Silverstone 'Lap Land' Christmas Lights Experience

Highlights of a trip around Silverstone racing circuit's 'Lap Land', incorporating their Christmas lights.

The world-famous racing circuit decorated its track with an impressive array of lights, allowing for people to drive around it (at 5mph!) and take in the show.

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2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Review

My review of the Honda Fireblade SP, a bike heavily redesigned for 2020 and now producing 214bhp while weighing just 201kgs. Honda stated that their desire was to make this model more "track focussed", while aiming to regain the crown in the competitive litre superbike class.

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Honda Civic Type-R Review

Below is my video review of the 2020 Honda Civic Type-R (FK8 model) including a walkthrough of all the minor changes due in the facelift model (which is due towards the end of 2020). During the course of my review, I took this car to Scotland to do the infamous North Coast 500 (which is a 500 mile loop of the northern coast, with some amazing driving roads). My time with this car resulted in a touch under 1,700 miles in a week, so you can bet that I got to know it very well!

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North Coast 500 Road Trip Part 5: Applecross to Inverness

Final part in my series of North Coast 500 videos, where I leave Applecross and head back to Inverness, and the start of the route. Unfortunately there was heavy fog up in the mountains but it still didn't detract from a fun day's driving with some lovely scenery encountered.

Part 1: Preparation and Drive to Inverness

Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats
Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver
Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross
Part 5: Applecross to Inverness
Honda Civic Type-R Review

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North Coast 500 Road Trip Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross

Part four in the video diary series following my drive around Scotland's iconic North Coast 500, which is a five hundred mile loop around the northernmost part of mainland Scotland, taking in a huge variety of stunning roads and breath-taking scenery. In the video below I travel from Lochinver down the west coast to Applecross, encountering stunning scenery and some fantastic roads. Check out the gallery which follows the video, too, for a flavour of what's available.

Part 1: Preparation and Drive to Inverness

Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats
Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver
Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross
Part 5: Applecross to Inverness
Honda Civic Type-R Review

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North Coast 500 Road Trip Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver

Third part of my video diary series following my drive around Scotland's iconic North Coast 500. In this video I talk through the journey across the very north of the country, from east to west, leaving John o'Groats and finishing in Lochinver. 

Part 1: Preparation and Drive to Inverness
Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats
Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver
Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross
Part 5: Applecross to Inverness
Honda Civic Type-R Review

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North Coast 500 Road Trip Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats

Part two in my video diary series following my drive around Scotland's iconic North Coast 500, which is a five hundred mile loop around the northernmost part of mainland Scotland, taking in a huge variety of stunning roads and breath-taking scenery. I was loaned the 2020 Honda Civic Type-R GT to make the trip in, so you can listen to my thoughts on the car too as I go (with a full, separate review to follow).

In this video I talk through the route from Inverness to John o'Groats, showing some of the sights en route (such as Dunrobin Castle), while including plenty of in-car driving footage. A selection of photographs from the day follows the video below.

Part 1: Preparation and Drive to Inverness

Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats
Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver
Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross
Part 5: Applecross to Inverness
Honda Civic Type-R Review

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North Coast 500 Road Trip Part 1: Preparation and drive to Inverness

Part one in my video diary series following my drive around Scotland's iconic North Coast 500, which is a five hundred mile loop around the northernmost part of mainland Scotland, taking in a huge variety of stunning roads and breath-taking scenery. I was loaned the 2020 Honda Civic Type-R GT to make the trip in, so you can listen to my thoughts on the car too as I go (with a full, separate review to follow). Below the video you'll find a selection of photographs from this section of the journey.

In this video I talk through the camera and video equipment I took on the trip as well as the 520 journey from my house to the start of the NC500 in Inverness. In the following videos, I'll describe my route each day, pointing out highlights and showing plenty of driving footage and scenery from along the way.

Part 2: Inverness to John o'Groats 
Part 3: John o'Groats to Lochinver
Part 4: Lochinver to Applecross
Part 5: Applecross to Inverness
Honda Civic Type-R Review 

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Great Driving Roads: A39 Porlock to Lynton, Exmoor National Park

Latest in my Great Driving Roads series, showcasing good driving locations with a driver's eye view at completely legal speeds - to give you a real idea about the road which you may wish to experience for yourself. 

This route starts in Porlock, in Somerset within the Exmoor National Park and ends in Lynton, just inside Devon. A good variety of corners are provided with some beautiful views.

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My Car Obsessed 4-Year Old Drives Pretty Well (in Games)

My little boy is 4 years old and, for the most part, I've done him the disservice of assuming he's still pretty much useless at everything. I should stress that this is an viewpoint born from the experience of watching him try to put his shoes on correctly or walk through a doorway without cracking his head into a solid object. Anyway, we've shared an interest from day one, and that's cars. He seemingly has thousands of the toys, scattered everywhere in the house (and I'm as much to blame for that, I'll admit; "Hey, Jeanette, hold on a minute. I must get Ethan this 1970 Porsche 917 for his collection!" and so on). 

Anyway, a few months back he took an interest in the driving games which I play on the PC and XBox and, after shooing him away with the assumption he'd less use behind the wheel than a drunk, blind geriatric, I've taken to involving him in my games... and he's shocked me. The little bugger's getting pretty competent with a controller; he loves a donut and has pulled off some pretty decent drifts in his time. He can also drive more than fifty metres without looking like a car/hedge/tree interaction is imminent, so that places him above his mum in the skills stakes.

The downside is, while working from home in the current environment, he asks if I've "finished work yet?" every five minutes, so that we can play. It gets tedious, quickly, but I still wouldn't change it for the world. I catch Jeanette chuckling as she passes by while Ethan's berating me for not taking the road he wanted to explore, shouting "INCOMING!" as he launches his '70s muscle car* off a cliff into an abyss with maniacal glee or bellowing "TREE FIGHT!" when he enters a wooded area at full speed.

(*Yes, he seems to love old American muscle cars. I have 300+ cars available in Forza Horizon 4 and, without prompting, he gravitates towards those old school, noisy barges. Good lad. His mother, also a fan, is proud. The downside is that he now wants me to buy one. In real life. Preferably one which has "the engine sticking out of the bonnet". His head will explode when he watches The Fast and the Furious).

PS. Having said the above, I was less than impressed with Ethan's suggestion that "we should smash your car up like that" followed by "it's okay, you can just get a new one".

PPS. Yes, that's my kids playing a PC game (BeamNG.Drive, if you're interested) while watching sodding a YouTube video about car games on the TV in my home office. This could be a slippery slope.

PPS. Don't judge me about their hair. It always looks like that, even after combing/brushing. I have a pair of scarecrows for kids.

Ethan carnage level: Standard

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2020 Suzuki SV650X Review

Here are my thoughts on the 2020 Suzuki SV650X and whether the changes over the standard SV650 are worth the upgrade cost. Those include clip-on bars (instead on straight ones) and the cowl around the front light, designed to give this bike the retro look of a cafe racer.

Housing a 645cc V twin engine, I look at how this bike performs and whether this bike's price point makes it something of a bargain.

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2020 Suzuki GSX-S750 Review

My review of the 2020 Suzuki GSX-S750, a naked middleweight street bike housing a re-tuned GSX-R750 engine. In the video below I'll talk through the relative pros and cons as well as providing onboard riding footage.

Check out the full specifications and colour options after the video.

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First Time at a Drive In Cinema

Walk through and review of my first ever drive in cinema experience (it's not really a thing here in the UK), at the Luna Drive In Cinema at Blenheim Palace. I talk through the process (in the current Coronavirus climate) as well as looking at the quality and cost of the experience.

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Mini Review: Aprilia V4 1100 Factory

Recently, I had this Aprilia Tuono Factory for a 45 minute test ride, so I'm going to present the findings from my brief encounter here.

This Italian bike is a close relation to the race-oriented RSV4, albeit carrying a touch more weight and a more relaxed riding position than the flagship sportsbike. Power is down too but don't let that fool you; this machine produces 175hp and 121Nm from its 1077cc V4 engine. With a kerb weight of 209kg that's still a power-to-weight ratio in excess of a Bugatti Chiron.

High foot pegs aside, the more elevated bars immediately present a bike which ought to be a lot more comfortable over extended periods than an out-and-out sports bike, not that you'd ever be under the mistaken idea that it's a tourer! This is a bike designed to provide the thrills and excitement of a sports bike, while being a little less intimidating, more accessible and having greater usability on the road.

The engine is a peach. The distinctive V4 growl is addictive; not a million miles away from that of a twin, but without any of the associated lumpiness at low revs. When coupled with an Akrapovich can, as this was, the resultant noise is one I doubt I'd ever tire of. (Your neighbours might disagree, however, if you're in the habit of early starts in the morning.) Power delivery is linear and unrelenting, with the bike's quick-shifter allowing you to click through the gears effortlessly.

The bike's handling is composed, although a short road test is not the best test of its abilities. The Factory model is equipped with Ohlins semi-active suspension, which make up a good chunk of difference in price between this and the RR model. The latter is shod with fully adjustable Sachs front and rear suspension. The RR also has a Sachs steering damper whereas the Factory receives an Ohlins one. That difference in price is not insignificant; £13,999 for the RR and £17,199 for the Factory.

Helping to keep the bike the correct way up are a slew of electronic aids, including traction control, wheelie control and launch control. Arguably the most impressive element, on a short ride, were the front brakes, which are nothing less than superb. There are huge amounts of stopping power in the Brembos, impressive in their feel as well as their outright ability.

Looking for a sportier bike to potentially replace my Ducati Multistrada, this machine ticks many boxes for me (especially with Aprilia offering some attractive finance rates at the moment). In the short term, I have to let my head and head argue with one another but I could do a hell of a lot worse than ending up with one of these in my garage.

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Interview with Cannonball Run Record Holder, Fred Ashmore

Fred Ashmore recently broke the Cannonball Run record, by making the 2,800 mile drive from New York to Los Angeles in 25 hours and 55 minutes, knocking 42 minutes off the previous best. In the video below, I speak to him (via video conference) about the motivation and challenges he faced in making such a momentous solo drive.

My previous post on his exploits is available here.

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How Many Beers Fit In A Mazda MX-5?

How many bottles of beer fit in a Mazda MX-5? It's the important consumer question literally no-one asked me, but one I felt compelled to answer anyway.

Spoiler: My first guess was wrong. Massively wrong. It resulted in two further orders from the supermarket (because I was still wrong the second time). Watch the video below to find out.

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Honda GL1800 Gold Wing Test: Land's End Road Trip

Here is my review of the 2019 Honda GL1800 Gold Wing (the 2020 model is available shortly but only has minor changes). I took the bike down to Land's End, the most south westerly point in England, to properly test its capability as a tourer - covering 630 miles in 28 hours.

During the journey I encountered heavy wind, rain and bright sunshine (so just another typical British summer weekend), which provided plenty of opportunity to see how the big bike coped in different conditions. Check out my review below along with some pictures of the lovely scenery I was presented with along the way.

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Cannonball Record Beaten By Solo Driver

UPDATE: My exclusive interview with Fred here

We've all seen the Cannonball Run films, a must for any petrol head, featuring a coast-to-coast US time trial; racing from New York to Los Angeles. Well, it's not as fictional as you might think. The real life start point is the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan, New York and the finish point is the Portofino Hotel, Los Angeles. The distance is a touch over 2,800 miles. This unsanctioned, illegal race has been taking place for decades and, unsuprisingly, is what inspired the 1981 film, starring Burt Reynolds.

Due to the nature of the event, records have tended to stand for some time, such is the required preperation and willingness to break the law (with the potential of a custodial sentence, if apprehended).

In 2006 Alex Roy and Dave Maher set a new record of 31 hours and 4 minutes, in a 2000 BMW M5 at an average speed of 91mph. They were the subject of the recently released documentary, APEX: The Secret Race Across America.

That record stood until 2013 when it was bested by Ed Bolian, Dave Black and Dan Huang in a 2004 Mercedes AMG CL55 in 28 hours and 50 seconds, at an average speed of 98mph.

It wasn't until 2019 that the record was beaten again. This time it was Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick in a Mercedes AMG E63 in 27 hours and 25 seconds, at an average of 103mph.

Then came COVID-19, lock down, and quieter roads. In early 2020 "Captain Chaos" (a team not going public) did the run in 26 hours and 38 minutes, in an Audi A8 at an average of 106mph.

And then we come to Fred Ashmore. Insanely, not only did he complete the 2,806 mile trip in 25 hours and 55 minutes, but he also did it solo... in a rented Mustang! It's unclear how Avis will react when they discover that he removed all the superfluous seats and replaced them with additional fuel tanks, but I doubt they'll be pleased. They'll be even less pleased when they realise that he drove the car at an average speed of 108mph for the whole journey. His time knocked a good chunk off the previous record, a feat made even more impressive when you consider that he got stuck at a checkpoint for 25 minutes.

As is normal, Fred added extra fuel tanks to his car. What was usual though is that he figured that by not taking along passengers/co-drivers, he could utilise the saved space for more tanks. Whereas previous runs had cars equipped with around 250 litres of fuels tanks, Fred managed to squeeze an incredible 490 litres into the Mustang! More fuel meant less fuel stops and less time standing still. Amazingly, he managed the whole journey with just one stop, where he was met by a team who refilled all the tanks. He finished the event with just 39 miles worth of fuel remaining; impressive in a car which recorded an average of 12.3mpg for the journey!

Toilet breaks were avoided by urinating into empty bottles as, despite the length of the event, every second counts. Record or not, this was a supreme endurance achievement. Staying awake (and alert) at speeds often in excess of 150mph for 26 hours is no small ask.

Jeremy Clarkson once said that the fastest car is a rental and it turns out he might be right.

I posted about this achievement on Facebook and was happy to have the man himself chime in:

His Avis feedback form on the Mustang is superb.

Although, I'm not sure if they'll view this as good publicity or trolling.

But he said he did well in the same car later on, so maybe it's an advert for how well Avis maintain their cars?

He did say that he didn't mind me posting his comments here and that he put the seats back and replaced the rear tyres!

The Facebook thread is here.

If you want to hear from the man himself, here's my interview with him:

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Honda Adventure Centre Review

My trip to the Honda Adventure Centre may have been delayed by three months, due to COVID-19 lock down restrictions, but it was worth the wait. Situated in Exmoor National Park in south west England, you're immediately immersed in an area of outstanding natural beauty. A superb variety of surfaces and road types to play on adds to the adventure. The Africa Twin bikes proved to be superb tools, working exceptionally well both on and off-road.

There are a couple of different course options and I attended the one day option, and it's certainly a packed day with a long time in the saddle. Check out the video review below, with plenty of onboard footage showing the sort of thing you can expect to encounter on your visit and my thoughts on the day.

For more details on the centre check out their website here.

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Motoring Nomad YouTube Trailer

If you have a couple of minutes to spare and want to check out the sort of thing you can expect to see hosted on our YouTube channel and, by extension, posted here, then have a look at this short trailer.

You'll find everything from cars to motorcycles to dune buggies included, with plans afoot to expand to aircraft too! If you like what we see please give us a follow on YouTube.

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Great Driving Roads: B4437 from Charlbury

Second video in a series showing great roads. The aim is not to provide flashy, high speed content (which ends with the police on my doorstep), but show footage of whole stretches of good road at legal speeds. Forums are littered with requests for good roads to try and, hopefully, videos like this will take away some of the guess work for people before they decided whether or not to try a route.

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Track Day On The Bedford Autodrome GT Circuit

I chose the 4.2 mile Bedford Autodrome GT circuit for my Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition's first track day. It's a safe circuit, with plenty of run-off (should you mess things up) and is one of the longest in the country. With around 40 cars on track at any one time, there was still plenty of space and, once the morning's very poor weather gave way to sun, the circuit dried nicely. Below you'll find some video from my day and a group of on track pictures taken by the circuit's chief photographer, Lee Marshall (Autographic Photography).

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London Classic Car Show 2020

London's Classic Car Show moved to a new venue for 2020, showcasing its vehicles at Olympia in central London.

There was a fantastic variety of cars on display; from vintage taxis to more modern supercars. See my eclectic highlights video below, together with the gallery.

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MCN London Motorcycle Show 2020

This is one of the biggest motorcycle shows in the UK, attended by all the big manufacturers (as well as many, interesting, smaller ones). Check out my highlights video and gallery from the show, held over three days in mid-February.

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Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition vs Ford Fiesta ST Performance Edition

A comparison of two limited edition cars which you'd struggle to lose in a crowd: The Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition and the Ford Fiesta ST Performance Edition. They're rare, orange, similar prices, with similar power outputs but with quite different philosophies. Here I take a look at what makes them special in their respective ranges, while comparing the way they drive, sound and feel.

Check out the video below.

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2019 / 2020 Honda CBR650R Review

Review of Honda's CBR650R, the motorcycle which replaced the CBR650F towards the start of 2019. Following the almost complete demise of the full-on 600cc race-replica class - killed by a combination of tougher emissions laws and falling sales - how will this machine attempt to fill that void while remaining competitive in terms of both price and performance?

Check out my video review below, together with pictures and useful information on this middle weight sports-tourer. Full specifications can be found at the end.

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Norton Motorcycles Goes Into Administration

Today its been reported that Norton Motorcycles has gone into administration, placing around 100 jobs at risk at the British manufacturer which was founded in 1898. The company has been struggling to pay its tax bill and now it looks to have succumbed to debt of around £300,000. The Telegraph reports that, in its last accounts, the company registered sales of £6.7m with pre-tax profits of just £33,701.

Here are a selection of photos I've taken at shows over the last year or so.

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Great Driving Roads: B4425 Burford to Bibury, England

First in a series of videos showing great roads from a driver's perspective. The aim is not to provide flashy, high speed content (which ends with the police on my doorstep), but show footage of whole stretches of good road at legal speeds. Forums are littered with requests for good roads to try and, hopefully, videos like this will take away some of the guess work for people before they decided whether or not to try a route.

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Mini Review: BMW M2 and Ford Mustang GT

Today, Facebook reminded me that I posted the following three years ago (long before 'Motoring Nomad' existed). I'd taken a BMW M2 and a Ford Mustang (the 5.0-litre V8, obviously) for test drives. I actually bought neither and ended up getting a BMW M4 instead, but here were my thoughts following the drives:

BMW M2: Great fun. Nimble, agile with a nice power delivery. I had the backend step out under power within a minute of driving it but it was all predictable. It's got surprising amounts of traction for a small, rear wheel drive car - even at 1 degree C on damp roads. The steering's direct and precise and the car is excellently balanced. The interior's pleasant, well equipped and there's plenty of room.

Ford Mustang: They say you should never meet your heroes... This has big, lethargic V8 power delivery which made the car feel that it couldn't be arsed and needed encouragement to get a move on. A V8 doesn't have to be like that, despite the well worn "lazy" cliches. For such a big car there's sod-all room inside, especially in the rear seat (a passenger wouldn't last more than ten minutes before they'd ask to walk). The interior quality's not as bad as some reviews make out, but it's not good either. And then there's the handbrake. It's on the wrong side - you have to reach over the cup holders and there's no way of holding it without touching your passenger's thigh. It could end up in an embarrassing situation!

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Caffeine & Machine - 11th and 18th January 2020

A combined video of a couple of recent, quick pit stops into C&M. There's still plenty to see though: multiple Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, a Lamborghini, Lancia Delta Integrale, TVR, a Ford Falcon and even a Jensen Interceptor (and more)!

Below is the highlights video and gallery.

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Autosport International 2020

Autosport International is Europe's biggest motorsport show and, on my first ever visit, I was certainly impressed with the huge number (and variety) of vehicles on display.

Below you'll find my highlights video and gallery, containing some rare vehicles, some priceless vehicles and so down right odd vehicles.

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The Cars of '6 Underground'

It's been out a while now, so there's a reasonable chance that you may have watched Michael Bay's latest explosion-fest, 6 Underground, on Netflix. I watched it over the weekend and, although I'd heard about the crazy car chase at the beginning it didn't quite prepare me for the 20 minute bat-shit crazy concoction of testosterone and twisted metal which followed. I say this in a good way.

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Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble, January 2020

The first Sunday Scramble of the year and there was plenty of variety, old and new, on display as always.

Check out the highlights video and gallery below.

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Caffeine & Machine - 4th January 2020

First visit of 2020 to Caffeine and Machine for me, where I was rewarded with some lovely rare cars including a McLaren 675LT, a 600LT, a Porsche Cayman GT4, a Lancia Stratos replica, a Mercedes 190SL, an Aston Martin Zagato and many more.

Check out my highlights video and gallery below.

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