Classic Racer

Geoff Duke – not just a six-time world champion or six-time Isle of ManTT racer – he was much more than that… Geoff was the first superstar of two-wheeled racing, being a household name before the days of John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Ba

We’re never too old or experienced to learn something, and so it proved with Kenny Roberts – a three-time world champion at the penultimate race of the 1983 500cc season. He was battling the young gun – Freddie Spencer – in this titanic battle of est

“During the 12-year period that he made motorcycling competition his main and/or sole means of livelihood, he typified all that was best in professionalism. Though essentially an enthusiastic all-rounder he was always a force for the racing ‘maestri’

The name of an old race series is being resurrected for 2024 – the Superteen series. Back in the early 1990s the series used supersport 400 machines (250cc two-stroke and 400cc four-strokes) as an affordable class for newcomers. Names such as Michael

It is safe to say that no motorcycle racer has ever divided public opinion more than Phil Read MBE, who died in October last year at the age of 83. There were many who rightly admired him for his achievements (after all, his eight World Championships

As we mourn the tragic events of May 1973 at Monza, now 50 years ago, which cost both his life and that of his great rival Jarno Saarinen, it’s sadly evident that Italian legend Renzo Pasolini is remembered as much for the way in which he lost his li

Dream Machine is probably the longest-running specialist motorcycle painters in the UK… Formed back in 1977, they’ve been based in the Nottingham area since then, currently residing on an industrial estate in Long Eaton. Dream Machine had as many as

The current emphasis on aerodynamics in MotoGP and even in World Superbike, is something that’s been sitting around waiting to be revived for the past six decades. Ever since the FIM’s ban for the 1958 season of the so-called ‘dustbin’ fairings of th

A bunch of mates were travelling between parties late one Saturday night in Wellington, New Zealand. I was minding my own business in the back seat of a posh-looking Jaguar XJ6, the young sober driver wore his chauffeur’s hat laughing at our tales an

Gary Lingham is in reflective mood: “I never did get any factory support in my career,” he says. “I had a bit of interest from Honda at one point, but nothing really came of it.” He adds: “I remember once that another rider told me to ‘put my face ab

The land on which the circuit lies used to belong to Donington Hall Estate and it was first used to stage a motorcycle race on Whit Sunday of 1931. At that time, the riders just rode around the unpaved road that ran through the estate grounds. By 193

The words genius and tragedy are often overused, but it is surely beyond question that New Zealander John Britten was an engineering genius, and that his death from skin cancer in September 1995, aged 45, was a tragedy of significant proportions for

Suzuki’s stunning-looking RGV500 Gamma will always be associated with lankyTexan Kevin Schwantz. With his cavalier riding style, he tamed the fast, but often fickle Suzuki 500cc V4 two-stroke while many others fell by the wayside. The general rule of