Registration figures released this week gave the UK motorcycle trade something to smile about. Data from the Motorcycle Industry Association showed new registrations up 17% in August compared with the same month last year, with 8,009 machines reaching the road against 6,846 in August 2025, while electric registrations climbed 7.5% to 272 units. Honda’s CB1000GT sports-tourer, only in dealers since July, was the best-selling motorcycle of the period, with the brand’s PCX125 scooter topping the wider two-wheeler charts. The good news comes with a political sting, though: MCIA chief executive Tony Campbell noted the industry is still waiting on the Government’s response to its long-running rider licence review, which the sector sees as key to widening access to biking.

Safety made headlines too. The DVSA has appointed transport safety specialist TRL to independently test helmets already on sale in the UK, running alongside the existing DfT SHARP rating scheme rather than replacing it. TRL’s testing lead told MCN the greatest risk comes not from big-name shops but from specific corners of online marketplaces, where sellers can’t always guarantee genuine certification. It’s a timely reminder that a bargain lid bought on a whim could leave you dangerously exposed in a crash.

On the gear front, AGV pulled the covers off its next-generation racing helmet, the Pista GP R³, at Misano this week. The Italian brand claims the design is up to six times more effective at countering rotational forces on the head, thanks to a new outer shell system that sits atop hundreds of microspheres designed to detach in a controlled way during an oblique impact, dissipating the twisting forces linked to serious brain injury. It’ll be worn by AGV’s MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 riders from this very race weekend.

BMW, meanwhile, went big on nostalgia and marketing muscle. BMW Motorrad and BMW M jointly unveiled a “100 Jahre Nürburgring” anniversary collection, including 100-unit limited editions of the M1000RR, M1000R and M1000XR, finished in a bespoke green paint with carbon wheels and numbered anniversary plaques, marking a century since the legendary German circuit first opened.

Racing delivered plenty of drama. At Magny-Cours, Ducati’s Nicolò Bulega continued his crushing WorldSBK form, winning both feature races from teammate Iker Lecuona, extending Ducati’s podium lockout streak. Over in MotoGP, the title fight tightened at Misano: Marc Marquez beat home favourite Marco Bezzecchi to a tense sprint win, closing to within 14 points of championship leader Jorge Martin ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

And on home soil, road racing celebrated a milestone. Oliver’s Mount marked 80 years of racing with a special three-day Gold Cup meeting in Scarborough, drawing some of the biggest crowds seen at the venue since 2012, with Honda Racing UK’s Dean Harrison taking the feature race win and John McGuinness completing celebratory parade laps aboard three eras of Fireblade.