August 2017 UPDATE

July is the month for the Brooklands Motorcycle Show and this was the first event since the reopening of the Start/Finish Straight.

Anticipation builds for the start of the Test Hill Runs

The WW2 Bellman hanger, now a Grade 2 listed building, and the last of 10 temporary hangers built on the site, has now been restored and relocated to the side of its original position, revealing the original 1907-1939 track beneath. The contractors removed the hanger floor and found the track was still intact if a little lumpy in places.

There was as usual an array of bikes from all eras ascending Test Hill, whilst builders and manufacturers displayed bikes in the paddock area.

During the lunchbreak attention switched to the clubhouse paddock where the Grandsons of Bert Le Vack, Nigel Spring and Bert Denly were acquainted with their Grandfathers’ motorcycles.

Museum volunteers Roger Bird and Perry Barwick were instrumental in bringing the Grandsons together. Roger has researched the Norton racing heritage of the Spring and Denly families for many years, whilst Perry had a chance interaction via Instagram which led to Dale being united with the Brough Works Scrapper on which Herbert “Bert” Le Vack set a record of 129.06 for the flying Kilometre in 1929 at Arpajon in France. Perry said “For Roger and I it was a once in a lifetime event, seeing the grandsons together on the bikes in the paddock where their grandfathers raced some 90 years ago”

Paul Denly (left) Dale Le Vack, (centre) Johnathan Spring (Seated) and Tim Spring (in sidecar) soaked up the atmosphere as they were interviewed about memories of their famous Grandfathers whilst sitting astride the from the Brooklands Museum Collection made famous by their grandfathers.

Paul Denly interviewed aboard the Spring Norton MT3501 one of the 1927 Spring Norton Team Motorcycles.

Bert Denly with Norton MT3501 at a Brooklands Society Reunion in June 87 (c)Roger Bird

The Motorcycle Show event provides a unique opportunity for visitors to see the continuing marques of Triumphs, AJS’s, Francis Barnett’s and BMW’s against the bikes that made those brands famous back in the 20s and 30s.

Steve Hayes (R) with a Hollis Motorcycle & New Owner

Also at the show was a growing band of new builders such as Steve Hayes of Hollis Motorcycles. As we walked onto the banked circuit, Steve told me about the Hollis project explaining he prefers the term “new vintage” to refer to their bikes which use state of the art engineering to produce a modern bike inspired by a Norton Model 18. Look out for news more news about Hollis later in the year and if you can’t wait that long check out the Hollis Website here.

The Hollis on the Brooklands Banking

Return to Fenland Classic Motorcycles Home

Old Timer

July 2017 UPDATE

So much is going on there is less time to get a few words down on paper.

The Banbury Run

It was way back In May that I shot off to Banbury to do a bit for Old Bike Mart. This time I thought it would be good to get out on the road and see some of the bikes in their natural habitat. Here are a few shots that did not make the final cut.

John Surtees Tribute

Participants line up for the Photoshoot

In July I got the opportunity to see the Surtees Tribute at Mercedes Benz World in Surrey.

Triple World Champion rider Freddie Spencer, former Grand Prix Motorcycle rider, and Saloon Car driver Stuart Graham, Journalist and former TT Rider Mat Oxley and Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner took to the track at Mercedes Benz World on 11 July in a fitting tribute to John Surtees, who passed away in March this year.

Freddie Spencer led the pack round the MB World Track

Damon Hill 

On track later were a number of Surtees race cars driven by Damon Hill, Derek Bell, Alexander Simms, Scott Malvern and Oliver Turvey.

Mat Oxley

The tribute was part of the annual Henry Surtees Foundation Team Karting Challenge at the Mercedes-Benz World Circuit in Surrey.

Stuart Garner Norton CEO

Inside MB World was an exhibition featuring cars and bikes owned by John.

A Surtees owned Mercedes at MB World

Its been said before and it will hopefully will be said many times more “This man was an epic hero and true legend, the like of which are unlikely to ever be seen again”

I was lucky enough to meet him on a couple of occasions and he was so matter of fact about succeeding to the highest level on bikes and in cars. It would seem to me from speaking to some of his friends that he had a keen eye for bikes and was continuing to build his collection up until his death.

HS Foundation's Michael Digby Fires up the MV Augusta

 His legacy will of course be his own sporting achievements, but going forward these will be matched by the wonderful work of the Henry Surtees Foundation that was founded by John following the tragic death of his son Henry, killed aged just 18 years old whilst competing in Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch in 2009.

Their primary objectives are to assist people with brain or physical injuries caused by accident to return to community living by the provision of support for equipment and facilities. We also seek to provide education and training associated with motorsport-related programmes in technology, engineering, and road safety instruction for two and four wheels.

One last note. There are many who were pushing for a knighthood for John. However, the honours system is steeped in tradition and process and I personally believe that the reason he was not knighted, was that he got a foot on the ladder early on. Once in the system its seems to me that you have to work your way up, which he was doing with the more recent CBE.

To find out more about the Foundation visit www.henrysurteesfoundation.com