Mettet's end-of-season all-star supermoto knees-up is a must-see event Wozza went one step further and entered the thing he's just destroyed all-comers in the Mettet Superbiker event in Belgium as well as wrapping up both the French and Belgian supermoto titles a few weeks earlier And he finished seventh in the World S1 Supermoto series.  If you've heard of Mettet forgive the history lesson; if you haven't here's the deal Every year since 1986 this sleepy Belgium backwater turns itself into a heaving mass of supermoto madness as the roads are closed and the town given over to one of the planet's biggest two-wheeled parties An epic motocross section is shoehorned behind the main straight while Mettet's petrol station forecourt (which doubles as the apex of turn one) becomes an open air boozer for the crowds.  To spice things up further Mettet attracts a stellar spread of riders from all disciplines even eclipsing the now defunct Guidon d'Or as the end-of-season supermoto party Corser and even Kevin Schwantz have taken the grid alongside supermoto pros enduro world champs and motocross legends.  This year was no different with Regis Laconi Fabien Foret and Sebastien Le Grelle representing the road racers while ten times world motocross champion Stephane Everts and five times holder of the same title Joel Smets spearheaded the off-road attack no mention of Mettet would be complete without Stephane Chambon The tiny Frenchman has not only cleaned up French motocross and superbike titles in his time he's also bagged a world supersport championship despite not being able to get both feet on the ground on a supermoto bike is the undisputed king of Mettet with nine wins since 1990 And in the invitation-only Starbiker race this year Chambon did it again leaving Everts in second and the rest to pick up the pieces what the headlines won't tell you was that in the regular Superbiker race not only did Fiorentino clean up he did it by lapping a second faster than Chambon just as he had been all weekend through practice and qualifying I figured it would be far more interesting to have a crack myself but having never ridden supermoto in anger before I needed help Fortunately Fred and his team took me under their wing not only giving much needed tuition but also supplying one of their 2005 factory KTMs my own mechanic and even a chair with my name on it in their garage Overtaking Le Grelle on day one was a high (he was running out of fuel but I'm counting it anyway) as it was only a measly lowside I resigned myself to not covering myself in glory (highly unlikely anyway without a severe talent transfusion) and remounted to wheelie throughout the rest of the race with a massive grin on my face and I can't believe I've never been before You can see an onboard video of the Metter Superbiker race here Subscribe to our NewsletterGet the latest motorcycling news exclusives and promotions direct to your inbox For more information, read our Privacy Policy © Crash Media Group Ltd 2025.The total or partial reproduction of text photographs or illustrations is not permitted in any form are among several tweaks to 2023's World RX schedule Words by Lydden Hill will return to the World Rallycross schedule for the first time since 2017 as the series expands for 2023 World RX will also expand outside of Europe for the first time since WRC Promoter took over the running of the championship in 2021 with rounds in South Africa and Asia also planned Events outside of the series’ home continent have been absent since the onset of COVID-19 with the last non-European race taking place in South Africa at the end of 2019 World RX 2023 will begin on May 20-21 in Hell before heading to Höljes in Sweden on the first weekend of July before the championship heads to another returning venue which takes the place of Spa-Francorchamps on the first weekend of August World RX then heads back to the Killarney International Raceway in South Africa for a double-header event on October 21-22 before another double-header to round out the season at an as-yet-unnamed location in Asia at the end of November Mettet and Estering remain subject to both promoter agreement and track homologation while the South Africa and Asia events also remain subject to track homologation “It clearly looks slightly different to recent seasons and we are delighted to finally be ‘spreading our wings’ and venturing outside of Europe again “Ever since taking over as promoter of this great championship we have been committed to returning to Cape Town to showcase World RX in front of the enthusiastic South African fans and we are hugely excited to be adding a new event in Asia to the lineup which truly underscores the series’ world championship credentials the re-introduction of three charismatic European venues in Lydden Hill Mettet and Estering reflects our desire to celebrate rallycross’ rich heritage and traditions while embracing the sport’s electric future Montalegre and Nyirád [which hosted European Rallycross in 2022 and will host the category’s season opener again next year] this year are testament to those circuits’ enduring appeal Sign up today and be the first to know about special offers own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment View all partners Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, unapologetic atheist and author of “God Delusion,” recently tweeted a picture of himself in front of the Winchester Cathedral in England “Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester one of our great mediaeval [sic] cathedrals So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding ‘Allahu Akhbar.’ Or is that just my cultural upbringing?” “The call to prayer can be hauntingly beautiful especially if the muezzin has a musical voice My point is that ‘Allahu Akhbar’ is anything but beautiful when it is heard just before a suicide bomb goes off That is when Islam is tragically hijacked by violence.” Both supporters and critics again filled his Twitter threads with heated comments In a 2016 incident, a Muslim student who was praying in the library of the University of Central Florida was singled out as a threat In my ongoing research that looks at Muslim experiences of ritual practices in the U.S. I’ve spoken to Muslims who are forced to hide their prayer practices from colleagues at work Many of them delay their prayers when out in public because of fear of being attacked Creekmur argues that these films create an insidious connection between the call to prayer and political violence What many do not understand is the history and poetry in the Muslim way of praying It is believed that Prophet Muhammad received the words of the call from God through the archangel Gabriel which Muslims believe to be the direct words of God Many Muslims organize their days around the call to prayer and others stop what they are doing during the call and make supplications to God The Muslim call to prayer can be heard through loudspeakers mounted on minarets in the streets of Istanbul, Jakarta and Sarajevo in melodic tones that beckon worshippers to the mosque The first Muslim to ever recite the call to prayer was Bilal Ibn Rabah, son of an enslaved Abyssinian woman, in the city of Medina in the seventh century. At the time, early Muslims were debating the best way to audibly announce the time for prayer so people would know when to gather at the mosque Across religions, prayer has been found to have a calming effect on practitioners. Islamic prayer is no different. In my work American Muslims have explained that prayer takes away their worries and brings them peace It also brings families and entire communities together the next time you hear a Muslim call to prayer it is simply the Islamic way to remind us of the divine This is the stunning new Corkscrew-alike chicane that will be the main feature of Belgium’s nearly-completed Mettet circuit Built on land close to the street circuit used for the Superbiker supermoto annual races the new circuit has a 14 metre difference in height between the highest and lowest points on the circuit with the most dramatic gradient change at the turn six – a 1:3.3 drop as the track flicks left then right It’s a short lap – experts who have completed tentative laps among the ongoing building and landscaping reckon a 1:10 lap will be a quick lap The track looks fairly tight and is described as technical by the group responsible for its contruction but it’s at least twelve metres wide all the way round – only three metres less than Silverstone which is tailored to suit the needs of Formula 1 car racing Belgian track day company Aktief is organising five public bike track days when the track opens in 2010 – May 18, June 29, July 6, August 2 and September 7. Contact: 0032-936-931-71 or aktief@metamedia.be The circuit is also scheduled to hold various club-level car and bike race meetings DirtFish picks out seven fallen giants to have fallen off the World RX calendar Words by Since the inception of the World Rallycross Championship seven years ago there have been a number of tracks that have come and gone Through the championship’s previous promoter the rise in popularity of World RX required a healthy mix between traditional rallycross venues and well-known permanent circuits transformed into RX tracks we take a look at some of the unlucky venues to have lost their place at the top table of rallycross in recent years What’s not to love about the legendary Canadian track Situated on the banks of the St Lawrence River the circuit was first used in 1967 for the Trois Rivières Grand Prix James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve among many others World RX made its debut there in 2014 and unsurprisingly The street circuit nature of the track also caused plenty of drama due to the precariously placed concrete barriers and 90-degree turns most notably at the end of the lap where the surface changes from gravel to asphalt Notable incidents include Andreas Bakkerud admirably holding onto his third place with a broken rear two-link in the semifinal in 2018 where the Norwegian battled a badly crabbing EKS Audi S1 at breakneck speed and very nearly made it through to the finals after Sébastien Loeb binned it on the final lap A lot of the RX purists may not necessarily be fans of the so-called ‘cookie cut’ circuit racing tracks being transformed into a make-shift rallycross track but that is actually at the very heart of the rallycross category The track itself was a compact challenge where precision was key The left-hand hairpin followed the slow right and left-handers of the full circuit ensured cars emerging from the joker lap could run side-by-side for three corners in a row while the gravel section on the in-field varied wildly in racing line and grip levels it was a superb little circuit which is sadly missing from the calendar There’s so much to be said about a rallycross track which leads from the start straight into a hairpin Mettet in Belgium is another RX track cut out from a longer permanent circuit racing venue but the natural gradient changes and eye-watering bumps and dangers towards the end of the lap made it one of the most entertaining tracks on the schedule If there was one driver who typified the sort of racing Mettet delivered it is Timmy Hansen who endured some of the best and worst moments of his World RX career to date The Swede was a dead cert for the win in 2017 in his Peugeot 208 when he suffered an agonising left-front puncture while leading Hansen still held the advantage coming to the end of the race but had yet to joker The subsequent time loss on the loose gravel with a flat tire cost him the win and Johan Kristoffersson came through to take the first of his seven wins that year Hansen then produced the drive of his life in the semifinal the following year Hansen was then baulked in the joker lap and fell to the rear of the field Knowing he had to pass three drivers – who had already jokered – to make the final Hansen pulled off three sublime moves to book his place in the final while Bakkerud also made it through after having to take two jokers following an initial jump-start the Autodromo di Franciacorta only had two years on the World RX calendar but the Italian venue certainly made its mark with its unique configuration and high-octane races Franciacorta was perhaps the most ‘circuit’ of the circuit racing converts but the wide road layout and the fast blast through the chicane at the start was a popular niche part of the track A combination of flat kerbs – with which the drivers were more than generous – tire stacks and vast gravel traps didn’t necessarily give the track a true RX feel but it was a sign of the times and when the championship was in its infancy on the global stage Franciacorta was also the scene of Timmy Hansen’s maiden World RX victory secured on the same day as Petter Solberg became the first-ever World RX Champion in 2014 It’s safe to say that if World RX was to be a truly global championship And to help it regain the reach and potential in the country a US round probably needs to be a priority Although World RX has only ventured to America twice before (in 2017 and ’18) there are a number of tracks which could conceivably fit the bill deserves another crack after a couple of years off the scene The track could possibly do with a bit of a revamp but the joker merge was genuinely exciting and looked like the only thing stopping Johan Kristoffersson from completing another serene run into the final The proximity of the track to the city of Austin has proven popular with the F1 circus and with fresh promotion from WRC Promoter going forward the potential to engage the US rallycross crowd once more must be looked into Kevin “Around the Outside” Eriksson is all we need to say about this track The Estering in Buxtehude is a legendary RX track and has been a staple of the European Rallycross Championship for decades If a track produced an overtake so out of this world that the driver – whose father is none other than the great Andreas Eriksson – received a nickname derived solely from that track Kevin Eriksson was just a 21-year-old protégé of his dad’s Olsbergs MSE team at the time and admitted that he got the now famous overtake idea from his father Andreas which comes shortly after the start following a fast right-hand kink is a deceptively quick corner in which drivers can take far more speed into it than they think Enough handbrake on entry and plenty of right foot on the exit and there are places to be made and that sits well with tried and tested rallycross fanatics sharp shoot down the back straight to another tight hairpin is then followed by a daredevil flick between the armco barriers and the final narrow chicane to end the lap Andreas Bakkerud famously won a heat race with a double puncture while Mattias Ekström and Petter Solberg duked it out for the closest-ever finish of a world championship RX race in 2014 How could we even consider leaving out Lydden The place where it all started back in 1967 The story is well-known by now but the impact that rallycross creator Robert Reed who invented the made-for-TV sport for ITV’s World of Sport while with ABC Weekend TV Had it not been for the Tunbridge Wells Centre of the 750 Motor Club and Lydden Hill circuit owner Bill Chesson rallycross as we know may not have been created Lydden quickly became the home of rallycross in Britain and further afield Despite just five corners and covering a total distance of a mile With the glorious Kent scenery surrounding the picturesque circuit thanks to the iconic corners of Paddock Bend the latter leading up the hill to North Bend before plummeting back down to the fast right-hander which rewards those drivers on ‘full send’ amply as the screech of the tires and the banging and popping of the anti-lag ricochets off the adjacent trees behind World RX left Lydden after the 2017 edition for pastures new at Silverstone the following year The rationale was clear and largely understandable from a business point of view Silverstone had the resources and the accessibility that Lydden didn’t at the time although the Home of British Motorsport’s tenure in the championship didn’t last longer than two years Britain – the creators of rallycross – has been without a round of the world championship It’s about time that changed don’t you think And what better homecoming than a return to its roots in Kent Hockenheim and Rosario due to their ability to throw up possibly some of the most bizarre races in World RX history Anyone who hasn’t already watched semifinal two from Hockenheim in 2016 simply hasn’t experienced rallycross at its most mental best Kristoffersson battling a charging five-car train on three wheels while Liam Doran somehow got his underpowered Mini onto the front-row of the grid and Janis Baumanis denied himself a place in the final after smashing into the rear of Kristoffersson San Luis was used as the season finale in 2015 as resulted in Robin Larsson’s only event win to date on the ultra-fast Argentinian track University of Hull provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK While science has moved on, nutritional advice lags behind. And in a new study published in Open Heart a group of researchers concludes that national dietary advice on fat consumption issued to millions in the 1970s to reduce the risk of heart disease which suggested that fat should form no more than 30% of daily food intake lacked any solid trial evidence and shouldn’t have been introduced cardiologist Rahul Bahl wrote in a linked editorial: There is certainly a strong argument that an over-reliance in public health on saturated fat as the main dietary villain for cardiovascular disease has distracted from the risks posed by other nutrients Some fats aren’t good – trans fats, for example, which are mostly man-made – while others, such as monounsaturated fats found in olive oil are seen as having beneficial qualities Today, government guidelines recommend that fats should compose no more than 35% of an individual’s daily calorie intake – and that saturated fat, in particular, ought to supply less than 11% Fat intake decreased from 36.6% to 33.7% from 1971 to 2006 while the intake of carbohydrates rose from 44.0% to 48.7% Fat contains more than twice the calories (9kcal) per gramme than carbohydrates (4kcal). So if you eat a high-fat meal it is more calorific than a high-carb one, but there is evidence to also show that carbohydrates can lead to feelings of increased hunger. A recent study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating carbohydrate foods with a high glycemic index (bread pasta) caused effects on the brain that led to feelings of increased hunger Another study in 2013 found high-carb meals could leave you feeling hungrier hours later compared to a low-carb meal with more fibre The team behind the research attributed this to the plummeting levels of blood sugar that regularly follows high-carb meals So where does our unshakable idea that fat leads to heart disease come from? The diet-heart hypothesis, that low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol is raised in the blood by eating saturated fat, which then leads to clogged arteries and eventual heart disease, is not a credible claim However, correlation does not mean causation. Very low cholesterol is linked with an increased risk of death (though not from heart disease). And in the very old, research suggests cholesterol can be protective So it’s fair to say the relationship between cardiovascular disease and total cholesterol is complex that may more easily lodge in the arteries as opposed to those who have large LDL particles Your blood lipid profile is frequently used as a medical screening tool for abnormalities in lipids (including triglycerides and cholesterol) These blood lipid profile tests can identify approximate risks for cardiovascular disease and specific genetic diseases Studies have also shown that saturated fats do not harm your blood lipid profile – and can actually improve it Saturated fats could lower the risk of heart disease by shifting LDL cholesterol from dense small LDL to large LDL Numerous short-term feeding trials have shown that an increase in saturated fat consumption leads to a rise in overall LDL. Nevertheless, the result is inconsistent and weak. The methods used in a number of these research studies have been criticised – and plenty of studies support the contrary that no association exists between total LDL and saturated fat consumption So what about randomised controlled trials? One such study divided 12,866 male subjects at a high risk of heart disease into a low-fat or Western diet group. After six years, no difference was found between them. The Women’s Health Imitative the biggest randomised controlled trial in diet history comprised of 48,835 postmenopausal women who were also divided into two similar groups and came up with similar findings If you don’t care for the science, then take an everyday example. Look at the large populations of the Masai in Africa who consume large amounts of saturated fat but have low levels of coronary heart disease. Or the Tokelauans of New Zealand who consume a massive amount of saturated fat through coconuts: more than 60% of their daily calories come from coconuts These populations have no history of heart disease And the health benefits of coconut oil are now becoming known more widely We’re learning so much more about fats and that there is no evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease Leading nutrition experts have been calling for an amendment to dietary recommendations for more than ten years But despite these calls and the high-quality evidence assembled throughout the past decade governments – and by extension the public – still take extraordinarily little notice But a decade of research to the contrary would suggest it’s time we moved away from entrenched thinking towards a more enlightened attitude to saturated fat six-speed racing transmission with paddle shifters that sends power to the front wheels The car features a twin-disc sinter metal clutch with an automated double declutching system creating stability when shifting down Stopping power is ensured by 378mm brake discs and 6-piston brake calipers at the front along with 265mm brake discs and 2-piston brake calipers at the back Braking balance can be fine-tuned by the driver from the cockpit The Astra TCR has a fully adjustable chassis that comes with ultra-modern damper technology. The aerodynamics pack includes an adjustable front splitter and rear spoiler that for cost reasons are standard components and identical on all TCR vehicles Electronic assistance systems such as ABS and ESP are not permitted The car already comes with features that the International Automobile Association (FIA) will only declare mandatory from the 2017 season Opel is developing the Astra TCR in close cooperation with longstanding partner Kissling Motorsport from Bad Münstereifel Initial performance checks are scheduled to take place before the end of this month The first deliveries will start at the end of February next year, with the Astra TCR carrying a €95,000 ($108,730) price tag but despite its appetite for tarmac-demolishing speed and full-lean lunacy most superbikes like this are ridden on the road with the odd of cross-continental tour thrown-in for good measure I rode to see the most spectacular supermoto street race in the world The annual Superbiker at Mettet is a celebration of barely-believable backing-it-in and sliding-it-out as well as legends including the Chambon brothers chips and mayonnaise are also in attendance My 720-mile round trip was altogether more sedate and the only real bend I encountered along the way was the slip road leading to the Channel Tunnel from the motorway in Calais It has a bum-friendly seat and bars you don’t feel like you’re doing a handstand on but pegs are a little high for taller riders like me and if the Suzuki had the legroom of an R1 or Panigale or even the adjustable pegs of the current GSX-R600/750 I’d have happier knees The standard screen offers decent wind protection TT-style screen from Skidmarx (www.skidmarx.co.uk £64.95) It may not be super-sleek to look at but it makes a huge difference at sustained high speeds eradicating neck and shoulder ache after hours in the saddle With its frugal engine and ‘miles-to-go’ fuel countdown display you can easily go 160-plus miles between fuel stops and there are lots of other nice touches to make your time in the saddle that more enjoyable decent mirrors and LED lights that flood the road with daylight There are fewer buzzy vibes from the motor My GSX-R1000R was such a pleasure to ride long distance in a weekend I’ve decided to load it up with luggage and take it to Aragon this week where I’m racing Team Classic Suzuki’s Katana with team mates Pete Boast and Guy Martin MCN Chief Road Tester - Neevesy’s been an MCN Road Tester since 2002 He’s reviewed everything from mopeds to Rossi’s Yamaha M1 and plenty in between He covers tens of thousands of miles a year on the world’s roads and racetracks in his role with MCN and when he’s not working he’s still on two wheels racing both modern and classic superbikes for a variety of teams To cement his position as one of the most influential motorcycling journalists on the planet Neevesy spent many years as an Elite Instructor at the Ron Haslam Race School based at the famous Donington Park race circuit He regularly presents videos on riding tips and road safety working alongside the likes of Highways England to deliver a strong and consistent message By Michael Neeves has made history this week by becoming the winner of the first British Super Moto Championship McCracken clinched the title when winning at Pembery where he scored three successes out of the three races who has the unusual occupation of being a male model with the Alison Campbell Agency opened up the season in an unfortunate manner by crashing at Mallory Park and ending up in hospital in Leicester with five broken ribs However he fought back and in the remaining seven rounds he had six wins and a third place McCracken competes regularly in the Northern Ireland Super Moto Championship which is sponsored by P&O Ferries and takes place every November 'I am delighted with this success,' McCracken said 'It really was worth going for and now I'm off to Mettet in Belgium for the big European Championship event 'I have been fortunate to be invited to take part in the Prestige Class which takes in the top 40 riders in Europe The meeting takes place on October 10-11.'McCracken will be going for his first win in the P&O series but he has come close on a number of occasions After his latest high-powered success he will surely be one of the favourites when the championship begins in November Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening Please check your inbox to verify your details