BMF: Interphone National Road Rally 5-6th July 2008

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Friday, 25, Apr 2008 12:00

Celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year, the Interphone National Road Rally over the weekend of 5-6th July, has nevertheless moved with the times with its new on-line booking facility resulting in nearly 600 entries already, but with five weeks to go until entries close, organisers are keen to double that and internet forums could be the way!

With motorcycle forums being so popular, the Interphone National Road Rally provides an ideal opportunity to meet up with ‘virtual’ friends. With 50 Control Points around England that riders can start from, local start points either end of the country mean that friends will be able to meet up at the Final Control – Bletchley Park (famous for the Enigma code breaking work during WW2), where refreshments/breakfasts are available to all riders and pillions entering this famous ‘navigational scatter rally’.

Moto GP contender James Toseland supports the Interphone National Road Rally and said: “Maybe not everyone can be privileged to ride the GP’s, but all motorcyclists can take part in this event and test their navigational and riding skills on England’s beautiful country roads so why not give it a go and join hundreds of other riders on a great historical ride!”

An exciting and challenging road based event, the Interphone National Rally has a number of categories to suit all levels of experience, starting with the Sunrise Award for between 120 miles and 180 miles on the Sunday morning, through all-daylight riding categories to the top Platinum Award of 540 miles spanning 20 hours - including riding through the night!

For the Platinum Award, riders will also have to undertake a special riding test at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) facility in Leicestershire.

Malcolm Wootton of Moto Comp (www.motocomp.com), the distributor for Interphone in the UK and Ireland and sponsors of The Interphone National Road Rally 2008, has himself completed in the ACU National Rally (as it then was) and perhaps best sums up the rally’s appeal when he said:

“I first entered (and completed) the National Road Rally in 1974, two up on an MZ 250 - and the whole event left a big impression on me. Apart from the obvious camaraderie with the other riders and the fantastic people who operate the check points, the most lasting impression was riding through a deserted British countryside on roads I’d never ridden as the sun rose on a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-summer - a wonderful experience! The Interphone Bluetooth helmet communicator really is the ideal accessory for this kind of riding experience and I'm personally very grateful to have the opportunity to put something back in to the sport and hobby that has been such an important part of my own life fo r so many years."

Entry costs start at £20 and go to £30 but many riders also take the opportunity to raise money through sponsorship for Mencap and once again, the organizers are proud to encourage riders to support Mencap in helping people with a learning disability live valued lives. Further information about Mencap and how to raise money are supplied with the regulations.

For 2008 there are several different categories riders can enter, all finishing at Bletchley Park (with the exception of the Daytime Rally) at 10 am on Sunday 6th July 2008 (some categories require obligatory rest breaks).

· The Interphone National Sunrise Rally – a 6 hour ride covering a minimum 120 miles and maximum 180 miles, starting at 4 am on Sunday 6th July.

· Interphone National Daytime Rally – a 10 hour ride covering a minimum 200 miles and maximum 275 miles, starting at 2 pm on Saturday 5th July.

· Interphone National Road Rally – a 20 hour ride covering a minimum 200 miles and maximum 540 miles, starting at 2 pm on Saturday 5th July.

· Interphone National Road Rally (Platinum category) – 540 miles, starting at 2 pm on Saturday 5th July, visiting the maximum number of Controls, but also taking part in a Special Test at the MIRA Proving Ground, between Atherstone and Hinckley, on Saturday morning, where riding skill and dexterity, as well as machine knowledge and speed control will be tested.

For riders entering the Platinum category, there will be a number of major Awards, which are presented to the winners at the ACU’s Annual Presentation of Awards, along with the many British Champions throughout all disciplines of motorcycle sport in January 2009.

Many dealers offer a ‘ride-out’ to their customers throughout the year and whilst MENCAP have given an Award to the rider raising the most for the Charity, if enough de alers decide to take part there may be a new Award for the dealer raising the most money – an ideal publicity opportunity for their local media!

In addition to the direct support for the rally from Interphone, Moto Comp are also offering a Special Interphone Offer for entrants as well as a generous donation of £5 to Mencap for every Interphone purchased by entrants (full details will be in the regulations).

Regulations and entry forms can be downloaded from the rally website www.nationalroadrally.co.uk and enter online or telephone Alison Devine on 01788 566400 for an entry form. Entries close 6th June 2008.

For further information please contact Brian George, rally Press Officer 01788 566428 or via e-mail brian@acu.org.uk

ACU and The Auto-Cycle Union are trading names of The Auto-Cycle Union Limited registered under Company No. 00134679; Registered Office: ACU House, Wood Street, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 2YX

Issued by Jeff Stone: t: 0121 709 1040 m: 07802 763094 e: jeff.stone@bmf.co.uk

Details on this and other BMF activities can also be found on our web site: http://www.bmf.co.uk