Proving ground

During the 1970s it was simple – if you wanted to be competitive you realistically only had one option and that was a Japanese two-stroke. Quite simply, Yamaha had it sewn up with their TR3 giving way to the infamous TZs.

All of them were most definitely proper race bikes, which were made available to the public in large numbers. They even dominated production racing, initially with the RD and later with the liquid-cooled versions – the veritable ‘Elsie’.

Of course, riders of larger capacity bikes like the BSA/Triumph triples and twins still could be competitive, but they were starting to be overshadowed by the high performance four-cylinder engines that Japan was now producing in considerable numbers.

But of course, in their wake they had literally left behind a huge number of racing motorcycles, whose owners and riders (nearly always the same person), still wanted to ride and enjoy their racing.

The options for doing so competitively were seriously limited: Bemsee and the Newmarket Club both had single-cylinder races and provided a little opportunity for the owners of G50, 7R, Manx, Ducati and Aermacchi bikes and dozens of other