Quite apart from its dominance of MotoGP, the past two years have seen Ducati rule the World Superbike series once again, with the Panigale V4 R ridden to successive title wins by Alvaro Bautista. But this came after the Italian company saw an entire

We’ve teamed up with The Hobby Company (www.hobbyco.net) which distributes Tamiya plastic motorcycle kits in the UK to give away one of its amazing motorcycles in miniature. So, send in your pictures of bike racing and bike racers from back in the da

If there was a crazier, cooler concept for a one-make race series ever held on two-wheels, we’ve yet to see it… We’re talking of course about the Yamaha Pro-Am Challenge, where Yamaha supplied 24 identical RD350LCs to invited riders – a mix of profes

Four World Road Race Championships won by Harley-Davidson! No, it’s not April Fool’s Day, it really did happen, well, kind of… The Motor Company bought 50%of the Italian Aermacchi Company in 1960 and the remainder in 1972. Harley was interested in ha

Yes, it’s Tony here again with Team Allspeed. As I tap this out we are now three meetings into the 2024 CRMC season and we have been kept busy maintaining and developing the bikes. Probably the best thing for me to do is logically and chronologically

Two riders achieved double successes in the Blackford Financial Services Pre-TT Classic meeting at Billown in the south of the Isle of Man. Will Loder of the Leicestershire market town of Hinckley won both the Singles and Junior races on a 350cc Gree

The phone rang and it was Don Carcas: “If you don’t want to hear the bad news over the phone, you’d best come over and have a look.” Never a good sort of phone call, so I jumped in the car and crossed from North over to West Yorkshire – passing Jamie

When Pat Hennen became the first American rider to win a Grand Prix with his 500cc victory in Finland in 1976, it was an incredible result for a team that wouldn’t have looked out of place at a club race. “Pat had no money that first year,” said his

Classic racing motorcycles will be centre-stage at this October’s Carole Nash-backed Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show – as will be the men who raced them… Held at the Stafford Showground over the weekend of October 12/13, motorcycle racing legends C

If one man created the World Superbike Championship it was former racer and businessman Steve McLaughlin. In the mid-1980s he and French journalist Phillippe Debarle argued that there should be a world championship for four-stroke machines, and after

EDITOR Bertie [email protected] PUBLISHER Tim Hartley [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Chris Moss, Stuart Barker, Fred Clarke, Clive Challinor, Mick Ofield, Alan Cathcart, Fred Pidcock, Phil Aynsley,Tony Gree

Yes, Suzuki’s square-four 500cc production racer based on the factory machines was the bike to have if you were a privateer rider, but on the big stage an American by the name of Kenny Roberts thwarted Suzuki’s (and Barry Sheene’s) chance of a treble

Pierfrancesco Chili had a long, wide-ranging career: winning the European 125cc series in 1985, before racing in 250cc and 500cc Grand Prixs and moving to World Superbike in 1995, and he’s won in all those classes too… Okay, so you can mention his 19

Searching for something in the wardrobe at home recently, I came across a ‘JPS’ black and gold striped neck tie. I recall the then head of John Player sponsorship, the ever cheerful Peter Dyke, ‘butting in’ on one of my start line interviews during t

The 1960s heralded an era at the Isle of Man TT races in which the various Japanese factories would finally come together to race against each other on the famous road-racing circuit. From Honda’s debut in 1959 through to their first win in 1961, Suz

Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR. [email protected] facebook.com/ClassicRacerMag/ If you want to get in touch… Then please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we e

It is 6am on a clear Monday morning in Adelaide, South Australia, as 33-year-old local Sean McKay starts up his trusty Toyota HiAce van and begins the 12-hour drive to Philip Island in Victoria. It’s April 17, 2000 and in the back of his van is his r

The Weise Stealth Hoodie is a comfortable, heavy-duty cotton fleece with a removable hood. Rated AA for protection, thanks to CE armour and an abrasion-resistant lining. Find out more at www.weiseclothing.com 1: American company that owned Ducati bef

Arthur (Artie) Bell was born to parents Robert and Annie in Belfast in 1914, and began riding motorcycles as a teenager much against parental wishes. First came a 500cc side-valve Raleigh, then a 350cc OHC Norton, a Model 9 Sunbeam and an AJW Python,

Dave Molyneux – currently the most successful sidecar driver in the Isle of Man TT’s long history – has announced his retirement from racing. The 60-year-old Manxman made his debut in the races back in 1985 and since then has taken 17 victories, the

EDITOR Bertie Simmonds [email protected] PUBLISHER Tim Hartley [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Stuart Barker, Mick Ofield, Alan Cathcart, Fred Pidcock, Bill Snelling, Phil Aynsley, Mallory Park Race Circuit, Mike Ed