Manx GP formula Classic - wheres the Nortons ??

Hi Folks ..

apologies for posting on the main Norton board but important ...

The Formula Classic race (pre 1975 850cc) which has run at the Manx GP for the past 3 years was to be scratched as an event next year ... but after nagging the organisers we are back in for 2013 and beyond as Formula 3 .. same year and capacity ..

one of the reasons for the initial scratching was lack of starters and finishers ... 9 starters this year and only 5 last year ....

would really like to see some commandos out there ... they are and were seriously competitive in their day ... Peter williams should have won a lot more if not for gearbox issues at the time ... of course this issue can be overcome nowdays with modern clusters ...

anyone interested in participating either riding, as a team/consortium and/or entering a bike and using an experienced rider on board which i can assist with in finding one for you then please contact me on a PM .. The event will be televised next year so sponsorship may be easier to obtain as well ...

Nortons have been badly missed in this class

a promo clip included of a documentary that was filmed this year by Greenlight ... if that doesn't get you interested nothing will ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6itL4Lr ... ure=colike

steve

Thanks for that, Steve. I look forward to watching it when it comes out. You might have heard that Ryan Farquhar announced last week his retirement from racing. For those of you who don't know who he is, he was featured in that clip, was one of the top modern bike road racers in the world and rode the Paton to victory in the 500 classic Manx.

You're right in saying there should be more Commandos, but as you know so well, the Manx is a very big commitment in time and money. Over here, the economic recession is biting hard and road racing is one of the casualties. Sponsorship is down and insurance to run events is up, and incomes of amateur competitors are down. There was only one Commando competing in the few remaining road races in the South of Ireland this season; there are usually two, and both are English riders who have to find a big chunk of money to pay the ferry and fuel costs to get over here. The Island is perhaps more expensive to get to than Ireland.

A sole Commando won the unlimited classic race at Killalane last weekend, by the way. Richard Ford was the rider on his 920, but only just, from a well-ridden 92 bore Seeley G50!

Dave

Indeed Dave I know only to well ...

I have run My BSA Rocket 3 at the manx the past two years and will again next year ... and shipped from Australia to do so (that costs a lot i can tell you .. and two of them )

yes there is a cost ... next year a tad cheaper in no entry fees for whats now going to be known as the Classic TT (cost £600 for entries this year for two races from memory ) ..

the main cost is preparation and time ... two weeks at the event , one week practice and race week ... yes fuel, chains, tyres etc etc but worth every penny for the Manx GP . For our bikes its the biggest challenge in the world for rider , builder and support crew but the the best feeling in the world on our stuff just to finish and to get a podium unreal ...

all is possible ... just takes some help and planning

HTH

steve

And Dave

a bike set up for the manx does not have to be silly quick and tuned ... its an endurance event really ...

My R3 would get killed on short circuit ... its set up for the mountain circuit to last ...

steve

Stick it up your bum ! I'm sitting here in Benalla, 5 o'clock in the morning, with tears in my eyes after watching that video. At 70, I'm too old to be allowed to race on the IOM, and I would probably end up in the box or Noble's hospital anyway. I'm retired and about to run out of super. I've had my carotid artery cleared to stop from having more strokes, and I've had the magic double by-pass heart op, so now I'm really conscious of my own mortality, and the fact that you only live once ! - Sorry fellas, it is my problem ! - I am jealous. I hope you all have big wins.

I was there this year as a spectator. Had been to the TT a few times but was first Manx GP. I preferred it as it fitted my interests more & was less manic than the TT. I'm very impressed that you bring your bike from the other side of the world, good on ye. I'm planning to be there next year too. Will try & find you in paddock to say hello.

I looked through my photos & found this one of you exiting Bradden Bridge. It's not as clear as it should be, people kept moving in front of me.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m51 ... arrett.jpg

Ian

snibor said:

And Dave

a bike set up for the manx does not have to be silly quick and tuned ... its an endurance event really ...

My R3 would get killed on short circuit ... its set up for the mountain circuit to last ...

steve

Click to expand...

I know, I competed in the Manx. Maybe I'm wrong. and perhaps Commandos are not felt to be able to last the pace? Ducatis might come into that category too.

I am totally with you on the feeling from riding on the Island and even finishing is an achievement. They close 37.75 miles of public roads so that we can have fun. I am amazed that you come all the way from Australia to compete at the Manx, so fair play to you! There are some gritty, fast riders from Oz and the Land of the Long White Cloud who come over to road race in these damp, green islands, and do well. You know Cameron Donald, of course. When he came to race here in Ireland as a rookie, he blitzed the field even though he'd never seen any of the circuits before!

Acotrei, just keep racing Down Under until they don't allow you to any more! I bet many people would envy being able to race in their 70s. Look forward to hearing more about your exploits!

Daveh, Thanks for your encouragement, it doesn't get any easier as you get older. I've got to change over the selector drum in my new gearbox to get the shift in the correct direction. After that I will ride it at Winton, and do some on-board video which I will upload to Youtube, and link to on this forum. So you will see what I've been talking about. I regret not having done more with the Seeley, long before this. However from the time I built it, I've struggled through a few changes of jobs, retired and moved from Melbourne to the country at Benalla, remarried, and started a motorcycle club. I feel ashamed that I built it in about 1978, and only raced it in 2003/4, and have only recently regained the urge to start again. I'm still riding OK, and stay miles away from crashing. The Seeley Norton 850 is a great motorcycle, it gives me zero anxiety - I love it !
The problem is now, that in the background I have kids with new babies who fight with their partners and stuff all of us oldies in the head. - There is always something !

Cameron Donald is a friend of a friend. I'm told that he started his road racing career on the IOM. I don't know how anyone could do that. My own 'crash and burn' stage involved falling off at the first five meetings that I rode at. And I crashed four times in one day at Phillip Island from using a drum brake which was wrongly set up. When I was 18, I'd failed a couple of exams at night school. A friend suggested I should get a job with him at Otis Elevators, transfer to London, and we could go racing in the UK. I stayed here got the high powered job and had a family, because I thought he was an idiot. I recently reminded him about what he said, and told him the he'd had the right idea. (With my mentality, I'd have probably ended up in the box.)

As we'd say in Ireland: Ah, jaysus, Acotrei, you're an awful man!

For the centenary in 2007 I took part in a V incent Parade Lap of the IOM circuit, that was a thrill. I shipped the bike from Vancouver BC for the event. I had the old girl up to warp factor 9 on the Sulby Straight, went by four other riders on Vincent Twins, all flat out on the tank, WOT. :roll:
The place just oozes racing history. I can well imagine what it would be like to compete in an actual race, nothing could compare.

Glen

daveh said:

snibor said:

And Dave

a bike set up for the manx does not have to be silly quick and tuned ... its an endurance event really ...

My R3 would get killed on short circuit ... its set up for the mountain circuit to last ...

steve

Click to expand...

I know, I competed in the Manx. Maybe I'm wrong. and perhaps Commandos are not felt to be able to last the pace? Ducatis might come into that category too.

I am totally with you on the feeling from riding on the Island and even finishing is an achievement. They close 37.75 miles of public roads so that we can have fun. I am amazed that you come all the way from Australia to compete at the Manx, so fair play to you! There are some gritty, fast riders from Oz and the Land of the Long White Cloud who come over to road race in these damp, green islands, and do well. You know Cameron Donald, of course. When he came to race here in Ireland as a rookie, he blitzed the field even though he'd never seen any of the circuits before!

Acotrei, just keep racing Down Under until they don't allow you to any more! I bet many people would envy being able to race in their 70s. Look forward to hearing more about your exploits!

Click to expand...

Hi Dave .. sorry to confuse but i didn't ride the Rocket 3 the past two years ... I had Mark Parrett who rides the TT and quite a few irish events riding for me ... got a win last year when we were the only finisher and 2nd this year behind Dave Madsen-Mygday on his Trident ... Dave who lives on the island as you may know has had 100 starts at the Manx and TT over many years and this year was his first win and good on him ... he was very happy and very pissed at presentation night
I am riding next year though ... Mark will take the same R3 he has ridden the past two years and i have another Rob North R3 parked in the UK i will take out .... no delusions of grandeur for me ... just get around at a decent pace that i feel comfortable with and no heroics ... just to finish is an achievement as you know ..

steve

Nortoniggy said:

I was there this year as a spectator. Had been to the TT a few times but was first Manx GP. I preferred it as it fitted my interests more & was less manic than the TT. I'm very impressed that you bring your bike from the other side of the world, good on ye. I'm planning to be there next year too. Will try & find you in paddock to say hello.

I looked through my photos & found this one of you exiting Bradden Bridge. It's not as clear as it should be, people kept moving in front of me.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m51 ... arrett.jpg

Ian

Click to expand...

yep thats the R3 in picture ...

please do find me in the paddock next year ... have a chat and all that ... and after practice a Guinness or 3 in the paddock beer tent

a clip of the last run on the dyno after tuning .... at Slick Bass's place IOM ..

http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa21 ... runIOM.mp4

daveh said:

T You might have heard that Ryan Farquhar announced last week his retirement from racing. For those of you who don't know who he is, he was featured in that clip, was one of the top modern bike road racers in the world and rode the Paton to victory in the 500 classic Manx.

Click to expand...

I had heard he lost his uncle earlier from a crash at the manx grand prix but this was the first I heard that he retired from racing. My thoughts are with the whole family at this tragic loss. Ryans a great rider I always admired him.

So a question to the learned race folks here ...

if a Commando were to be entered at the Manx GP what engine spec would be used and what chassis ...

its an 850cc class event so 750 engine stock/ bored or 850 ?? specs

which chassis ??

steve

Snibor - love your bike ! This year there were three of the same type at our Broadford Bonanza. These days we never see them racing in Australia. They are the type of bike I'd love to get alongside on the grid with my Seeley Commando. I cannot even get to race against 70s Ducatis. Our historic racing rules are really idiotic, they kill off decent racing by allowing class domination by bikes which never existed 'in the era'. If you bring out a commando, most of the other bikes in your races are either 1100cc superbikes or two strokes - the result is pretty obvious without wasting the methanol.

snibor said:

Hi Dave .. sorry to confuse but i didn't ride the Rocket 3 the past two years ... I had Mark Parrett who rides the TT and quite a few irish events riding for me ... got a win last year when we were the only finisher and 2nd this year behind Dave Madsen-Mygday on his Trident ... Dave who lives on the island as you may know has had 100 starts at the Manx and TT over many years and this year was his first win and good on him ... he was very happy and very pissed at presentation night
I am riding next year though ... Mark will take the same R3 he has ridden the past two years and i have another Rob North R3 parked in the UK i will take out .... no delusions of grandeur for me ... just get around at a decent pace that i feel comfortable with and no heroics ... just to finish is an achievement as you know ..

steve

Click to expand...

Steve, now I understand, and I now remember you mentioned some of the above in an earlier post. Congrats on your successes! It's a small world - I stayed with Dave Madsen-Migdal in Douglas to learn the circuit before my first ride and I bought a Honda RVF 400 from him as a second bike, for the Ultra-Lightweight event. Well, we will definitely look out for you next year and I will try to get over to spectate!

Speirmoor - yes, I believe that was the case.

acotrel said:

Snibor - love your bike ! This year there were three of the same type at our Broadford Bonanza. These days we never see them racing in Australia. They are the type of bike I'd love to get alongside on the grid with my Seeley Commando. I cannot even get to race against 70s Ducatis. Our historic racing rules are really idiotic, they kill off decent racing by allowing class domination by bikes which never existed 'in the era'. If you bring out a commando, most of the other bikes in your races are either 1100cc superbikes or two strokes - the result is pretty obvious without wasting the methanol.

Click to expand...

Acotrei - What is the reason for not allowing triples and Ducatis, etc? We have had our fair share of silly rules over here too.

Mate I don bother running the bikes in Australia .. Period 4 as it is there as u know is dominated by 1200cc Honda 4s with 4 pot Nissin calipers running on alcahol .. Waste of time and grids are empty now days because of stupid regs

Real racing only exists in the uk ,Ireland and us now days .. Unless the Australian authorities change the regs to reflect the period I'll not run there and leave the bikes parked one England ..
The racing scene inaustralia for this class is dead unless they change it ...

Appgies for the English but using an iPhone and got big fingers and bad eyesight :$