Indholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2016 i Classic Racer

With the date now confirmed as May 6/7, for the Endurance Legends four-hour race at Donington Park, it is all systems go for the Classic Racer supported weekend. Interest in the classic endurance race has been growing rapidly since Classic Racer announced the plans and as we go to press, details of what promises to be an action-packed weekend are being firmed up. The increasingly hard-fought Lansdowne Classic Series will be putting on their usual re-creation of the golden era of racing with packed grids of Manx Nortons, Matchless G50s, AJS 7Rs and the odd rapid Rudge, being ridden as intended. Series organiser, Richard Adams, said: “The Lansdowne Classic Series is thrilled to be invited to join Endurance Legends for their weekend of exciting racing at the iconic Donington Park…

The Auto 66 Club dinner dance and awards night is to be held on January 14, 2017, at the Royal Hotel, Scarborough. Tickets are now on sale at £32. The night before, the 13th, there will be a chat show with top stars and tickets for this are £18. Tickets for both are available by calling 01723 373000. During the season the club will be running meetings at Cadwell Park on March 25/26 and October 21/22, with further dates still to be confirmed. A new event for Auto 66 will be at Jurby, Isle of Man, on July 9, the day before the Southern 100 starts. The provisional dates for Oliver’s Mount are, April 22/23, Bob Smith Spring Cup; June 24/25, Cock O’ the North; July 22/23, Barry Sheene Race…

The number of passengers travelling by the Steam Packet Company to the Isle of Man during the Festival of Motorcycling increased by 6.3% compared with last year, to 29,241. Motorcycle numbers also increased, up 4.5% to 4,013, making it the first time that more than 4,000 motorcycles were transported to the Island during Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix fortnight. The figures five years ago stood at 2,641. There was also an increase in the number of cars, vans and trailers transported, rising by 4.6% to 5,782.…

Southern 100 2016 – DVD This year’s Southern 100 produced some exceptional racing on the sun-kissed Billown Circuit in the south of the Isle of Man and now you can enjoy it all over again on DVD. Produced by Greenlight for the Southern 100 Club it is available from Duke Marketing. To order a copy or for more information go to www.dukevideo.com or call 01624 640000. Racing in the Blood An interesting novel telling the stories of two families from widely different backgrounds, who shared a passion and addiction to speed, set in the 1920s and based around Le Mans, the Isle of Man and at Brooklands. Racing in the Blood is available now on Amazon and priced at £9.95. ISBN 9781516990511 Once Upon A Time The Continental Circus –…

The TT Mountain Course throws up many heroes, but none braver than former TT front-runner Phil Armes. An accident during the Ulster Grand Prix 21 years ago left Phil paralysed from the chest down, but he rebuilt his life and made a successful career. But he had one burning ambition – to lap the TT course on a motorcycle one more time. Riding a specially adapted Suzuki, Phil made his first attempt three years ago, but crashed out at Ramsey Hairpin. Last year he got as far as Ginger Hall but was forced to stop as too stiff suspension had moved his lower body across the seat, but this year he completed his lap. Using an adapted Triumph 675, Phil completed the lap in fine style during The Classic Racer…

Classic racing motorcycles entertained crowds of MotoGP proportions when they performed before some 100,000 fans on each of the two days at the massively popular Goodwood Revival meeting in early September. The bikes are a regular and much appreciated part of the modern retrospective and race each year, the winners being awarded the Barry Sheene Trophy. The Sunday race would have been on Barry’s 66th birthday had he not passed away in 2003 at the age of 53. The Goodwood circuit was a fixture of the British motorsport scene through the 1950s and 1960s and, although the one and only motorcycle meeting was held there in 1950, the revival meeting’s bike races are for machines from the whole period that the track was active. They alternate annually between the two…

The 2017 American Flat Track season will launch at Daytona on Thursday, March 16, with a 0.6-mile TT course within the Daytona International Speedway stadium. The Daytona TT marks the dawn of a new era for America’s most historic form of motorcycle racing. The championship features the broadest spectrum of brands competing in any form of motorcycle sport, and will serve as a battleground for the great American war between Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles in 2017. The factories will be competing head-to-head on the racetrack for the first time since the 1950s. “Daytona is the spiritual home of motorcycle racing and we are delighted to be bringing the intensity of flat track racing and the spectacle of a TT to complete the show” said Michael Lock, CEO of AMA Pro…

The Lansdowne circus visited Castle Combe, with the North Glos Club recently and in qualifying, Mike Russell stole pole position from Dean Stimpson by just 0.077second, with Glen English just 0.577 behind. Race one, over eight laps of the 1.85 mile circuit was led from the start by Glen English, Chris Firmin, Alex Sinclair, Dean Stimpson and Mike Russell. After the eight laps they all crossed the finish line within three seconds of each other, and their fastest laps were only 0.3secs apart. The order was English, Firmin, Sinclair, Stimpson and Russell, with Russell getting the fastest lap. The Museum WRR class was won by championship leader Seb Perez from Tony Perkin and Richard Hann, and the Avon 350cc class win went to Ian Lucas, ahead of Roger Ashby and…

The series had a record 42 riders and bikes entered and the Lansdowne had a total of four races. The Friday race saw the first four Bonhams’ riders, Chris Firmin, Dean Stimpson, Glen English and Mike Russell, cross the line just 0.624 seconds apart. In the WRR class, the first three, Bain, Stokes and Roberts, were just one second apart. This set the standard for the weekend, the largest margin covering the first four being 3.6 secs. Nick Roberts took three and Ian Bain one, with Robin Stokes, Seb Perez, Richard Hann, Chris Bassett, Mike Farrall, Tony Perkin and Richard Ellis all chasing the runners-up spots. There were three winners in the Bonhams class, with Glen English taking two and Chris Firmin and Dean Stimpson a win apiece. In the…

What was a great spectacle of classic racing sadly ended in controversy, with the Kawasakis of James Hillier, Dean Harrison, Jamie Coward and Horst Saiger being excluded. After Monday’s Superbike race, an official statement said: “The first three bikes in the Superbike Classic TT Race were selected for post-race eligibility checks. The machines that finished second (Dean Harrison – Silicone Engineering) and third (James Hillier – Greenall Racing) were found to have oversized engines. At that point the machines which finished in the next places were called for the same checks. At this point the machines of Jamie Coward (Mistral Racing) and Horst Saiger (Greenall Racing) were removed from the result by the respective teams, effectively disqualifying themselves.” A clearly disappointed James Hillier posted on social media: “For the record…

DRIXTON HONDA Dear Malc I enjoyed reading Alan’s article about the 1968 Drixton Honda (I always enjoy his writing). But, I would like to point out – and the clue is in the title – that the engine can’t be based on a Honda K4 model as that variation did not come out until 1971/72 at the very earliest. The K1 five-speed model was brought out in 1969 and the K2 in 1970. The early phase of the Drixton’s history was over by then. Why is it important? I am sure that most of us can recall the 350 K4 hysteria of the Eighties and how it would take over racing as we knew it, after John Stephens and Bill Swallow won Isle of Man races on the bikes. I…

Another Classic TT has passed and a really great event it was once again, although sadly things all turned a bit sour after the controversial Classic Superbike Race. For me there were some great highlights, not least the popularity and success of the Classic Racer Lap of Honour, which, thankfully, passed off safely with everyone who got to ride the iconic Mountain Circuit really enjoying the experience. I was always convinced that the Classic TT would be a great success, but the speed with which it has evolved has surprised even me. Of course there will always be a doubter, that’s always the case with any new venture or event; human nature means we don’t like change, but far from falling at the first hurdle the Festival of Motorcycling has…

The world of classic racing lost a true legend when Graham Boothby passed away at his home in France, on July 30, aged just 63. A former teacher, Graham provided an outstanding service through his business, TGA, to hundreds, if not thousands, of classic racers around the world. He founded the business in 1980, along with fellow teacher Tony Teasdale, as a way of earning a little bit extra for trips around the UK to the embryonic CRMC meetings, of which Graham was a founding member. By 1990 the business had taken over and Graham gave up teaching. In 2003 TGA moved to Northern France. A former racer himself, Graham put lots back in to the sport through TGA and sponsored the CRMC from day one, as well as supporting…

In a moment of madness, and clearly with time on his hands, Simon Bogg, of Xtreme Chainsaw, created this seven feet high replica of the Senior TT Trophy – with his chainsaw! After images of it appeared on social media it was quickly snapped up by the new Isle of Man Motor Museum and owner Denis Cunningham collected it from the Friends of the TT Riders Association lunch at Mount Murray Golf Club. Also collecting his own, life-size, Senior Trophy during the lunch was 23 times TT winner John McGuinness. John had seen Simon doing demonstrations at the 2015 Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, at Stafford, when John was guest of honour.…

A MANX WITH HISTORY Dear Malc The Mortons Archive photo (Classic Racer issue 181) of Rod Coleman on Douglas Quay shows my bike, which I have owned since 1995. Rod Coleman is shown being helped by fellow Kiwi NZ ACU Team Member Len Perry who also got a brand new Featherbed Manx. They had both been to the IoM before. Len Perry, in 1939 when he rode a brand new Mk.VIII KTT Velo and Rod in 1949 on a new 7R AJS. Unfortunately they both crashed in practice with Len losing a finger and Rod sustaining a broken jaw. The first 30 Featherbed Manx Nortons were finished in time for the 1951 TT and with a quota going to ‘Colonial’ riders via the various Commonwealth importers, New Zealand was allocated…