Bike stars Plater and Cooper special guests at July IAM riding festival

Bike stars Plater and Cooper special guests at July IAM riding festival.

A brace of stars from the world of motorbikes are set to join riding enthusiasts from all over the country for the IAM Motorcycling Festival (Institute of Advanced Motorists) taking place in early July.

The event takes place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull and features a full day of activities including many not available to museum visitors. The event is also open to non-members who can buy tickets in advance.

The IAM Motorcycling Festival is a celebration of IAM volunteers from around the country who are the lifeblood of the organisation. Guests and friends are welcome to attend.

The stars are the ever-smiling Steve Plater, who will host the event, and veteran racing legend John Cooper, with more names to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Steve is a four times winner in the British Superbike Championship and was the 2009 British Supersport champion, while John starred in the 1960’s and 70’s in the 500cc world championship and Isle of Man TT.

The £10 admission includes museum admission and a free quiz, a food and drink voucher plus the opportunity to participate in all activities. Your ticket also gets you a free escorted museum tour and photo opportunities with some of the prize exhibits.

There will also be five official ride-in points from around the country, so if you want to ride in good company this is a great opportunity to do so. Meeting points will be posted on the website www.iam.org.uk/homecoming soon.

You can also show off your prowess at the wheel of your machine with a ‘horseshoe’ slow riding challenge. If you don’t feel up to that, you can simply show off your pride and joy itself for the IAM’s best bike competition.

There will also be an exclusive pin badge available on the day only to ticket buyers, serving as a unique memento of the event.

And if you are in the mood to spend some money, a partners’ marketplace will give you the opportunity to part with some pounds. The latest kit from BikeStop, RealRider and many other IAM partners will be on display.

In addition IAM examiners and observers will be on hand to offer demo rides and answer all your questions.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “We hope that as many people as possible will come along to our event and rediscover the joy of riding. Riding is not only an enjoyable activity, but a highly social one too. And the IAM Motorcycling Festival is going to be one of the high points of the organisation’s 2015 calendar.”

To book your ticket call 0300 303 1134 or visit www.iam.org.uk/homecoming