by
Art Bone
"Poor Mexico; so far from God, so close to the United States." Porfirio Diaz
As my loyal readers know, I love the Isle of Man. I've spent more time there than I've spent anyplace else outside the United States except Mexico, and I live in Mexico. As best I can figure, in the twenty-eight years since I've been going there, I've spent well over a year on the Island. With all the Isle of Man racing videos showing up on Youtube a lot more people seem to be interested in the little Isle, at least to watch the videos. And I love watching the videos also. . . because you never see any of that stuff when you're there. I can't remember ever seeing a crash or even one of those scary death wobbles where a guy comes off a jump and lands on the front wheel and winds up hanging onto the bars in a death grip with his feet completely off the pegs. That's not surprising when you consider the track is 37 3/4 miles around and the races are three or four laps. Most of my race-watching time there has been spent standing in front of pubs with pint in hand, talking to other race fans and looking up when the bikes flash by.
But this year I found a spot to watch from that offers the potential for some excitement.
I marshalled one day during practice. I've never done that before and it was one of the most exciting things I've done at the races. An experienced marshal and I were stationed down at the bottom of the hill where the bikes come off the Cronk-Ya-Voddy straight. The racers takes the slight bend at the end of the straight wide open and come down the hill like bowling balls down a coal chute; there's a rise about half-way down the hill where the fast bikes get about a foot of air then, a second later, they arrived at our post, a cutout in the hedgerow at the entrance to a farmer's field. At that point they tip the bikes into a sweeping right-hander without letting off the throttle.
Watching three or four Classic F1 bikes do that in close company at over 180 MPH will grab your attention.
I plan to marshal again next year for a couple of days. There is a good camaraderie among the marshals, there's tea, coffee, and snacks before and after, and it's a good way to get to know some of the locals.
And there's ample opportunities for drama.
All Nortons, all the time.
No one told me Norton was the featured marque at the Classic TT this year. Behind the grandstands, in addition to the Garner Nortons, there was a display of historic Nortons from the National Motorcycle Museum, including the first Norton built, the bike that Rem Fowler won the first TT on, and the rotary that Steve Hislop won the last TT for Norton on in 1992. Norton fanciers like myself were wandering around like blind dogs in a meat house.
Yeah, that's right; the first Norton ever built and the bike that won the TT in 1907, one hundred and eight years ago. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I had no idea either of those bikes still existed.
That's one of the problems of the British National Motorcycle Museum. They have so many bikes in such a small space you can't really see what they have. I'm a Norton fan and I've been to the museum three times and never seen either of these bikes or, if I did, I didn't know what I was looking at.
They also had a parade lap for rotaries that have raced at the Isle of Man and one ex-team bike ran in the race on Saturday.
That's what the Classic TT has become in the three short years of its existence. The event is getting bigger every year. John McGuiness, Michael Dunlap, Bruce Anstey, and Ryan Farquahar were among a host of TT stars showing up to race not only the open class but the 500 and 350 CC classic classes as well.
The Sunday event at Jurby was, once again, a highlight of the week. Walking through the parking lot you'll see more bikes you've never seen before than you'll see at most bike shows. People ride bikes in Europe that you only see in museums in the United States.
A bobbed Scott Flying Squirrel says it all.
The Creek Inn in Peel is also a good place to see the rare and unique. We parked across the street at the Viking Museum and, as we crossed the street, the first thing I saw was a motorcycle I'd never seen before. On closer examination it was a Hesketh but not just a run-of-the-mill Hesketh (if there's such a thing as a run-of-the-mill Hesketh.) This was a new Hesketh 24, one of twenty-four built to commemorate James Hunt's first F1 victory in a Hesketh F1 car numbered 24, in 1975.
Is that convoluted enough for you?
Anywho, this thing has a 1950CC V-twin made of solid unobtainiam by Olde World Craftsmen© (in a converted dungeon underneath Lord Hesketh's castle, I presume.) Actually, it's an S&S motor and Baker six-speed transmission from Newe World Craftsmen© in the United States.
The gentleman who owned it was kind enough to tell us about it. One of twenty-four apparently wasn't custom enough for him because he had them not paint his bike the standard white and red (it cost extra to not paint it) so you can see the carbon-fiber of the tank and seat and he ordered different silencers installed. He cranked it for us and it was indeed impressive, as befits a £35000 (before customizing) motorcycle.
It seems every time you pick up a magazine there's another "resurrection" of a defunct British bike. The Hesketh 24 falls right in between the new Brough Superior, powered by a bespoke engine, at £50K and the new Arial, powered by a Honda 1000, at £20K.
"The difference in men and boys is the price of their toys." Who said that?
After the Isle of Man we took a four day ride through Wales since it was on the way to our next event, the Goodwood Revival. CJ did a google search of "most scenic roads in wales" and came up with an article from the London Times titled "Most Scenic Roads in Wales." We plugged it into the GPS and it was, indeed, quite scenic. Wales is very different from England. For one thing the traffic is bearable. Southern England traffic is as much fun as a visit to the proctologist.
I have wanted to go to Goodwood since I heard of it ten or more years ago. It seems to get bigger and attract more press each year. There are two Goodwoods actually. The Goodwood Festival of Speed in the spring is held on the grounds of the Goodwood estate and features a hillclimb.
The Goodwood Revival, in September, is held around the Goodwood Motor Circuit. The Goodwood Aerodrome, a grass airstrip dating from World War II is inside the racetrack. It features old cars and bikes and airplanes from the thirties through the seventies and eighties so there's something for everyone. And everyone shows up. The event attracts over one hundred and fifty thousand people every year.
The thing that makes Goodwood unique is everyone is asked to wear "period" dress. That meant everything from WWI and WWII military uniforms to knickers and tweeds. CJ found a funny purple hat that went great with her red hair and a lace jacket in an antique clothing store and I found a very nice checked sport coat and ascot in the same place. It was almost as much fun to see what everyone was wearing as seeing the racing and the cars.
One of this year's attractions was gassers from the 40s and 50s. These were drag cars with huge engines in more or less stock bodies running on pump gas, hence the name "gasser." My favorite was the "Two-Lane Blacktop" 55 Chevy, inspired by the car in the movie of the same name. That car was also in American Graffiti, driven by a young Harrison Ford.
There was also a tribute to Bruce McLaren featuring many of the cars he raced at the beginning of his career as well as many that he built and raced later. Bruce was killed at Goodwood in 1970, giving the tribute a special poignance.
It was great seeing all the great modern race cars out on the track but I really enjoyed seeing all the cars from the 20s through the 50s I had never seen race before. It was as if someone had opened the door to a really good museum and told a crowd of drivers, "Have at it, boys!"
The Brooklands Trophy race featured cars from the 20s and 30s and one I had never seen, a 1928 Fraser-Nash Saloon named "The Owlett." This machine featured what looked like 21 inch tires and a weird four door body with a streamlined rear end and two tiny round rear windows. It was so much fun to watch this thing slide through the corners with the front end at opposite lock and the engine revving. He finished second after a spin-out and I can't help but think he had more than a stock engine. As they used to say in NASCAR, "That thing handles real good on the straightaway."
He was passing everything that got in front of him. The way it revved sounded more like a four cylinder motorcycle engine.
The Earl of March Trophy is for 500CC Formula 3 cars that raced between 1948 and 1959. A lot of famous drivers got their start in these cars and I found out why there were so many Manx rolling chassis' around to build Tritons. Fully half of the thirty car field was powered by Norton Manx engines. The rest were Triumphs, Vincents, and the odd JAP. The little cars made a marvelous racket and were fun to watch.
The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy is for motorcycles that raced between 1962 and 1966 and had many names familiar to moto racing fans mounted on, again, mostly Nortons. Kevin Schwantz, Charlie Williams, Steve Parrish, Jeremy McWilliams, Maria Costello, and Freddy Spencer were some of the notables participating.
Goodwood is a must-see for any motor racing fan. All these old cars, bikes, and airplanes in one place with the party atmosphere of everyone in fancy dress makes for an unforgettable event and one I plan to attend again soon.
And, speaking of fancy dress, MotoClasico has decided to do a Distinguished Gentleman's Ride. The event was created by someone in Australia to benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the idea is for everyone to show up for the ride on "classic" bikes and side-cars in "appropriate dress;" that is, "appropriate" to about 1938. Pudding bowl helmets and handlebar mustaches are encouraged, as are silk vests, ties and jackets for gentlemen and "proper" riding gear for ladies. There will be no charge for the event but participants are asked to get their friends to sponsor them with donations to the foundation. There is a world-wide event in September but we plan to do a dry run with just our club and a few friends in February.
We want to have a police escorted ride through town to the Jardin where we'll stop for pictures, then a ride out to a friend’s ranchocita for a picnic and judging. Because I own the majority of "classic" bikes in San Miguel we're going to have to stretch the rules a bit. Our definition of "classic" is anything with a carburetor.
Now that does make me feel old.