MCNLive! April 2011 was the ultimate biker weekend of the year!
MCNLive! in association with Bennetts, took its memorable place from 1st-4th April 2011 at Butlins Skegnes and once again lived up to its reputation as the ultimate biker party weekend, with over 3,000 visitors revelling in the fantastic atmosphere! The three days and nights of non-stop entertainment with live music, amazing stunt shows, interactive zone, great comedy and DJ’s completed a truly action packed weekend that you just couldn’t afford not to miss!
To kick start the weekend, visitors rocked the night the way to some of the biggest live bands we’ve had at MCNLive! with Friday night announcing the infamous Quireboys, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash on the Saturday and despite his accident, the two-time World Superbike Champion James Toseland headlined on Saturday night with his band Crash and even followed suit as Axl Rose from Guns & Roses. With over 18 live bands and acts, partygoers were spoilt for choice and could move from venue to venue with their wristbands so they didn’t miss a moment.
Another surprise addition was Neil Young who asked his girlfriend Stacey Toporowski Cook, live on Centrestage with the Quireboy’s to marry him in front of three thousand bikers! Luckily for him and the remainder of the onlookers she said yes…Watch this space for a possible MCNLive! wedding.
New for Saturday night was our first official Fancy Dress Competition with contestants working their costumes to the extreme in the hope that they would win a silver self-catering for next year’s event. Congratulations to the winner of the ‘Indvidual’ category, Andrew Lumley and his breath taking resemblance to Cheryl Cole and also to the fourteen person ‘group’ winners who looked simply dapper in their 1920’s American gangsters and mobsters – Valerie & Ian Green, Carl & Debbie Allgood, Sue & David Hurst, Royce & Christine Hurst, Eric & Carol Cheesewright, Dave & Debbie Blackwell, Kevin & Sue Nixon.
The rolling programme of amazing stunts from the Bolddog Lings FMX Team and Freestyle team, Steve ‘Showtime’ Colley, and the Amazing Wall of Death kept the visitors a gasp whilst the interactive zones offered MCN’s free Minimoto Challenge and trials riding with the Mike Extance off Road Experience for competitive heats and riding challenges, and the Vertical Trix team had MCN goers wheeling opposite each other. Waved off by James Toseland and lead by Bennetts Yamaha R1, the weather just about held out for the 60 mile Bennetts rideout throughout the Lincolnshire countryside. Thousands of bikers joined the MCN editorial and Bennetts team and headed towards Tattershall Lakes to be greeted at the other end with a tasty BBQ and live band.
The all-new 2011 eight members of the Bennetts Babes Squad had their official ‘unveiling’ at MCNLive! and held on for dear life on the Bennetts Bucking Bike which was restyled for 2011. Bikers were also able to treat their bike to the ultimate sponge down, as the new Bennetts Babes re-created a live version of the Bennetts Bike Wash video featuring Lucy Pinder, already viewed by over 700,000 people online. This proved to be extremely popular and £224 was raised for Marie Curie Cancer from purely voluntary donations.
2011 GALLERY
Take a look at some of what happened in 2011, and see if you can spot yourself.
2011 Gallery
SHOW & SHINE, SHINES
Practical Sportsbikes magazine held its very first Show & Shine competition at MCN Live in Butlins, and thanks to a large and satisfyingly diverse entry – including everything from vintage Harleys and 1970s air-cooled Yamaha RD twins, to heavily modified FireBlades and 210mph nitrous oxide Hayabusas – it proved to be a great success.
The competition was judged across three categories: Best Classic, Best Modified, and Best Sportsbike. The former was won by Steve Ingleston and his just-finished Suzuki GS750. Far from standard spec, Steve’s bike is powered by a nitrous oxide breathing GSX-R1100 motor, and features GSX-R running gear, a drag-spec swingarm, and a host of home-done mods. His bike also won Best Overall.The Best Sportsbike category was won by Kev Perrett and his Suzuki Hayabusa. A Hayabusa also swept the board in the Best Modified class, with Nigel Herring’s amazing 250bhp missile by far the shiniest bike on display.
Best Sportsbike
Kev Perrett
Suzuki Hayabusa
Best Modified
Nigel Herring
Nitrous Suzuki Hayabusa
Best Classic
S Ingleston
Suzuki GS750/GSX-R1100
The MCNLive! stage throughout the weekend was again jam packed with Babe ‘offs’, MCN Quiz, Celebrity interviews as well as the Riders for Health auction where the MCN goers helped raise a fanastic £780 for MCN’s very worthy chosen charity.
Bikes, bands, beer and babes – the ultimate biker party weekend, MCNLive! Want to come back and do it all over again? Then book before Friday 27th May 2011 and take advantage of our price freeze for April 2012. Just remember, whatever you paid this year we will honour the same rates for 2012! So Book Now!