Fred remembered
Dear Malc,
The day is cold and wet and the Classic Racer has just fallen through my letter box courtesy of my village newsagent. I've had it delivered that way since the first edition, my way of helping him stay in business.
Being retired I can now afford to sit all day and indulge myself in my favourite read. I just love the format; the profiles on past masters and photos of machines long forgotten. However, one rider who would appear to have slipped through the profile net is Phil Haslam.
Phil, or Philip as Ron prefers to call him, was always a force to be reckoned with but when he joined the late Mal Carter's Pharaoh team he really became one of the men to beat. Mounted on a 350 Pharaoh Yamaha I believe he was the first Manx Grand Prix rider to break the 100mph barrier. Perhaps a family profile featuring Phil, Terry and of course Ron could be included in a future issue.
One thing about getting old is the amount of memories we tend to store and Classic Racer has a knack of rekindling them. What about the Hutchinson 100 at Silverstone '65 with Hailwood on the MV and BSA Lightning, now there's an idea for a feature, the rise and fall of the Hutchinson 100.
I remember going to Mallory with my mate, the late Alan Bambrick, who raced a beautifully prepared outfit, (not too many of them about in those days), and loaning our foot pump to Helmut Fath. Obviously the Chesterfield air worked well because he won.
And watching a young kid called Sheene at Mallory literally jumping from one Bultaco to another and appearing to win every race. Talking of Mallory, who could forget the epic Cooper/Ago scrap? Or the Trans-Atlantic Races and of course the TT's and MGP?
I have always been a Bill Ivy and Mike Hailwood fan and have carried their combined helmet designs on my headgear since 1967. But I have always appreciated the talents home grown from these fair shores. All the lads on two and three wheels, who over the many years have given so many people so much pleasure. Joey Dunlop, Mick Grant and all the riders who managed to scare the whatsit out of me with their antics on the island.
To me it doesn't matter that not all made the grade either. They enjoyed what they did, and gave great enjoyment in doing so, be it superstar on top notch machinery or Uncle Bert with his home build. So may I, through your illustrious pages, thank each and every one of them for years of wonderful memories, and you and your team for resurrecting them? Thank you and may your quill never lose its edge.
John Dowson
Via email
Thanks for your kind words John, just like you I get a real buzz out of remembering times past. And you’ve definitely given me a couple of great ideas for future features.
* Read this month's Star letter in the magazine >>
