A Brief History.......

The LAM was founded on the 17th May 2007. Although the group itself is a new entity within the IAM most of the members are not.

Previously the members of this group had been a part of the Belfast Advanced Motorists group. This is a combined car & bike group. As part of the Belfast group many of our current Observers and trainee observers went through the associate process and passed into the IAM. A wealth of experience has been developed. In late 2006 a number of issues focusing around the running of the Belfast group came to ahead, and it was mutually agreed that the best way forward for the two sections was for the bikers to form a seperate group.

Much of the work in founding the LAM was done by the late Malcolm Campbell. Malcolm was an exceptional member of the Belfast group both as a Senior Observer and all round person. His desire to ensure the bike side of the IAM in the region didnt fade away was paramount to the creation of the LAM. Sadly Malcolm passed away a matter of weeks before the group was formed.

Malcolm's great friend and IAM stalwart, Denis Coulter, came out of semi-retirement to ensure Malcolm's efforts were not wasted. Denis organised for the initial meeting with former Belfast group members and the regional co-ordinator to be held. The purpose of the meeting was to officially form the club and elect its inaugural committee, to which Denis was unanimously elected Chairman. His desire to move away from the heart of things, unselfishy put on hold.

At the beginning of 2009 Denis gave up his position as Chairman and handed the role over to Maurice Bracken but Denis is still very much involved with the Group and training as one of the Senior Observers.You can see the full list of Committee members in another section on the site.

It is still early days for the group, but the desire and will to make it succeed are more evident than ever. We are always looking for people to contribute and help keep the group fresh and appealing for all.

As of the beginning of 2010 and looking back to 2009 our passrate for advanced riders and Observers is below:-

10 Members passed their Advanced Test

14 Members are now Trainee Observers

6 members have qualified as Observers

As of December there are 6 new trainees