Biker Fest, an AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building Affiliate Event, has announced September 16 to 19 as a revised date for its hugely popular Italian Bike Week and Italian Motorcycle Championship. Usually staged in May each year, this will be the 35th edition of the free entry celebration of all things Moto. September 2020 saw an estimated 90,000 people descend on Lignano Sabbiadoro (UD) on the Adriatic Coast of north eastern Italy for the weekend.
As EICMA continues to work hard to win industry confidence for its November 24-28 planned 2021 'Milan Show', it has announced the addition of Honda, Royal Enfield and Benelli as being among the OEMs to have committed to exhibit so far. In theory this will be the 78th year for EICMA, if it goes ahead. The uncertainty triggered by BMW's decision to withdraw from the show permanently and a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic still makes nothing certain at this time.
MIC Events has announced January 19 to 21 as the dates for AIMExpo in 2022. There is no confirmation of venue yet, but the postponed January 2021 event was due to be held at Columbus, Ohio, in collaboration with Tucker Powersports. The Fort Worth, Texas based distributor had been slated to co-stage its 2021 Dealer Show with AIMExpo in January this year, but has since opted for a spring Road Show series - which itself has been postponed to the second half of 2021.
Italian exhaust brand LeoVince has extended its sponsorship agreement with Moto3 World Champion Team Leopard Racing for the fourth consecutive year. A new rider line-up for 2021 features Italian Dennis Foggia and Spaniard Xavi Artigas. Roberto Morone, LeoVince CEO: "Despite the difficult start to the 2020 championship, we have achieved excellent results with the Leopard Racing Team and we are proud to have won a very important title."
Acquired by TVS Motor Company in April 2020, Norton Motorcycles (Birmingham, England) has announced former Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) CEO Sir Ralf Speth as Chairman of the Board of Directors at TVS, effective January 2023. Owned by TATA, another Indian conglomerate, Speth is widely credited for the transformation of the British brands. The outgoing TVS Chairman, Mr. Venu Srinivasan, will become Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Company from January 2023. As far as we here at IDN know, it is unprecedented for one of India's transport industry 'Big Five' to appoint a European as its Chairman and signals its determination to consolidate a position as a global player in the reshaped transport industry of the future.
Honda has won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award for the new 2021 Forza 750. Judges for the Red Dot Design Institute (Essen, Germany) celebrate excellence in product, brand and communication design and recognised the "elegant design lines, sporty performance and outstanding versatility" of Honda's new luxury scooter. This award follows a 2020 Red Dot Award win for the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
