Minoli Attend Crescent Motorcycle’s 75th Anniversary Celebrations

On Friday 20^th June, Jonathon Minoli had the great pleasure of attending the 75^th Anniversary celebrations of Crescent Motorcycles at their state-of-the-art HQ in Verwood, Dorset.

Led by Managing Director, Paul Denning, Crescent Motorcycles is one of the country’s leading motorcycle retailers, with branches across the south coast, representing the top-flight brands such as Yamaha and Suzuki.

They also operate the Yamaha World Superbike Team, of which Paul is the Team Principal, who are currently competing in the FIM Superbike World Championship with riders Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea.

Crescent is a 3^rd generation family business founded by Paul’s grandfather Ted in 1950 as a local cycle, motorcycle and hardware shop in Charminster Road, Bournemouth. Paul’s father John then carefully developed the business and established the Crescent Suzuki franchise in 1963 – creating Suzuki’s longest standing UK dealership.

Paul was able to use the stable platform and good business reputation John created to expand, and also to establish Crescent’s British Superbike Racing Team in late 1995, which has now become the renowned Yamaha WorldSBK Team.

Minoli have had a long association with Crescent Motorcycles and the Yamaha WorldSBK Team and have supplied specialist tiles for their Head Office premises. These include the boardroom, meeting spaces, administration offices and presentation suite, which all feature the Marvel Premium Porcelain Series and the Minoli Workshop Series for the technical areas, including the engine build, bike build and truck loading / storage facility.

For five seasons, Minoli have also supported as Technical Partners to the team and have been delighted to see the Minoli logo in place on the bikes and race truck, as well as the pit walling and hospitality zone, and to show our support for Paul and all of his passionate and talented team members. This relationship gave us the opportunity to host two remarkable events with the Yamaha Racing Team.

In 2017, Minoli London welcomed the Crescent Yamaha World Superbike Team to our Marylebone showroom on George Street, W1… complete with full Race Truck! At the event Paul gave insights into the intricacies of running a highly professional and competitive racing team on a worldwide platform to well over 100 assembled guests.

More recently in September 2024, Minoli, Crescent Motorcycles and the Yamaha WorldSBK Team co-hosted the ‘Primed for Performance’ event at Home House private members club on Portman Square, W1. Attendees were treated to a panel discussion chaired by Tim Harvey, former British Touring Car Championship winning driver and television commentator, who was accompanied by Paul.

The audience was first treated to a live-feed video link with Beatriz Neila from the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. Beatriz is currently competing in the FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship for the Ampito Crescent Yamaha Team. This was followed by an entertaining and insightful interview with Jonathan Rea, six-time World Championship winning rider and the most successful participant in the history of the FIM Superbike World Championship.

Such is Minoli’s passion for performance bikes that you can also see a stunning example at our Oxford Corporate Clients showroom. On display is a rare example of the world championship winning Yamaha WSB R1, kindly donated to Minoli by Paul Denning in recognition of our many years of close cooperation.

On the night of the 75^th anniversary celebrations we were treated to seeing close-up some lovely machines from Cresent’s racing history, the launch of some limited edition 75^th anniversary bikes, and some enjoyable videos and Q&A’s, as well as delicious catering and charming hospitality.

Our sincere thanks to Paul and all the team at Crescent Motorcycles and the Yamaha WorldSBK for inviting us to share in this memorable occasion and we wish them continued success in business and on track.