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Roy Richardson reached Manx classic folklore hero status previously reserved for Bob Heath and Bill Swallow when he rivalled Bill as the only other winner of a Senior Classic on an Aermacchi and matched Bob’s previously unique feat of claiming a Junior and Senior double in the same year.

Another two wins to his tally also meant that the Blackpool ace moved up to eight successes in total, one short of Swallow and three down on Heath’s outright Manx Grand Prix record of 11. At 46, Richardson is not quite a classic himself yet so he has plenty of time to collect a few more laurel wreaths in the coming years.

The 2010 Senior Classic was perhaps not a race that Richardson particularly fancied his chances in, but then there are no nailed on certainties in road racing – especially riding classics.

The original entry list included Ryan Farquhar, but his chance of going for four straight wins on Roger Winfield’s Paton was denied when Lea Gourley crashed heavily at the Ulster and Roger chose to stay with the seriously injured
rider in Belfast.

Olie Linsdell blitzed practice week on a similar machine, but poor Olie suffered major injuries in his get-off in the Post Classic race on a FZ750 Yamaha 48 hours before the scheduled outing on the Italian twin.

Then there was the Mark Kay Engineering MV-3 ridden by Alan Oversby which hadn’t, in fairness, been given a proper run over the Mountain Course before.
But a rider as experienced and quietly determined as Roy should never be underestimated, particularly on a bike as quick and dependable as Dick Linton’s home brewed 476cc Aermacchi. After all, it worked well for Bill Swallow in 2003.
Oversby was quite a bit off the pace of Linsdell and the Paton in training, but he certainly seemed to find some extra speed from the Brian Richards prepared triple come race day.

The MV was on song from the word go and he pulled out more than a second a mile in the first sector to Glen Helen where a 10-second advantage was confirmed over Richardson. Hexham’s Mark Herbertson was a further three seconds down on the G50.

The latter man made it to Ramsey, but not as far as the second commentary point as the Matchless stopped half-a-mile short of the hairpin at Whitegates.

Richardson pulled a couple of seconds back on the MV from Ballaugh to Ramsey where the difference was nine seconds between the triple and the pushrod single. With Herbertson out, Mark Parrett took up the fight for the home guard, but he was 40 seconds down on the Aermacchi with the Ripley Land G50.

Oversby’s opening lap of 107.457mph gave him a 16.6 second lead over Richardson, but he needed all that and maybe a little more to stay in front as the thirsty MV required a time-consuming pit stop at half-distance when it was likely that most of his rivals would go right the way through on one tank.

Parrett’s stint in third lasted about the same length of time as the previous incumbent and he was forced to pull up at Greeba Castle, less than six miles into lap two. Paul Coward filled that slot at Glen Helen, but already the gap between the leading two horses and the rest of the wagon train was stretching. Oversby was 25 seconds ahead of Richardson, but there was then a 1min 36sec gap to Coward on Dave Nourish’s trusty Weslake.

Another half-minute down in fourth was Meredydd Owen on the Seeley, who had Ken Davis on the leading Honda twin for company on corrected timing with just four tenths of a second separating them. Oversby continued to add on five or six seconds at each timing point and by the top of the mountain he was 40 seconds ahead of Richardson.

The Bolton-le-Sands man was looking like he was on for a quick one, but few picked up on the real significance of the lap when it was posted as 109.089mph – albeit more than 21 seconds slower than Farquhar’s 110.984mph last year on the Paton (or indeed Olie Linsdell’s 111.830mph in practice this year) as it is substantially quicker than Giacomo Agostini ever lapped on the MV Agusta.
Ago hit his TT peak (speedwise) in the Diamond Jubilee dice with Mike Hailwood when one rider raised the bar only for the other to raise it higher. The Italian ace got it to 108.23mph before a snapped chain brought his birthday celebrations to a premature end.

So Oversby can add the fastest MV-3 lap over the TT Course to his CV, and a rare sub-21 minute classic lap to boot. That scorching average speed gave him a 38.5s lead over Richardson, with Coward already 2min 52sec adrift in third. Oversby’s fuel stop gave Richardson a taste of the lead, seven tenths of a second of it, but normal service was resumed at Ballaugh.

Bud Jackson retired from 10th at the pits and similarly Norton mounted Wattie Brown stopped at Quarter Bridge holding on to eighth. At Ramsey, the lead was back up to 9.86 seconds for Oversby, the gap to Coward in third another 3min 46sec behind Richardson.

Oversby seemingly had the race in the bag and at Glen Helen on the final circuit he was a healthy 38 seconds ahead of Richardson, with Coward now the best part of five minutes adrift in third. But it was all about to change quite dramatically and in the space of 14 miles the leaderboard was turned on its head.

Stuart Garton retired his Seeley from fifth place at Kirk Michael while Meredydd Owen brought his similar mount to a standstill in Parliament Square, Ramsey. Most significantly, Alan Oversby stopped at Guthrie’s to make adjustments, but any attempts to get the MV back on the road proved fruitless. It seems likely that the remains of several small birds in the engine and back wheel could have contributed to the bike’s unfortunate demise.

Within seconds of his retirement being posted, Ken Davis came off his 500 Honda at the same spot holding on to what was, very briefly, third spot. To add yet more drama, Richardson’s Aermacchi was reported to be running less than sweetly on the exit from Ramsey Hairpin. Would that machine last the distance? But Richardson did make it safely over the mountain to be first into the winners’ enclosure for the second time in three days.

Revealing that he had indeed been experiencing problems in the closing stages, he noted that the Aermacchi never seemed happy when the petrol was running low. “I rolled it back on the rise out of Ramsey and nursed it over the mountain,” he said. “The number one motor seized in practice so this was the spare. I’d settled for second at the start of the final lap, but I caught a glimpse of a bike stopped at Guthrie’s and wondered if it was Alan. I didn’t know I had won until I turned into the enclosure.”

Paul Coward, possibly more elated with the performance of his son 19-year-old son Jamie in his MGP debut than his own runner-up position, praised the bike’s owner Dave Nourish. “He’s a star,” said the Hebden Bridge man. “Dave’s 70 now but he’s been coming here since the 1950s and is as keen as ever. He doesn’t have a TV at home; he works seven days a week.”

A surprise third was 40-year-old Dave Matravers of Taunton on his father Paul’s G50 Matchless. Riding his third Manx GP, his previous best was 10th but he had only qualified 27th quickest after endless problems with the bike’s clutch. “I can’t believe I’m here. It’s unbelievable,” he beamed.

Sporting a rare Peel Engineering made Mountain Mile fairing, he explained how he had ripped the screen off on the second lap after it had started flapping. “It was a good ride except for not being able to see!” His father Paul was making his MGP debut at 60.

Mick Moreton was fourth on the only Paton in the race, Bob Millinship Ducati fifth, and the leading Honda twin, in the hands of Cumbrian Henry Bell sixth.

Veteran all-rounder Arthur Browning banged himself up a bit when he crashed his Metisse at the Les Graham Memorial on lap three. “The red mist came down when I was trying to catch the guy in front,” said the 65-year-old Brummie.

Dec Holliland of Queniborough in Leicestershire chalked up another finish for his Petty Manx Norton which, incredibly, has started in every MGP since 1957. The bike has finished most of them.

Six riders started but only three completed the inaugural 750 class of the Senior Classic and it was the Rob North-framed Triumph triples of Isle of Man residents Chris McGahan and Dave Madsen-Mygdal out in front.

McGahan lapped at 102.007mph from a standing start on Norman Miles’s melodious Trident to open up a 13.4 second advantage over Madsen-Mygdal, with Blackpool’s Alec Whitwell third on the Honda 560.

Frank James retired his Trident from fourth place on lap two when Madsen-Mygdal grabbed the lead after McGahan made an early stop for gas. Des Senior’s 750 Norton expired on lap three, leaving just three men to battle it out over the second half of the race.

Supping a welcome pint of cool Guinness after two months off the beer, McGahan gave full credit to Norman Miles for his fourth MGP success.

“Norman wasn’t able to make it over to the island as he is suffering from arthritis but the bike ran superbly. I lost concentration a bit on the last lap, taking it too easily, so I’m sorry if I scared a few people by going too wide in a few places.”

After coming within 1.37 seconds of setting the fastest lap of the entire Manx Grand Prix practice week, Michael Dunlop was the red hot favourite for the honours in the second Post Classic event on the Trident Engineering Suzuki XR69.

With the weather just about perfect on race day morning, the 21-year-old Ballymoney ace was also fancied to crack 120mph after producing a scintillating speed of 119.59mph in the penultimate practice session.

Indeed Michael and the 1981 works replica’s builder, John Sims, were both quietly confident of a 121mph or 122mph lap – edging close to the outright MGP lap record established by Alan Jackson Junior in 2005.

Olie Linsdell appeared to be the only rider likely to challenge Dunlop and, riding a Yamaha FZ750, the former double MGP winner pushed extremely hard on the opening lap with a speed of 117.271mph.

On corrected timing, Linsdell was 6.95s down on Dunlop, with larger gaps to Mark Buckley and Maria Costello on two further XR69 replicas owned by Kevin Pearson and Steve Wheatman respectively.

It was no surprise that Dunlop’s opening speed of 117.979mph obliterated Ryan Farquhar’s fastest lap of 108.045mph on a near identical bike from a wet and misty inaugural Post Classic event 12 months ago. At Glen Helen on lap two Dunlop was nine seconds ahead of Linsdell, who in turn was 37s clear of Buckley in third.
Linsdell failed to reach the next timing point after coming off heavily at high speed less than two miles short of Ballaugh on the exit from Bishop’s Court (in a similar spot to American Pat Hennen’s career-ending crash on the factory RG500 in the 1978 Senior TT).

It is thought that the 22-year-old, who had another very hefty high-speed get-off at Glen Duff during practice for the 2009 TT, could have been distracted by a newcomer in the concurrently run race. In an attempt to avoid just such a confrontation between the faster riders at the front of the Post Classic Senior and slower competitors in the Newcomers B race (predominantly 650 twins and 400s), the Post Classics had been set off between the two Newcomers’ events.

Linsdell suffered serious injuries in the incident and, after being airlifted firstly to Noble’s Hospital he was later transferred to a specialist hospital in Liverpool where his condition was, mercifully, showing signs of substantial improvement within one week of the accident.

His unfortunate departure from the race opened up a 1min 13sec lead for Dunlop at Ramsey and a second lap average of 118.186mph proved the quickest of the race. Pulling in for fuel he was given the news that his lead was a substantial one and he rolled back the throttle in the second half.

“I was tempted to go for a quick one on the final lap,” revealed the young Ulsterman in the post-race interview. “It was a case of satisfying my ego or bringing the bike home for a win. I also thought of the guys looking for replicas so backed off the pace to give as many of them as possible the chance to pick one up.”

Mark Buckley’s race average of 112.329mph secured him his first Manx GP replica, while Madeley’s Geoff Martin, 53, added a 10th to his tally.

Riding an early GSXR750, Martin averaged 101.821mph to edge out Chris McGahan (Miles Trident) and Maria Costello (Suzuki XR69).

Chris Palmer led the Post Classic Junior from start to finish on a 1991 TZ250 Yamaha V-twin. The former 125 and 250 TT winner set a hot pace with a record-breaking lap of 111.729mph to open up a 37.87s lead over the man who previously held the record, Brian Mateer. Stuart Garton, Barry Davidson and Ewan Hamilton also went inside the old standard from a standing start.

A second lap marginally short of 110mph gave Palmer a growing lead of 54.30 seconds over Mateer at half-distance, but up to fourth following the retirement of Garton was Oldham’s Philip McGurk, who had an early stop at Quarter Bridge to make adjustments.

Little changed on lap three, but McGurk continued his charge with a storming final lap of 108.948mph to leap-frog into second place ahead of Davidson after Mateer retired at Glen Auldyn. It was 2006 Lightweight MGP winner Davidson’s first ever ride on a Yamaha. Ewan Hamilton and Peter Symes also received replicas in a race of only nine finishers.

Similar to Michael Dunlop in the Senior class, Palmer admitted he had also been tempted to do a ‘banzai’ on the final lap and go for a really quick one, but decided that caution was the better part of valour on the impeccably behaved 19-year-old V-twin owned by 1978 Newcomers MGP winner Rob Brew of Peel, on the island’s west coast.

Breaking seven years of Honda domination in the Junior Classic MGP, stretching back to Bill Swallow in 2002, Roy Richardson finally bettered his own lap record and Swallow’s race record in what was a superb ride by the Blackpool man.

Astride Dick Linton’s 350 Aermacchi, the ex-works frame of which Linton bought from Sid Lawton in 1972, Richardson became the first rider of such a machine to lap the Mountain Course inside 22 minutes.

Ken Huggett was the last to win a Junior MGP proper on an Aermacchi, also one of Lawton’s and also in 1972. Ironically enough Dick Linton was garaged with Huggett in Douglas for this year’s Manx.

Huggett, who ran the Hawthorn Inn for a short while after ‘emigrating’ to the Island in the late 1970s, set a new race average record speed of 95.56mph 38 years ago (over six laps), with a fastest lap of 97.35mph.

The Manx was turned on its head 12 months later when Phil Haslam lapped at an incredible 103.15mph on a 350 Yamaha twin, averaging 99.42mph for the race despite sliding off at Signpost Corner and remounting.

Aermacchis proved successful once again with the introduction of the Classic in 1983, Richard and Bill Swallow both achieving considerable success, but Roy Richardson took the marque to a new level this year.

Quickest in practice, he got off to a flyer with an opening lap of 101.615mph from a standing start to lead 2009 winner Chris McGahan by 17.70 seconds on the Hales Honda. Alan Oversby was third on the MV at another 9.35 seconds, followed by Doug Snow on the Sebring Ducati and the leading 7R AJSs of Mark Herbertson and
Chris Palmer.

The latter rider retired at Ramsey bus station on lap two while Richardson stormed to an average speed of 102.948mph, breaking his own record set on a Honda K4 in 2007 by 1.99 seconds. McGahan was hanging on grimly, 29.41s down on corrected timing, with Oversby a clear third. But he pitted for fuel, dropping him behind Snow into fourth place.

With the intention of riding all four laps non-stop, Richardson’s speeds were extremely consistent and a third lap of 102.006mph gave him a growing lead of 45.81 seconds over McGahan – also on a continuous run. Snow had briefly overtaken the MV, but Oversby was back on his tail on corrected timing, just 1.71 seconds down with one lap remaining.

Having received the message that his lead was a safe one, Richardson rolled back the throttle on the final lap – dipping back below 102mph on his race average. McGahan settled for the number two spot, but Oversby squeezed back in front of Snow’s Ducati by 1.75 seconds to secure the first podium finish by an MV rider on the Snaefell Course since Giacomo Agostini in the 1972 TT.

The top-six remained relatively intact, with Palmer the only absentee at the close. His place in sixth spot was eventually taken by Keith Dixon on the Seeley after Dave Madsen-Mygdal retired his K4 at the bottom of Barregarrow. Herbertson was consistent in fifth place throughout.

Richardson stepped on to the top plinth of the podium for the fourth time in successive Junior Classic starts – having missed out last year because of a crash in the Post Classic. “Brilliant,” he enthused. “People call the Aermacchi a proper classic bike. It never missed a beat.”

Chris McGahan was happy enough with second and despite a slight misfire with the Hales Honda he lapped faster than ever before on a 350 classic (102.043mph), less than three months short of his 60th birthday.

“I had a bit of fun with Roy. He was slightly over-geared and I was slightly under-geared, so I was catching him up on the corners and he was pulling away again on the straights. But he was riding like an ace and I couldn’t stick with him for too long.”
Oversby was satisfied with his ride on what was a brand new 350 MV built by Mark Kay Meccanica Verghera Ltd. “Most of the practice sessions were used to run the bike in. We ironed out a few problems in practice so I am pleased with the race result. I felt a bit of oil on my boot so I couldn’t fully commit.”

A basic miscalculation regarding the fuel required to complete the final lap of the race cost 61-year-old Tom Jackson almost certain victory in the Lightweight Classic.
As race media were hurriedly flicking through the record books to see if four brothers had ever won races on the Mountain Course before, Jackson's dream of rivalling younger siblings Bob, Alan 'Bud' and Andrew on the top step of the podium at the Manx were shattered at Creg-ny-Baa on the final lap.

At one point it actually looked as though Tom and Bud would finish first and second in the race, not achieved since Joey and Robert Dunlop in the 1993 Ultra-Lightweight TT. But Bud's 250 Suzuki stopped at Whitegates on lap three, leaving Tom to fly the flag.

When his similar T20 ran dry on the drop down from Kate's it was a double blow for the brothers from Kendal. Their disappointment provided delight for two fellow riders from Sandbach in Cheshire. Peter Wakefield finally achieved his ambition of winning the Manx GP, while the final spot on the podium behind Poole's David Smith was filled by another Sandbach man Jeff Ward.

Gunning for a record four 250 wins in succession, Scotsman Ewan Hamilton was fast out of the blocks with an opening lap of 94.273mph from a standing start – the quickest of the race. Hamilton's race ended with retirement at Sulby Crossroads on lap two, handing Tom Jackson the reins on brother Bob's machine. Other lap two retirements from the top-10 were Roger Hurst and Neil Cudworth.

Bud Jackson stopped for fuel at the halfway point, while brother Tom shot straight through for a third. He was an extended 68 seconds up on Bud at Glen Helen, the latter in turn 39 seconds up on new third place man Wakefield.

But Bud, a four times winner of the Manx, stopped half-a-mile short of the next commentary point at Ramsey Hairpin, leaving Tom with an even greater margin of 1min 54sec over Wakefield. David Smith was third on the 250 Yamaha, 53s down on Wakefield and 48 seconds up on Ward.

A swift splash and dash pit stop for Tom Jackson could have been much more leisurely, and he later admitted that although the estimated fuel consumption for the final lap was correct, they had measured out only half the required petrol mix in error. In fact it was surprising he made it up the mountain for a fourth time at all.
Wakefield did make it home safely, but it was not without a worry or two.

“I had to nurse it down from Creg-ny-Baa as there was also an issue with the fuel. At Signpost I waddled it as I thought there was an airlock in the tank. The fuel had perhaps vacuumed through one of the filters. I shook it again at Governor's and dropped the clutch. Thankfully it fired back up again and I revved it all the way to the line,” said the relieved Cheshire man.

Yamaha TD1C mounted David Smith, at 66, is a veteran of the TT and has also had his share of bad luck in the Classic Manx. “We've all been there leading the Manx Grand Prix and breaking down. It's the Isle of Man. I thought I was riding like an old woman. I tried to stay with Bud and couldn't so I'm pleased to eventually get
second place.”

Jeff Ward also had his share of problems, but was delighted with his first podium finish. “My back's just about broken,” he said after climbing off his Suzuki. “I got a face full of fuel on the first lap when the breather came off the tank at the bottom of Bray Hill. It was all over my screen.”

All with the exception of one of the eight finishers received a replica.