NEC 2008 - Show Goers Enjoy Climactic Finish
Added on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
NEC 2008 - Show Goers Enjoy Climactic Finish
Carole Nash’s team of custom bike builders wowed the crowd on the final day of the 2008 Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter Show at the NEC in Birmingham whilst Moto GP star James Toseland performed live sets to an appreciative crowd!
Visitors to the NEC saw the Carole Nash Construct project team fight against the clock to over eleven gruelling days and 400 man hours to get their custom built bike finished in time and, with minutes to spare, the starter button finally fired the beast into life just before the show closed at 6pm. The gaze of thousands of show visitors intensified pressure on the team but not even an ill-fitting fuel tank could stop them from bringing the impressive 1450cc Revtech engine to life.
The show, one of the highlights in the calendar, played host to some of the finest international biking talent and despite the discouraging economic outlook, exhibitors and manufacturers reported an upbeat atmosphere.
That would have certainly been helped by MotoGP star and admired musician, James Toseland, who played solo piano performances and several gigs with his band Crash on the Yamaha stand to thousands of adoring fans. Elsewhere in the NEC, three of Britain’s most promising racing talents also received much deserved attention, including Scott Redding who became the youngest ever GP winner at 15 years old, and fellow 125 Moto GP stars Bradley Smith and Danny Webb. The three youngsters also took time out from their busy schedules to battle it out for Show bragging rights on the Mini Moto circuit.
Celebrity chef and massive bike fan Gordon Ramsay took time out from the Good Food Show for a whirlwind tour of the show during the first weekend and Charley Boorman was regularly running between the between BMW, Touratech and the Batman Batpod stand.
WSB and BSB broadcaster Eurosport brought an exciting new partnership to the show giving fans a sneak taster in ten Show Special screenings throughout the duration of the show helping to keep the show’s momentum moving forward.
Other popular additions to this year’s show included the BMW Low Seat Demo Zone, where novices could try out BMW’s range of low suspension bikes, whilst Suzuki brought the great outdoors to the NEC for the first time with their dirt and inflatable off-road track. Also under the roof of the NEC was the Quad Magazine Quad Zone and the gathering crowds demonstrated just how popular these four wheeled machines are. As ever the Mini-Moto, Go-Karting, BSM Training Zone, Outdoor Off-Road Zone, Wall of Death and The Thunderdome Games Arena were all amongst the crowd favourites.
A host of new race announcements were made during the show; new additions to the British Superbike Series included the KTM RC8 Cup and the new Harley-Davidson XR1200 series. Paul Bird Motorsport announced they are entering a World Superbike team and the Isle of Man TT launched a brand new championship system for 2009.
Finlay McAllan, Managing Director of MCI Exhibitions commented; “We are over the moon with the exhibitor feedback from the Show, especially in such a difficult economic climate. Both Exhibitors and ourselves are thinking more than ever about the best ways to entertain and impress our customers and I think this is apparent in the comments we’ve received from visitors.”
Rebecca Donohue, Head of Marketing for Carole Nash added; “We’re proud to have completed our first of four years of Show title sponsorship and to have had such great feedback and support from the biking public. Carole Nash Construct has been a massive draw and allowed us to talk face to face with bikers, which is so important. I’d also like to thank the Hawg Haven guys who have spent 11 days trapped in a glass box making the bike and the thousands of entrants to Britain’s Got Biking Talent who really proved the passion of bike enthusiasts!”
Greg Willis, Marketing Manager Harley-Davidson; “We’ve had an extremely successful 2008 Show with a 10% increase in Harley-Davidson sales leads and have doubled those for Buell Motorcycles. The XR1200 British Superbike race series has generated massive interest so overall we’ve probably had our best show to date!”
Henry Rivers-Fletcher from Oxford Products the Show’s biggest aftermarket supplier confirmed; “This has been our best show ever, sales reported by our retailers are significantly up on last year and it seems the current format of the show is a great success.”
