Features

Suzuki RS68 125cc V-four One of the most complex Grand Prix road racing machines of the 60s has been brought out of obscurity in Japan after being hidden away for more than a quarter of a century. It’s a development of the four-cylinder two-stroke 125cc works racers developed by Suzuki to challenge Yamaha’s supremacy in…

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Spectacular Anglo-American racing It was no longer a foregone conclusion that the British team would pick up the spoils, in fact when they left Brands Hatch after an hectic Good Friday encounter they trailed the US side by 141 to 130! Over 20,000 fans packed the Brands Indy circuit and they could hardly believe their…

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Paton PG500R Many times during that period it would have been easy to walk away from the challenge of competing at the very highest level, especially in the late 80s when the might of the Japanese was levelled against them in the blue riband 500cc class. Even the Japanese teams were impressed. Honda donated the…

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The pair at work… The duo, captured here in the fast sweeping Glen Helen section, took victory on an all British outfit, the Barton Phoenix which was powered by Barry Hart’s 750cc engine, originally housed in the Silver Dream Racer solo ‘ridden’ by David Essex in the movie of the same name. Nigel was also…

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Drama at the 1948 Dutch TT There was a cosmopolitan entry of 40 riders, from England, Switzerland, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium and France and no non-starters. Conditions were dull and overcast but dry with a sharp northerly wind, which had the record crowd well wrapped up. Factory riders Ken Bills (Velocette), Artie Bell…

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Packed circuit reflected bike racing in the fifties was a massive spectator draw In the solo classes the battle between established star Geoff Duke and rising talent John Surtees was grabbing all the headlines. Duke had been dominant on the Gilera, taking the lap record over 117mph in the scorching conditions, but he failed to…

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Alan Oversby was on a new three-cylinder 500cc replica built specially by its owners, Dave and Mark Kay, for this year’s Manx Grand Prix. “The Pre-TT is a great meeting and a good opportunity to test the bike for the Manx,” said the 54-year-old fabricator/welder from Bolton-le-Sands. “The 500 race went to plan, managing to…

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Hailwood v Read 1967 250cc championship (pdf) There have been some close finishes in the 50-year history of the World Championships, but none have been tighter or more chaotic than the 1967 250cc title chase. In fact, it was so close and confused that the FIM steward at the final round of the series in…

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Restored Moto Cinelli Ducati TT2 What was a fairly normal Wednesday morning in Classic Racer Towers suddenly took on a different complexion. I'd rolled in expecting to be working on copy to keep designer Holly gainfully employed, but as ever the first job was to listen to the answer phone and sift through scores of…

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Joey Dunlop profile (pdf) This June the cheers for racing legend Joey Dunlop were echoing around the Isle of Man, and the rest of the world, when the quiet Ballymoney Freeman added another chapter his incredible record by win­ning three more TT races to take his total to 26. The richly deserved congratulations and cele­brations…

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