Mediaboss Marketing

by Philip Wain

It's been a steady week so far at the 2012 Isle of Man races for Ryan Farquhar as he continues to get his machines dialled into the Mountain Course but the new Lightweight class has seen the KMR Kawasaki team owner excel. The class, for Supertwin machines, has seen Ryan top every practice session so far with Tuesday evening seeing him set a superb lap of 115.398mph. Meanwhile, team-mate Jamie Hamilton has been getting quicker and quicker with each session and the Ballyclare youngster has consistently been the quickest newcomer. With Saturday evening's opening practice session being just for the Lightweight machines and newcomers, both Ryan and Jamie were able to get some early laps in and Ryan topped the Lightweight class with a lap of 113.587mph as Jamie got his first taste of the Mountain Course. Monday evening was when the whole event got started with the 1000cc machines out on track and with conditions continuing to be perfect, a steady session saw Ryan lap at 123.871mph with Jamie increasing his speed to 112.688mph. Tuesday night was another beautiful day on the Island although the bright sun did cause riders a few headaches during the session. Despite not being happy with the changes he'd made to the Superbike, Ryan did increase his speed to 125.197mph and then topped the Lightweight session with a lap of 115.398mph, 23 seconds clear of his nearest rival. Team-mate Michael Rutter was third quickest at 113.149mph with Jamie 11th at 109.921mph who also improved his Superbike time to 116.564mph. On Wednesday evening, Ryan went out on his Superstock and Supersport machines for the first time during the week and was immediately on the pace, going 7th and 5th fastest respectively. Meanwhile, Jamie continued to impress and, again the quickest newcomer on the night, he lapped at 118.563mph Speaking after Wednesday evening's third practice session, Ryan commented: "I'm happy enough with how the week has gone so far and practice week is always the same, you're constantly making changes to the bike to make it perform even better. With the course being so long you'll never get the bike set-up 100% and it's more of a compromise for the whole lap but we're getting there. I wasn't happy initially with the Twin on Saturday night but we made a few changes to it and Tuesday felt a lot better. I was happy with a 115mph+ lap but there's definitely more to come and with a few more tweaks to the suspension and gearing we should be able to go a fair bit quicker. The Superbike felt pretty good on Monday but the changes I made for Tuesday's practice were too much so I've gone back to the settings I started with and will just make little adjustments now to get the handling closer to how I want it to be." "Jamie's been going really well and has been building his pace up nicely in each sesson, which is all you can do as a newcomer, you've just got to keep putting in the laps and get the experience. I caught him at Ballagarey on the Twin on Tuesday evening and waved at him to tuck in behind me so, hopefully, he will have learned a few more bits then and he ended the session 11th fastest so it's so far so good - Michael was third fastest too so the Supertwins are all working really well now. I'd also like to welcome on board my new sponsors Vauxhall and I'm extremely grateful for their support and I'm looking forward to working with them for the rest of the year and, hopefully, giving them some good results. Eurocars have also loaned me a car for the fortnight which is also superb and it's nice to be able to get away from the paddock and spend a bit of down time with the family." Practice is due to continue on Thursday evening, in preparation for the opening Superbike race on Saturday, but with rain falling on the Island, it could well be Friday before the bikes take to the 37.73-mile circuit once more. Photo: Ryan Farquhar in action on Saturday evening practice. Picture by Stephen Davison - Pacemaker Press International

Ends

I'm happy enough with how the week has gone so far and practice week is always the same, you're constantly making changes to the bike to make it perform even better

Ryan Farquhar, TT Competitor

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Steady TT practice week so far for Farquhar as Hamilton impresses on debut

by IOM Advertising

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is supporting a UK campaign to raise awareness of motorcyclists on the road and have bike-related questions made a compulsory part of the driving test.

Launched by Bennetts, a specialist motorcycle insurance company, the campaign has the backing of the Motorcycle Industry Association, the Motorcycle Action Group and the British Motorcyclists Federation. High profile supporters include Darren Gough, Suzi Perry and James Toseland.

Bennetts promotional staff will be at Liverpool port ahead of the 20.00 sailing to the Isle of Man on Friday June 1 and again for the 21.00 sailing on Saturday June 2.

Hannah Squirrell, Bennetts Associate Director, explained: The campaign is a UK Government-approved e-petition which aims to reach 100,000 signatures. If it achieves that number, Parliament will agree to debate motorbike-related questions being made a compulsory part of the UK driving test. Currently there is no such guarantee and while motorcyclists account for just 1% of road traffic, they unfortunately make up 20% of fatalities.

The TT is the premier road-racing event in the world and attracts many thousands of fans each year. Were delighted that the Steam Packet Company has agreed to support this important campaign and raise awareness, both among TT visitors and Isle of Man residents alike.

We will be handing out cards with details of the e-petition, and also flyers, which can be completed for us to auto-complete the e-petition on behalf of bikers. The cards and flyers will be unbranded were keen to ensure that while it was Bennetts who initiated the campaign, its really on behalf of all motorcyclists, their friends, family and colleagues.

Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: The e-petition is such a worthwhile campaign and, given that our Company has such a strong link to the TT, the Manx Grand Prix, the Southern 100 and motorcyclists in general, we are more than happy to do what we can to assist.

To further enhance awareness, the petition has been confirmed as the title sponsor of the Isle of Man TT Lightweight Race which will therefore be known as the BikerPetition.co.uk Lightweight Race.

More details about the e-petition are available at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26272 or http://www.BikerPetition.co.uk

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Steam Packet Company Supports e-Petition Campaign

* Western European assets seen down at 623 bln Sfr by 2014

* Switzerland to remain world's biggest offshore centre, for now

* Singapore, Hong Kong could overtake Swiss in 15-20 years

* Banks need to cut 15,500 jobs to stay profitable

By Emma Thomasson

ZURICH, May 31 (Reuters) - Swiss banks could see assets from western European clients fall 28 percent because of deals to tax undeclared accounts, potentially forcing the industry to cut up to 15,500 jobs to stay profitable, the Boston Consulting Group said.

The BCG predicted in its annual global wealth report on Thursday that western European assets booked in Switzerland could fall 248 billion Swiss francs ($256 billion) to 623 billion by 2014.

"We see a shock in terms of assets from western Europe," Matthias Naumann, BCG Switzerland chief executive, told a news conference. "The Swiss banking landscape is facing its biggest transformation in 250 years."

After mounting criticism of its tradition of bank secrecy, Switzerland has agreed to clamp down on foreign tax evaders who have stashed their wealth in Swiss accounts.

It has signed deals with Austria, Britain and Germany, to levy punitive taxes on undeclared assets held in its banks and a withholding tax on future client income that are due to come into force in 2013. Similar agreements with Greece, Italy and other European countries could follow.

Excerpt from:
Tax deals may cost Swiss 248 bln Sfr assets -study

Zimbabwe's central bank lifted Wednesday a ban on the local unit of South Africa's Impala Platinum using local banking services over accusations it used offshore accounts, a company official said.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) imposed the ban on Zimplats last week saying the company continued to put money in offshore accounts.

Zimplats is the local unit of the world's second-largest platinum producer Impala Platinum.

"We confirm that the RBZ has issued a directive permitting Zimplats to access local banking services," Zimplats spokeswoman Busi Chindove said in an email responding to AFP questions.

Zimbabwe directed in March that foreign banks and mining companies should keep their funds in local accounts instead of offshore.

"We are pleased that the RBZ has issued a directive to normalise our access to local banking services and to allow us to export," said Chindove, adding that firm "did not have significant funds offshore" as it is funding expansion projects at its plant.

The government earlier this year threatened to take Zimplats over after it failed to submit a plan to distribute 51 percent of its shares to locals under the country's indigenisation laws.

The company later struck a deal with the government offering to give 10 percent shares to its workers, another 10 percent to a community trust near its mine and 31 percent to the government's Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund.

Under the controversial local ownership law championed by President Robert Mugabe, the government must pay for the shares it receives - something the cash-strapped treasury has not budgeted for this year.

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Zimplats' bank freeze lifted

A proof copy of Andy Warhol's 1985 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is set for auction at Bonhams' Print Sale in London on 11 July. The rare copy is estimated to fetch between 40,000-60,000.

Warhol, an American artist, is known for creating exploratory works on celebrity culture, artistic exploration and advertisement. The artist is regarded as one of the leading figures in the visual art movement known as pop art. Some of his famous works include The Last Supper, Soup Cans and Death and Disaster.Although Warhol is best remembered for his paintings of Campbell's soup cans, he also created hundreds of other works, including commercial advertisements and films.

The signed and numbered print of Queen Elizabeth II is from the Reigning Queens series, which also includes the Queens of Denmark, the Netherlands and Swaziland. It was his last print-portrait before his untimely death in 1987.

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It is based on a portrait of Queen Elizabeth painted in 1977 to mark her Silver Jubilee. Given Warhol's fascination with transvestites, of whom he painted a series in the 1970s called Drag Queens or Ladies and Gentleman, the Reigning Queens title is clearly intended as a pun on Raging Queens.

According to Bonhams' website, the two series also share the same bright, almost garish palettes. As always with Warhol, however, the flippancy masks a more serious point about the nature of celebrity and image in the modern world.

"Warhol was, of course, a commercial artist working in design, fashion and advertising for many years before he crossed over into the world of fine art. It is in his portraits above all that Warhol combined these two aesthetic domains, deploying all his graphic skill, his eye for engaging line and colour, his 'creative director' talents to make images that would not only appeal to his immediate clients, but also to absolute strangers in the years to come," wrote art critic and journalist Adrian Dannatt on the painter and his work.

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Andy Warhol’s Rare Queen Elizabeth II Portrait Copy Up for Sale