A modern slant on classic racing. The legendary bikes and the courageous, talented heroes that mattered then and still matter now.
After Chas Mortimer gave Yamaha its first 500cc class win at the last Grand Prix of 1972, riding a 350 twin, the 1973 season marked a new dawn for the Japanese factory with its impressive
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All American Champion Bubba Shobert was following the established American path to the World Championship. A three time AMA flat track Grand National Champion, a US Superbike Championship, and a Honda ride in the 500cc
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In the early 1970s, 500cc Grand Prix racing was boring in the extreme, usually consisting of a cruise to the chequered flag by Giacomo Agostini and the MV Agusta ahead of a field of outdated British singles.
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In 1971 he scored three GP wins on the ex-Stuart Graham 125 Suzuki at Spa, Belgium; Anderstorp, Sweden and Imatra, Finland. He’d even won the 50cc GP in Brno, Czechoslovakia, as guest rider for the
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‘The fastest teenager on earth.’ That was how the press described Michael Hailwood in 1959.
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This is John Surtees in 1960, en route to winning the Senior TT. His MV Agusta was easily the fastest bike compared to the following gaggle of Norton singles, with a time of 2 hours,
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A 500cc Grand Prix winner at the age of 23, John ‘Noddy’ Newbold was a formidable opponent during the 1970s and 80s, winning an International road race and countless British Championship races as both a
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Just sometimes it’s good to be different, and Andy Smith is a man who is prepared to swim against the tide. Graham Lawlor tells the story of his unlikely race bike and the history behind
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Photo: Mortons Archive Three big V-twins, featuring plated petrol tanks and even at a glance a fine specification, with speedometers and lighting sets apparent. Brough Superiors, right? Wrong… At a glance – and to be
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Tony McGurk blames the media frenzy around Giacomo Agostini for costing him a podium finish in the 1968 Senior TT. John Watterson explains. Photographs: John Watterson and Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com Now aged 73, McGurk was
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