Classic Racer takes you so close you can actually smell the Castrol R. With the world's finest archive, and an editorial team who live and breathe the sport, the only way you'll get closer will be to put on your leathers.
YEAR:1982//TRACK: DONINGTON// CORNER: REDGATE//KEITH HUEWEN DOESN'T REALLY CARE WHAT, OR WHO, IS BEHIND HIM AND HIS FACTORY SUZUKI 500 AND THE CAMERA CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THE RED AND YELLOW, EITHER. For one racer it’s a moment of reflection as to where the line could have been better, braking could have been a bit later, commitment to the corner could have been a bit more. Or perhaps for Gary Lingham on number 30 it’s more a case of collecting thoughts before attacking Donington on another lap. No such thoughts are coursing through the mind of Keith Huewen however. It is 1982 and the man who these days is the king of the commentators is away with, as our continental cousins like to say, full gas. The effort was seasoned with…
YEAR: 1994//CIRCUIT: ALBACETE, SPAIN//CORNER: CURVA JORDI GENE// IT'S FAST, REALLY FAST. THE KAWASAKI HAS THE INSIDE LINE, READY FOR THE NEXT CORNER BUT HASN'T QUITE COUNTED ON THE TENACITY OF THE FACTORY RVF HONDA HOWLING AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF TURN SIX. Two riders who epitomised the world Superbike championship’s bare-knuckle fight feel in the early part of the 1990s, were Scott Russell and Doug Polen. Whilst Russell became legendary for his attitude to life and the racing scene, Polen preferred to do his talking on track. Winning the world Superbike title in 1991 and 1992 is testimony to the man who, in 1994, joined the Castrol Honda squad based in Louth, Lincolnshire and shifted the bikes on to Dunlops because it was his preferred tyre of choice. That year did…
RIDER: DON EMDE//YEAR: 1971//CIRCUIT: DONINGTON//CORNER: START/FINISH STRAIGHT//WHEN RACES WERE WON AND LOST BY THE SMALLEST OF MARGINS, THERE'S NO ROOM TO MISS OUT ON ANYTHING THAT COULD GIVE YOU THE UPPER HAND. you cross the line to take the chequered flag. Winning as you do. To carry more fuel than you need is folly. It’s weight you don’t need. It robs you of time. Extra fuel is not your friend. But then... imagine if you run out... Better to be safe than sorry. And then ride it that much harder to make up for the weight penalty brought on for a bit of fuel security. Ride it like the wind, Don. Give ’em’ hell. A racer does everything he can to make sure that he will cross the finish line…
In reply to Mr Chatterton and others Dear CR I feel I must comment on the letter from Gordon Chatterton (no relation) issue 187, regarding ‘his gripe’ as he calls it, on the TT races. While I agree that any death in racing is one too many, Gordon will find if he checks the figure, which is easily done in these Google days, that the current fatal accident figures are substantially lower than in the 1950s for instance, which I would guess is Gordon’s favourite TT decade and one of mine too. For example, in the years 1950 to 1959 there were 44 races with 19 deaths. In the years 2008 to 2017 there were almost twice as many races, 85, with 17 losses of life, four of which were…
Dear CR I enjoyed reading about Steve Wheatman’s super rare Suzuki RGV250 racer and agree that bike is a genuine work of mechanical art. Following on from that, is there any chance you could do a similar article on another super rare racer? The one I am thinking about is the 1993 Ducati Super Mono 549cc which was also described as a work of art. I believe one of your contributors, a certain Alan Cathcart, owned and raced one of these singles in the now defunct Sound of Singles world series. Terry Birch Nottingham Thank you for the suggestionTerry, we are fully on the same page as you and are looking into featuring this very motorcycle in a future edition. Spot on! TC STAR LETTER PRIZE Remember to keep…
In a career which goes back to the early 1990s, when a teenage Rutter took to the track following in his famous father Tony’s footsteps, Michael has amassed an amazing 14 North West 200 wins, an unequalled eight Macau victories and five Isle of Man TT wins – and he is still on winning form in the BSB Superstock class. Due to his laid-back and modest approach to his sport, Michael has always been a fans’ favourite and he is guaranteed to share some great stories during his stage appearances at Newark Showground over the weekend of January 6/7, 2018 – not just about his own career but what it was like growing up with a legendary racer for a father. Mortons Media Group’s exhibition manager, Nick Mowbray said: “We’ve…
