PEOPLE
Spectators at UK motorcycle races last summer undoubtedly noticed that something once very familiar and important was missing from their race-day experience.
No longer were they hearing the voice of commentator Fred Clarke that had provided the soundtrack to the action for more than 50 years. His decision to finally switch off his microphone after putting in that amazing shift underlined his status as something of a legend in his own lifetime by prompting a flood of social media messages from fans begging him to reconsider.
There were well over a thousand Facebook responses within the first 24 hours, from generations of fans who had enjoyed his race commentaries at every level from grass roots club events to the British Superbike Series, the Isle of Man TT and the British Grand Prix. And, as Fred then began to look back and reminisce via the pages of Facebook, his number of followers just grew and grew. It is obvious that his legions of fans love his tales from the commentary box, as remembered from the more than 50 years since he first took up the microphone at a local grasstrack meeting.
Back in the mid-1960s, Fred was one of a close-knit group of mates that used to hang out with other local bikers at the cafe opposite the famous Banbury Cross in their North Oxfordshire home town. This was the local equivalent of London’s notorious original Ace Cafe and the activities were
