For the past eight winters I have been living the dream. The two year cycle of new sportsbikes meant there was a constant flow of launch invitations which I always decided it would be rude to turn down. Business class flights, five star hotels and riding on MotoGP tracks was the ...

have loved to grow up there in the ‘50s or ‘60s, hanging out at drive-ins just like the T-Birds in my all time favourite movie, Grease. Americans might be a bit loud at times but I have always found them pretty friendly and helpful. I really don’t mind

Now the season's finished we have to take our hats off to Ducati, GSE and Gregorio Lavilla for winning the title. At the NEC bike show there were loads of people saying that he is the red hot favourite to retain the title - but it's an interesting

Bless...and he's got hairDON'T KNOW ABOUT you but I find many of my friends and colleagues in the motorcycle world tend to have a favourite manufacturer and stay faithful to them throughout their bike buying life. This probably happens for one

in his ointment is that the Suzuki will be a new bike next year. But if they get it back to the same level it finished the 2004 season within two or three races, JR really is a favourite.The new bike is fundamentally the same but smaller physically, even

to a new team and won the championship. Despite being beaten last season, Michael Rutter has a year of experience with the Honda and now looks like the hot favourite. I think that Kiyonari is maybe just not strong enough to go on and win

will really enjoy it. Rob Mac, who was sort of a generation ahead of me on the GP trail, said to me just before I came back, "Niall, you will really love it." I didn't really understand until I got back, but he was right. So Jeremy has a lot to look forward to

Since I was a boy I’ve always admired Scotland’s favourite bard, Robert Burns. He liked the whisky, was a big hit with the ladies and in his spare time he wrote amazing poems, sometimes involving wee sleekit courin timerous beasties (you’ll have

Motocross, WSB, MotoGP and of course the jewel in Donington's annual crown of world-class events, the Day of Champions Niall Mackenzie ride-in on 21 June! I've had so many happy memories at Donington in the last two decades so, like the dedicated staff, I

Rossi's good but Doohan's the man, says NiallDuring a recent visit to my gym, a MotoGP fan sweating next to me on a cross trainer suddenly enquired "is it normally the rider with the biggest balls that does the winning?" I'm not sure if he