MCN Festival round up

The MCN Festival kicked off last Saturday with a packed itinerary of test rides, racing, classic parades, sprint demonstrations, an Extreme Sprint Enduro, custom show and a host of celeb riders including 1993 world Grand Prix champion Kevin Schwantz, US legend Dave Aldana and Enduro god David Knight.

Knight captained a victorious UK team in the new MCN Transatlantic Trophy dirt track races, beating Kevin Schwantz’s American team by just six points over the four weekend rounds. The crowd were also treated to a further six hours of oval racing as the Dirt Track Racing Association held the second round of their championship at the show.

An exhausted Schwantz said: “It was brilliant to be involved with the first MCN Festival of Motorcycling, and reviving the Transatlantic series in this way has been brilliant. There’s been some spectacular racing and I’ve enjoyed every second of it!”

David Knight also wowed the crowds with his breathtaking skills in the MotoXchange Extreme Sprint Enduro, taking on all-comers in a test of both man and machine across obstacles that you could barely climb over! The Brackley Festival of Motorcycling and National Sprint Association delivered over 60 top-class machines in the classic bike parade arena, from early Manx Nortons to an ex-Troy Bayliss Desmosedici. It was an intoxicating mix of sights, sounds and smells.

Visitors got involved too, with hundreds taking advantage of the fantastic weather and enjoying test rides on the latest bikes from manufacturers as diverse as CCM, Harley-
Davidson, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM,
Suzuki, Triumph, Victory and Yamaha. 70 people were put through their A1 and A2 licences with Get On and many took advantage of riding a bike adventure bike off-road with Touratech, or trying an off-road bike with the Yamaha AMCA MX Experience.