light so easy to push around. Good for short people. Brilliant on petrol and easy to get through town traffic.Superb around Brands Hatch passed lots of big bikes as I could keep speed through corners. Weaknesses: Great in town traffic, this bike is a

. Riding them I'm sure is much more civilized than it was back then. However, Ducati's racing spirit lives on.PAUL SMART - THE MAN, THE LEGENDPAUL SMART IS an interesting character. Born in 1943, he grew up in the shadows of Brands Hatch, spending most

the way through the August Bank Holiday. I've collared a 998 off our good friends at P&H Motorcycles in Crawley (01293 413300) by way of comparison, and a 100% Bikes trackday (0870 8722532 or www.100pc.cu.uk) at the legendary Brands Hatch GP circuit

the WSB crown in ’94 and ’95, grabbing the title both times convincingly on his booming Ducati 916 and making the vast Japanese manufacturers and their bottomless racing budgets look utterly stupid in the process.His wins at Brands Hatch WSB became

and my temper rise. Not the best start in the world.The next day I rode it around the M25 towards Brands Hatch and was surprised by how pleasant it was on the motorway. The seat is actually quite comfortable, the riding position decent for miles

, all round flawless and like so many others I prefer the styling to the new crossplane 09. A few trackdays on it (Brands Hatch Indy and GP, Snetterton and Lydden) an absolute joy to ride, stupidly quick and nimble - love it!YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED

proved the Suzuki is still competitive by winning the WSS race recently at Brands Hatch) though, the GSX-R can get a bit frisky when pushed really hard over bumps. But then that foible's easily sorted with a decent steering damper.The power of the brakes

that the bike you’re riding is at the absolute peak of its game. And riding a 999S is all this, and even more.Waiting to take it out on track at Brands Hatch I was more nervous than I have ever been about riding a bike. It wasn’t just the thought of the £11

and behind the engine looks out of place. To be fair, though, this only becomes really visible when the bike is leaning away from you – which it wouldn’t be unless it was falling over or someone else was riding it. Or both.Within five laps of Brands Hatch I