Wednesday 6 February 2019

Photo credit - Moonhead Media

Dan, Gee and Rachel announce the launch of Atherton Bikes!


Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton are excited to announce the launch of their new bike brand, Atherton Bikes. The siblings will partner with renowned suspension designer Dave Weagle and utilise ground-breaking additive manufacturing technologies combined with carbon fibre tubing to “create our ultimate range of bikes.” Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Piers Linney will join as a co-founder of the newly formed company with the introductory Atherton Bikes range scheduled for sale in 2019.

The Atherton Bikes brand has been a lifetime in the making with Dan building his first bike in 1992 when he was just 10 years old. But in recent times the family’s dream of pushing bike development as hard as they push their riding has become irresistible.

Dan Atherton said “It’s always been a dream of mine for us to ride for our own bike company. We’ve ridden for some great brands and we’re proud of the part we’ve played in the development of DH bikes from the Commensal to the Trek Session and trail bikes like the GT Sanction. We’ve always really enjoyed the process, from working with the designers on the early stages through to testing and refining prototypes on the World Cup circuit. But because of the way that the sponsorship system works we’d soon be starting over with a new brand.

I’m enormously grateful for all the opportunities that system afforded us – we all are, but for us it’s always been about pushing the boundaries of the sport. Back in 2003 we started Atherton Racing so that we could to do things the way we wanted, from building our own tracks, to producing edits like the Atherton Project and events like Red Bull Hardline. Now feels like the right time to put our hearts and soul into a range of bikes designed and built our way.”

Gee continues “We will start with what we know best, focusing on high level product designed to be ridden aggressively! For 2019 we’ll race our own prototype bike and we’re planning to bring that DH bike to market, along with a range of trail bikes. We’re working with some amazing guys formerly of Robot Bike Co., and they’ll be an essential part of our start up, they are as passionate about the technology and its potential to disrupt the industry and shake-up the large corporates as we are.”

The Athertons met Ed Haythornthwaite, one of Robot’s founders, when he was Dan’s World Cup mechanic in 2006 and their ongoing friendship was the catalyst for this venture. Ed’s understanding of what works on a bike and his passion for improving a rider’s experience underpins the development of the entire range.

Ed’s co-founders, Ben Farmer and Andy Hawkins both come from an aerospace and Formula 1 background. They are experts in composites and additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing) which allows for full customisation of every bike frame.

Gee said “The additive manufacturing process is so responsive that we’ve been able to test and adapt a series of prototypes that ride like the finished bike; this constant cycle of innovation means that we can get our race bikes dialled much more quickly and that every purchase of a production bike will be at the very forefront of this development.”

Rachel said “The dream has always been to race our own bikes, and the additive manufactured bikes are so exciting and ground breaking - the ultimate bike! Through our entire career we’ve been proud to represent our country and support the next generation of bike riders, so the fact that we can deliver our new brand through a UK based company is just incredible and the icing on the cake for us!

We all believe that having the right bike for you and the stage you are at with your riding can transform your experience. Our big goal is to see kids, all mountain explorers, bike park shredders, racers and e-bikers enjoying our bikes – just saying that sounds mind blowing!

This is a genuine start-up business that we are building from the ground up, it’s going to be a huge undertaking to bring our bikes to market, even with Piers on board to help us. Our learning curve is steep but the dream of bringing Atherton Bikes & our love for riding to everyone is about to be very real! 

Piers Linney said “As a rider myself I’m extremely excited to be working with the Athertons to deliver a new product range that meshes my enjoyment of MTB with my passion for new technologies. Exciting times ahead.”
More announcements on our race team, line-up and key partnerships in the coming weeks, follow Atherton Racing and Atherton Bikes on social media for all the latest.



Photo credit - Moonhead Media

Tuesday 5 February 2019

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Credits: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard

NWES 2019 Rules Package features Pure Racing at its best!

 
If you love Pure Racing, the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series 2019 season will meet your expectations. Fresh of another intense and exciting season filled with door-to-door on-track battles and American-themed family fun, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is making no compromises in 2019. After announcing an expansion to seven events, the official NASCAR series in Europe will double down on its best Pure Racing features both with its technical and its sporting regulations. The goal is to give its competitors even more parity and the fans the best racing in Europe.
“At a time in which most racing series are searching for themselves and trying to balance the performances of their competitors, Euro NASCAR is putting the emphasis on Pure Racing. We make no concessions for the sake of the show because parity is natural within the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series,” said NWES President-CEO Jerome Galpin. “There will be no ballast, no balance of performance, no position penalty of sort. It’s all about drivers and teams racing in perfect parity and offering the fans close, hard racing battles. Our focus is on sport, passion and human relationships. When the green flag drops, let the best win!”
Here’s a brief overview of the most notable changes awaiting competitors and fans at the season opener in Valencia, Spain on on April 13-14, 2019.
2019 NWES TECHNICAL PACKAGE
General Tire new official tyre supplier of NWES: General Tire will make its debut as the Official Tyre Supplier of NWES. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will be the American brand’s first motorsports partnership outside North America and there are plenty of expectations for General Tire’s new products to offer great performances and durability. Confirming the series’ strong cost containment policy, a maximum of 20 new slick tires will be allocated to each driver for all qualifying and races of the season. Practice and rain tires are not restricted.
New three-way adjustable suspensions: To provide competitors better performances and driveability, new spec shock absorbers have been developed by Team FJ, manufacturer of the Euro NASCAR. With three adjustable parameters they will provide better handling and more possibilities for teams and drivers to find an edge on the competition.
New aero package: The Euro NASCAR cars will receive aerodynamic enhancements thanks to a new rear spoiler designed with transparent polycarbonate and steel. The 2019 spoiler will also give drivers better visibility in their rear view mirrors and make the Euro NASCAR beasts even more wild.
Continuously improved technical inspections: With the support of the NASCAR R&D Center located in Concord, North Carolina, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series keeps putting the biggest efforts to ensure parity among the competitors and 2019 will see a further enhanced technical inspection process being deployed at the track.
2019 NWES SPORTING REGULATIONS
Calendar expanded to 7 events: 2019 will mark the first season with seven events for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The Official NASCAR series in Europe will add Most, in Czech Republic to the calendar and return to Raceway Venray for its oval round. Double points Playoffs Semifinals and Finals will be raced at Hockenheim and Zolder.
Longer ELITE 1 races: Saturday and Sunday ELITE 1 races will be extended to 75 Kilometers for a running time closer to the 45 minutes mark. They will pose a bigger challenge to the competitors and offer the fans more excitement in the final stages of each round. ELITE 2 races will stay with the traditional 60 Km sprint format.
Longer ELITE 2 Qualifying: ELITE 2 drivers will get the opportunity to find their best pace in qualifying with a first round extended to 20 minutes before the top-12 drivers will join a nail-biting 5-minute Superpole to determine the pole position and the first 6 rows of the grid. ELITE 1 Qualifying will stay with 10 minutes Qualifying and 5 minutes Superpole.
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Credits: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Gian Luca Guiglia