You might think that putting yourself on the line performing a wide range of precarious two wheel stunts on a regular basis would be enough for the team at the historic White Helmets, but it appears not!
With the help of the motorcycle staff at Bridgestone UK members of the Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team who currently receive tyre support from the manufacturer have been out for a ride with seven times Dakar competitor Mick Extance at his off-road school in Powys, Mid Wales.
Mick had the riders improving their riding skills on his fleet of Kawasaki KXF250s which are now using the new Bridgestone Battlecross X30 motocross tyres for medium type terrain. The idea of pooling the two Bridgestone sponsored organisations came via Product Manager Gary Hartshorne, who first suggested the ideal of sending new White Helmets recruits to Sergeant Stevie Marshall. For many of the new recruits, this was their first time out on a motorbike and the motocross experience with Mick should put them on the right track for the future.
Sgt Stevie Marshall, whose colleagues have just returned from their first session with Mick, said: “It was an invaluable experience and a great idea from Bridgestone to put us in touch.
Some of the skills needed to ride a motocross bike are quite unlike anything some of the lads were familiar with, but by the end of the day, you could see how much benefit we had all gained from learning them.
It is a very steep learning curve to graduate from a bike novice to an integral part of the team, but days out like this make a huge difference.”
Following the trip to Wales, Bridgestone have also agreed to kit out the White Helmet’s Triumph TR7V Tiger bikes with Battlecross X30 motocross tyres to allow them to perform on some of the more challenging terrains that they often come across when touring at various exhibitions.
Bridgestone will also be putting their name to the White Helmet’s “Riders” Rider’ annual award, which was presented to Lance Corporal Oliver Blount at the Royal Signals’ Opening Show last month. The White Helmets have maintained their popularity since being formed in 1927 and regularly perform to 600,000 to 1,000,000 people over the course of a display season, not including TV audiences.
This year has seen the re-introduction of a comprehensive Bridgestone motocross range at Cambrian Tyres available to the UK trade at the best possible prices. To see the full range of product for 2014 please see the Bridgestone Motocross section.
