Classic Racer takes you so close you can actually smell the Castrol R. With the world's finest archive, and an editorial team who live and breathe the sport, the only way you'll get closer will be to put on your leathers.
Hugh Anderson is a four-time Grand Prix world champion who typifies the tenacity of racers from New Zealand. A talented and gifted racer, Anderson – who started his sporting career as a rugby player alongside fellow future world champ Ginger Molloy – took two Grand Prix world championships in the 125cc class (1963 and 1965) and two 50cc world titles (1963 and 1964). Anderson also won four British championships between 1963 and 1965, plus he is a two-time Isle of Man TT winner (1963 Ultra-Lightweight 125cc TT and 1964 International 50cc TT). His skills on the tarmac were mirrored in his love of off-road competition. Hugh – who was linked for most of his career with the Suzuki factory – even helped them develop their off-road machines, and was the…
Is it really 20 years since we lost the great man? When we mark occasions like this, we often think ‘what if?’ Imagine the last 20 years of stories, appearances, parade laps and maybe even competitive outings, such as the classic races he enjoyed towards the end of his life. Barry Sheene was a one-off. In many ways he set the standard, not just for the modern motorcycle racer but also for sportsmen and women in general. Barry’s talents weren’t restricted to the race-track. He was an intelligent all-rounder, who looked outside of his sport for inspiration to make motorcycle racing both more professional and safer. As a result, his influence and popularity went further than that of just a simple motorcycle racer. His vision helped pave the way for…
Two decades ago, Neil Hodgson became the UK’s second World Superbike Champion. A former schoolboy moto-crosser, Neil never described himself as ‘a natural’ on two wheels, but nevertheless by the time he was 13 he was winning everything there was to win, until a big accident saw him break his tibia and fibula aged just 14. Dad Mark got Neil on a Yamaha TZR125 and he started tarmac racing – on the proviso he didn’t ride on the road. He soon made an impression and – aged 18 – became the British 125cc champion on a Honda RS125. Under the guidance of Roger Burnett, Neil went into GP racing and back then was the youngest rider on the grid. He would take a best finish in 1993 of 10th at…
WIN These waterproof gloves provide maximum warmth and minimal bulk, thanks to the 150-gram Thinsulate Supreme lining, which is secured with mcFit Technology, so it won’t pull out. Find out more at www.weiseclothing.com Across 1: Traditional celebration that needs a change of substance in Islamic countries. (9,8) 8: Country that has ‘held’ many Grands Prix, with none actually within its own borders. (3,6) 9: Very nearly took a fourth world title in 1983, his final year of racing. (6) 11 & 19 Across: Fred Merkel was the first to earn this title in 1988. (5,9,7) 12: Paul, bespectacled Australian who had a good racing career in the UK. (5) 15: Frederic, by name a ‘small’ 125cc GP racer in the 1990s. (5) 19: See 11 Across. 21: Second word in…
Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR. CRletters@mortons.co.uk facebook.com/ClassicRacerMag/ CAN’T YOU BE RIGHT?! Dear CR I’m getting a bit cheesed off right now with Classic Racer… Don’t get me wrong, I love the magazine to bits, especially the older stuff and unlike some I can accept that some newer stuff needs to come along as time accelerates away from us like a TZ750 on full chat However, I have cringed sometimes at the odd mistake falling into the magazine, especially over the last five or six years. I mean, come on – you’re supposed to be the experts! I won’t pick at any specifics, as there have been a fair few in the last half decade or so, but often it’s with rider misidentification,…
‘Rotary Club’ at Bristol You’ve still got time to get to The Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show (February 25/26) where the ‘Rotary Club’ of Ron Haslam, Trevor Nation and Brian Crighton will be in attendance. These three names are synonymous with the rotary-powered Nortons of the late 1980s through to the 1990s and they will be at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet. Ron and Trevor both rode the JPS liveried Norton racers, while Crighton was the man behind the machines. No mean feat considering the fact that the engine for the racer was based on the lardy lump used in the Norton Interpol police motorcycle. Eventually, Brian’s skills and talents made the 588cc air- (and later liquid-) cooled rotary engines powerful enough to take the fight to…
