet fixed.' Ms Alloghani said this incident reinforced her belief that good people are everywhere and they will stand by you. 'If you want to do something, don't wait, just do it. It will change your life. If you just wait, time will pass and age will catch up,' she said. 'The freedom to live and tradition don't have to be two different things, we can export our traditions by travelling and keep them at heart while doing so.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- BBC News
'We fund motorcycle training in memory of my brother'
The family of a trainee doctor who died following a crash are fundraising to pay for advanced riding courses for newly qualified Lee, who was 26, was riding his motorbike back to university in Swansea in August 2022 when he was involved in a older brother Danny Sargeant, from Audlem, Cheshire, now runs a foundation in his memory, which has already paid for lessons for 12 riders."We wanted something positive to come out of a terrible, terrible thing," said Mr Sargeant. He described Mr Lee as "one of the most talented and wonderful people you could ever meet," who lived life "to the absolute max".His brother became a qualified piano teacher as a teenager and learnt to fly with the air "excelled" at that, he became an instructor with a flying school and was teaching people to fly to help to fund his way through his medical degree."All this while he was only 26 years old. He was a quite a guy," said Mr Sargeant, who described the first six months after his death as "awful for everybody".The initial goal of the foundation had been to "prevent other families having to go through what we had to".The new motorcyclists have been put through training with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and the foundation is now also offering roadcraft lessons with a superbike company."Between the two, they're going to be fully robust, all round advanced riders." Mr Sargeant believes his younger brother, who loved motorbikes and riding, would be proud of what they are doing in his name."To see that we are taking his passing and turning it into something positive, and genuinely helping young people to be safe on the road, I think he'd be very happy."Following the collision on the A40 near Monmouth in August 2022, a man was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. He pleaded not guilty in October 2024, with a trial set to be held in July 2026. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'The Isle of Man TT is our Christmas,' course clerk says
The Isle of Man TT "is very much our Christmas" to those involved in the races according to the man tasked with running the 118-year-old annual two-week festival held on 37.7 miles (61km) of closed public roads, which sees riders reach speeds of up to up to 135mph (217mph), is about to get year's event saw history made when Michael Dunlop exceeded his late uncle Joey's record number of TT wins, taking his own tally to 29 race of the course Gay Thompson said it was a privilege to be involved in "the oldest motorsport in the world, the most unique motorcycling event in the world" every year. Despite having been at the helm of the races for the past 14 years, Thompson said he still got "the same buzz as what I did from day one". Thompson said the team behind the "iconic event" had continued to make efforts to "enhance safety" included working with Department of Infrastructure to make sure the road surface, which is used by everyday traffic for the rest of the year, "as good as it can be".Each year they look at the road surface and work with the Department of Infrastructure to make sure it is "as good as it can be", he have also made further investments in digital lights and road said: "We're proactively looking at risk all the time and doing what we can to enhance safety."As part of the annual review of the qualifying and racing schedule this year has seen routine warm-up laps scrapped, unless conditions warrant them."If there were damp or wet patches around the course, or it was windier than normal, if anything gave cause for concern that the conditions weren't as good as what we'd want, then we'd put in place what we call a course inspection lap," Thompson those circumstances, the single lap of the course would allow riders to report back any concerns before a decision was taken on running a race. He said while there would always be an "inherent risk" in motorsport, it was something everyone involved was "aware of".And with the weather playing such a crucial part in whether or not the races get underway, Thompson said contingency planning was "absolutely huge" and "key to the whole event"."Given the global reach of the TT now, all of us involved are very conscious that we are delivering this fantastic spectacle of an event to 80-plus countries with a viewing figure of 33 million," he said planning for the races had now become something that took place on all year round, with work ahead of the following year's event due to start a week after the final chequered flag of the 2025 fortnight."Working on the event all year, this is very much our Christmas, and to be involved in the oldest motorsport in the world, the most unique motorcycling event in the world, it's an honour to be in the position I am," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Joey Dunlop to be honoured in Ballymoney event
Motorcycling legend Joey Dunlop will be remembered and celebrated in a special event in Ballymoney, County Antrim, on Joey 25 celebration is being held a quarter of a century after the 26-time Isle of Man TT winner was killed in an accident at a race in Estonia in July event will bring together famous riders like Carl Fogarty and Jonathan Rea who will ride many of Dunlop's original bikes around the town."We couldn't think of a better way to remember Joey than an event in his hometown," Joey's wife Linda said. Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council are hosting the event to remember the man dubbed the 'King of the Roads', in conjunction with the Dunlop daughter Donna McLean and a son in law Michael McCammond will represent the family at a parade around the town."It makes it a little bit easier for us not doing it on the exact date of the anniversary because it is a private time for us," Joey's son Gary told BBC Radio Ulster's Your Place and Mine programme."It's been 25 years, it's still not easy. It's still not easy living with the name, I can assure you, but time is a little bit of a healer," he said."But the longer it goes on you come to realise how unique everything is and how special it is to a lot of the fans and at the end of the day, that's why we are happy to see it." 'Joey's memory lives on' Liam Beckett, Dunlop's former mechanic and a close friend of the family, said he would never forget the day of the crash."Young Richard, Joey's youngest lad, was staying in my house that weekend. He would have been my son William's biggest friend and they still are to this day," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme."It was Donna who arrived at our house that morning in tears, Joey's daughter, to break the news to us."To be honest with you, it's a shock I don't think I'll get over 'til the day I go but, it's great to see so many people rallying around to mark the 25th anniversary of his passing."He described Dunlop as "a quiet humble man who did his talking on the track", adding: "It's great to see that Joey's memory lives on." 'I raced alongside him' Brian Reid is a former double Formula Two world champion who raced against Dunlop and became his friend."He was a great ambassador for our sport and proved it worldwide," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme."I watched him before I started racing and I watching him coming towards the top but would never have dreamt that one day, I would be racing alongside him and, eventually, the odd time, beating him."Reid said the anniversary event proved that "the popularity of Joey and the racing world is still there"."It's great to see that everybody is getting involved in this wonderful event and to see all these bikes and getting a chance to ride one of them is going to be a great honour," he said. What will happen on Saturday? The free public event will begin at 14:00 BST and finish at 22:00 and will show off Dunlop's original bikes as well as autograph signings and parade of bikes will take place from 18:00 to 20:00, along North Road, High Street, Main Street, Seymour Street, Station and return via Townhead roads will close to vehicles from 17:00 to 21: and bike parking is available at various sites in Ballymoney town centre.A park and ride will operate from the Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre from 14:00 and the last return journey will be at 22: event will be live streamed via Greenlight Television's King of the Roads platform with the broadcast scheduled to begin at 18:00. Joey 25 Exhibition The Joey 25 Exhibition at Ballymoney Museum will also be open on Saturday from 09: hosts a collection of artefacts and memorabilia such as Dunlop's restored and original motorcycles, rare photographs, racing leathers, trophies and personal items that mark Joey's remarkable career. Who was Joey Dunlop? William Joseph Dunlop was born near Ballymoney on 25 February 1952 and died at the age of 48 on 2 July 2000 in Tallinn, as the "King of the Roads", the sportsman achieved 26 Isle of Man TT wins, five Formula One World Championships, 13 North West 200 (NW200) victories and 24 Ulster Grand Prix was honoured with an MBE in 1986 and an OBE in 1996 for his humanitarian work with children in Eastern Europe. 'Sporting ambassador' BBC Sport NI presenter Stephen Watson said Saturday was an "incredibly special event to celebrate the achievements of Joey Dunlop, one of Northern Ireland's greatest ever sporting ambassadors".Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, he added : "I don't think you'll ever see a collection of motorcycle riders together in the one place at the same time ever again because they're coming from all different disciplines of the sport and all different eras. "And every single rider who is coming on Saturday will be riding one of Joey Dunlop's original machines."They are expecting literally thousands of people to descend on Ballymoney this weekend to pay homage to their hero, even though it's 25 years on, the interest in this event has been truly remarkable from all over the world," Mr Watson said. What racing icons will be at the event? The big names at the event include: World Superbike champions Carl Fogarty and Jonathan Rea; Grand Prix stars Ron Haslam, Jeremy McWilliams and Eugene Laverty; British champions Leon Haslam and Adrian Coates; World record holder Ryan World Formula 2 Champion Brian Reid will also join Alan Irwin, Trevor Steele, Con Law, Raymond McCullough and Leslie McMaster
