Megaphone Notes - Classic Bike Racing Ireland

Megaphone Notes
The newsletter of
Classic Bike Racing Ireland
2014 Review
Ralph Bryans
World Champion :
07.03.41 - 06.08.14
The Grand Prix Road Racing World Championship was
established in 1949 by the sport’s governing body, the
Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and it’s the
oldest motorsport World Championship. In the beginning there
were 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc classes then in 1962 the
Italian inspired 50cc class joined the circus. At a little over nine
stone, this suited Ralph.
His first race was the 1959 Tandragee 100 on a 199cc
Ambassador borrowed from Kaye Don, a Dubliner born Kaye
Donsky in 1891. (Don’s interesting life can be found on the
www). In 1960, being good with bikes, he put a Triumph
Terrier 150cc engine in his Bantam frame and won the Irish
200cc Championship. He raced a 350 Wilson Norton and a 500
Dearden Manx in 1961 getting two top ten places at the 1962
Ulster GP. Significantly, Honda 250/350cc World Champion Jim
Redman had noticed him. At the end of the year he’d arranged
to ride Joe Ryan Nortons for 1963. Bultaco gave him a go on
their bikes in Spain, signed him and then released him when the
offer from Honda came up, to ride the smaller ones.
In 1964 he won the Dutch, German and Belgium rounds, was
2nd in the IOM and 2nd overall in the Championship. He won it
in 1965 and finished 8th in the 125cc class. Happy Honda.
He also raced 50cc and 125cc works Hondas in 1966, won the
IOM TT GP on the 50cc bike and came 2nd and 3rd in the
respective
Championships. In 1967 he raced 250cc and
350cc bikes, winning in Germany and in Japan, his last GP race,
on the 250; 4th overall in the Championship. He finished 2nd
on a 350 (it’s in my shed), 3rd in World Standings.
When Belfast born Ralph Bryans stopped racing in 1970 he had
a World Championship, 40 podiums including 10 wins from 62
2
starts, at GP level. He settled in Scotland, had an active life,
going back on the circuit with Golden Oldie racing in the 1990s.
RIP.
3
Dunboyne Leinster 200
Dunboyne Motor Club was set up in 2006 in recognition of their
racing past in the years 1958 to 1967. With parade laps and
static displays the Spirit of Dunboyne Festival of Motorsport
weekend September 27th/28th this year, once again
acknowledged back in the day, when the village was a venue for
motorsport. Michael O’Neill was on Patsy Plunkett’s BSA, sadly
Patsy died June 12th. In the 1958 Dunboyne Leinster 200
Handicap race, Patsy was 4th on his 348 BSA; W.F. (Bill)
Sparling won on a 348 AJS. In Handicap racing the slowest
starts first and the fastest last with the starts staggered, based
on the handicap which is determined by cc, ability and times.
There were 41 races over the
ten years; Ralph Bryans won a
race at Dunboyne as did John
Hartle (Eng) and Sammy Miller
(NI). Bill Sparling (Dub), Ian
McGregor (NI), Billy McCosh
(NI), Ralph Rensen (Eng) and
Fred Fisher (Eng) won two; Len
Ireland (NI), Syd Mizen (IOM),
Tommy Robb (NI) and Bob
McIntyre
(Sc)
won
three.
Gerard (Dickie) Carter (Dub)
won four, on a 247 NSU. The
circuit went clockwise the first
year then counter clockwise
after that and in the 1960s
around 40,000 people came to
watch each year.
Billy McCosh—Patsy Plunkett Best turned
out British Bike (G45) - presented by
George Rogers– Dunboyne 2014
4
AJS
AJS was the name used on bikes made by Albert John (Jack)
Stevens in Wolverhampton England. The company was founded
in 1909, a result of Jack deciding he’d contest the IOM TT. The
first model appeared in 1910 with a two speed 298cc side valve
engine, the Junior class being up to 300cc. The first time on the
Snaefell Mountain course, Jack came 15th in the 1911 TT, one
spot behind a privateer AJS. Too busy working to race in 1912,
they got a 10th in 1913. When the Junior limit was raised to
350cc in 1914 they had 349cc, three and a half horse power,
four gears and final drive by chain; the first two home in the
1914 Junior TT were on AJSs. They also made 6 bhp 800cc V
twins.
When production resumed in 1920 the side valve was replaced
by a new overhead valve design that gave them 10bhp and a TT
win. In 1921 the first four bikes home were AJSs and Howard
Davies, 2nd in the Junior, was the first man to win a 500 Senior
on a 350.
The 1922 bike was the classic known as the ‘Big Port’; the
exhaust diameter being 1 and ⅝ inches (41.275mm). This OHV
350 lasted until 1927 when push rod overhead valve designs
weren’t competitive any more so they built chain driven
overhead cam [OHC] racers, a 349cc K7 and a 498cc K10. They
got a 3rd at the 1928 TT, 2nd in 1929 and Jimmie Guthrie won it
for them in 1930. In 1931 A.J. Stevens & Co went bankrupt;
Matchless bought the assets and production moved to Plumstead
in London.
5
Matchless
A Matchless with a John Alfred Prestwick [JAP] engine ridden by
Charlie Collier won the first single cylinder race at the 1907 IOM
TT.
After 158⅛ miles he had an average speed of 38.21 mph
and a time of 4 hours 8 minutes 8 seconds on the 10 lap, 15
mile 1470 yards St. John’s Short Course. His brother Harry won
in 1909 and he won again in 1910. (A Norton with a Peugeot v
engine won the first twin cylinder race, at a slower time and
speed).
Matchless was the trading name of Collier & Sons, father Henry
Herbert Collier and sons Charlie and Harry. The first bike was
made in 1899 and general production began in 1901. The
Collier brothers have credit for us having a TT. On the way
home from racing in Europe, travelling with the Marquis de
Mouzilly St. Mars and Auto Cycle Union chairman Freddie
Straight, an IOM race was proposed and discussed; the rest is
history.
They made their own engines from 1912, mostly
singles but also v twins, 496 to 998cc.
Matchless/AJS
During WW 11 Matchless made 80,000 (349cc 16bhp) G3s and
G3Ls for the armed forces. The G3L had Teledraulic (telescopic
with oil damping) front forks, regarded by some as the first
major innovation in front suspension for 25 years. Next came
the Matchless/AJS 350cc and G80 500cc singles, developed from
the G3L; competition models were produced from 1948. AMC’s
racing models included the AJS
Porcupine, the OHC 350 AJS 7R
(1948 to 1963), in 1951 the
Matchless G45, a 500cc vertical
twin and the 500 G50 single,
developed from the 7R in 1958.
Matchless G45
6
AMC
Associated Motor Cycles [AMC], a management company and not
a manufacturer in its own right, was formed in 1938 as a parent
company for Matchless and AJS, with both companies producing
models under their own marques. They also bought the
Sunbeam motorcycle trademark, selling it to BSA in 1943; AMC
absorbed Francis-Barnett, James, and Norton before their
incorporation into Norton-Villiers when bankrupt in 1966.
Supercharged
In 1939, to compete against the dominant supercharged BMWs,
AJS (AMC) built a water cooled 495cc dry sump [external pump
and oil reservoir] supercharged V4, the first bike to lap the
Ulster Grand Prix at 100 mph; top speed 135 mph, weight 405lb
(184kg). Then War intervened.
1939 AJS 500 V4 Racer
Superchargers have been with us since 1860 when patented by
the Roots brothers from Indiana, US; they used it in blast
furnaces. Dugald Clerk used one in the first two stroke engine in
1878. Mercedes used Roots superchargers in 1921, the birth of
their Kompressor model. A supercharger is an air compressor
that increases the pressure or density of air; each intake cycle
has more oxygen so more fuel is burnt and more power is
produced. Superchargers have been powered by belt, gear,
shaft or chain, connected to the crankshaft; when it’s a turbine
powered by the exhaust gas, it’s a turbosupercharger or turbo.
7
Porcupine
AJS won the constructor’s title and ex RAF Flight Lieutenant,
Lancaster bomber pilot Leslie (Les) Graham DFC won the
inaugural 500cc World Championship in 1949, on an E90S. It
was a unit construction, aluminium alloy, horizontal parallel
DOHC twin and known as the Porcupine because of its spiked
cylinder head fins; it has a distinctive pannier style fuel tank,
which helps with a low centre of gravity. The bike had problems;
leading the 7 lap 1949 Senior TT by ninety seconds the magneto
drive sheared, he pushed home from Cronk-ny-Mona (36th mile)
to finish 9th. It’s the only 4 stroke twin to win the 500cc World
title.
AJS E90S “Porcupine”
Originally supercharged until all forms of forced induction were
banned in 1946, this was a normally aspirated engine. The
blower had been mounted above the 4 speed gearbox, driven by
the clutch. After 1947, with supercharging banned by the FICM
the overall design was compromised, it lacked sufficient fly wheel
effect which caused several problems with magneto shaft failure.
Magnetos feed the spark plugs. The problem wasn’t solved until
1953 with the next generation E95, re-engineered to have the
cylinders at 45 degrees for better cooling, easier carburettor
installation and chain drive for the magneto, in a new frame. In
1954, the year AJS withdrew from GP racing, it was 2nd at the
Ulster and won in Sweden. Four works machines were built
which makes the E95 an exceptionally valuable motorcycle.
8
NSU
The first Neckarsulm Strickmaschinen Union (NSU) motorbike
appeared in 1901 in Neckarsulm Germany, followed by a car in
1905. NSU sold the car factory to Fiat in 1932 but bikes
continued through the war and in 1955 they were the biggest
motorcycle producer in the world. Wilhelm Herz, the first man
to ride a bike (NSU) doing 200mph, did it at Bonneville Salt Flats
Utah in 1956.
9
Gedinne 2014
Two groups of three went to Belgium in August, four racers and
two support crew. With the combined wisdom from 203 years
on the planet, Kevin Callan, Clive Guest and Art O’Hare flew to
Charleroi in the Walloon Region. This is the French speaking bit,
if 55% of the country is a bit. The other bit of Belgium is Dutch
speaking Flanders, with two thirds of the population. We spent
the night in Namur and drove down in less than an hour the
following morning, after breakfast. Sean Henry, Paul Healy and
Gerry O’Sullivan had driven through FIVE countries, we were
reminded, to get there and having enjoyed a pint (4.546 litres)
the night before, were in good form to greet us, when they all
got up. Richard Ford joined the team on Friday.
There’s a parade then practice and racing on Saturday and
Sunday for all classes, from 8.00am. This is pure classic racing;
modern bikes are confined to the paddock. Bikes are classed as
50cc, 200cc, 250cc, 350cc,
500cc, and 750cc, plus and
it’s a big plus if you like this
sort of thing, sidecars, with
three races for 500cc, 750cc
and 1000cc (1200cc+). Such
a beautiful noise they all
make, an aural delight and
the smell’s not too bad. It’s
also
a
good
track
for
spectating
with
a
great
athmosphere,
5.050km
(3.14ml) long, a nice length
for good viewing spots; next
year it’s going to be Friday
Saturday Sunday. The good
thing is if it’s not raining it’s
generally dry (we’re been
lucky), the down side is it
clashes with the Manx.
10
Mondello Park May 25th
A mixed bag is the best way to describe the changeable
conditions that greeted the start of the 2014 classic racing
season in Mondello over the weekend. Rain made the
International track at Mondello Park very slippery at times, with a
number of riders unfortunately in all classes having to pick bikes
up off the deck
There were 3 races over the weekend. Qualifying and practice
took place in the wet from the overnight rain. As the wind got up
at lunchtime and no more rain falling, the track was nearly dry by
the start of the first race on Saturday. The overall win went to
James Conroy on his 350. Alex Conroy was second but had to
battle with Eanie Horan for a lap before pulling clear to the flag.
Sadly though there was a decent entry of 14 bikes only 7 made it
to the grid for the first race for a variety of reasons.
Sunday the weather picked up a bit after more rain overnight. A
fully dry track saw James Conroy once again take the overall win
this time from Tony Willis on his 500 Honda. This was also the
result in the final race of the weekend which took place at the
end of the day in tricky damp conditions. Unsurprisingly the pace
dropped considerably
but all made it home
safely which was a
positive way to end
the weekend.
Eanie Horan (88) & Tony Willis (191)
11
Classic Bike Live Mondello Park June 22nd
The fantastic weather of early in the week held to the weekend
bathing Mondello Park in glorious sunshine. A bumper grid of 23
riders went to the line for the first race. It was all set up for a
great days racing. So it proved as the large crowd were treated to
some great battles throughout the field.
Race 1 included the top riders in the CBRI Championship mixing it
with some regulars from the road racing scene including Gary
Jamison and Richard Ford. After 9 laps in the heat Tony Willis
took an overall win by seven seconds from Eanie Horan and the
350 of Herbie Ronan in third. After this race the top position in
each class of the club championship tables was filled by these
three riders. The battle of the race though was for 10th place. For
a number of laps four riders battled hard with positions 10 to 14
eventually settling down to read Bill Smyth, Ivan Crowe, Kevin
Callan & Willie Wilson. The large number of onlookers knew they
were in for more excitement for the remaining two races of the
day.
CBRI also looks to promote parading of classic bikes where
possible. A good number of classic and exotic machinery made it
on to the track to make some lovely sounds just before lunch.
There was Manx Norton, a Motobi and other immaculately
prepared machines on show in the best possible way, in motion
and at speed. A big thank you to all the riders who brought their
machines out as they are not often seen running with the limited
parading options in Ireland.
Race 2 finished the same order as the first down to fifth place.
Almost all the riders upped their game in this 10 lap race to lower
their best lap times in the sunshine. Race 3 started with 21 riders
despite some running repairs to some bikes and the normal
attrition rate this was a fabulous number to fill the track at
Mondello. The race finished once more in the same order as the
first although it was cut short by a red flag a couple of laps from
the end. Kevin Callan, Bill Smyth and Ivan Crowe had been dicing
together all day and unfortunately a fall from Bill at Dunlop
12
brought out the red flags. All involved were ok and this brought an
end to the excellent racing for the day.
All that remained was for the worthy podium finishers to receive
their trophies. First however each rider
received a memento from Luke Lawlor, the
Honorary President of Dunboyne Motor
Club. The CBRI club would like to thank
Dunboyne Motor Club for doing so much for
this event and without them it simply would
not be on. A special thanks to Paula Digan
and Tim Crowley who put in a lot of work to
let us go racing on Sunday, there was also
a very special welcome to our recipient of
Services to Classic Motorcycling Award, Mr.
Jack Fahy.
The 250/350 class was deservedly won by Herbie Ronan with
Johnny Doran in second. Third was a tie on points between Ivan
Crowe and Sean Henry. Sean had to start further back on the grid
than usual due to a fuelling issue with his Honda in practice.
The 500 class was dominated by the only race winner on the day
Tony Willis, second was Gary Jamison with third going to Pat
Murray. The Unlimited class was won by Eanie Horan with Richard
Ford taking the runners-up spot. Check our website (www.cbr.ie)
to see all the pictures of the day. It was an excellent spectacle put
on by all and a thank you to all the riders who made the day a
success. The hope
that the weather will
be dry
again in
October for the final
round of the CBRI
Championship
and
the grid will be of a
similar size.
13
Classic Road Racing 2014: Part 1
The Irish Road Racing Championship of 2014 kicked off at the end
of April with its traditional curtain raiser the Cookstown 100. As
always on the Orritor circuit there were three classic races, 250cc,
350cc and Senior. The 250cc was the first of the classic classes to
race on the Saturday which turned out a dry and pleasant spring
day.
While numbers were down somewhat on previous years it was
Philip Shaw on the number 76 Suzuki who took another road race
victory in the 250 class. Wattie Brown on another Suzuki kept the
leader honest to eventually finish the race some 6.7s back in second place. Barry Davidson on the 198cc Dempster Racing Honda
was third at the flag. Barry Davidson took the flag first in the 350
race which was the next classic race up. There was a tight three
way battle for the final two podium places between Davie Hastings, Johnny Doran and Freddie Stewart. All three riders were lapping within a second of each other each time around. The second
step finally going to Hastings with Doran just over a second back
in third and Stewart another second back in fourth.
The Senior classic was last out with Robert McCrum taking the
spoils in the 1000cc class and Dave Brough in second although
somewhat further down the field. A close battle was fought out between four riders for the 500cc victory. The group system of starting riders in multiple waves came into play as Tony Willis came
from group 2 to pip Martin Lyons from group 1 by 8/10ths of a
second. Billy Lyle just held third at the flag from a hard charging
Gary Jamison who also started from the second wave.
A week later 23 riders lined up on the grid at the Tandragee 100 to
take on the 5.3 mile circuit. The biggest talking point was the pole
man on the 500cc Patton, Ryan Farquhar. He had been under the
existing 500cc lap record during qualifying which was set by Bob
Jackson on a Norton in 1998. Come race day he was unable to
replicate the lap times of the day before and was outside the record by 1.5secs. He did however move onto 200 National Road
Race wins with the victory, the first rider to amass that many.
14
Robert McCrum, Barry Davidson, Philip Shaw were the other class
winners in the 1000cc, 350cc and 250cc respectively.
The Kells Road Races made a welcome return to the calendar on
the 21st & 22nd June. It had been a number of years since racing
had been held at Crossakiel. Both classic races were hels on the
Saturday evening to allow riders to get to Mondello to compete at
Classic Bike Live the next day. Once again the CBRI club thanks
the North Meath Road Races club for this. The 350cc win went
once more to Barry Davidson with Herbie Ronan a fine second and
Freddie Stewart rounding out the top three. The 250cc race which
was held concurrently had a very tight battle for the victory. At the
end of the 6 laps Garry Hutton took the win from Philip Shaw by
less than a second. Robert McCrum put the 950cc Westlake back
on the top step by taking the overall race win and the 1000cc class
in the Senior classic race. Richard Forde was a fine second place
and he had a hard dice with the 500cc class winner Tony Willis to
the line. Martin Lyons just held off the always hard charging Ed
Manly by 1/10th second to claim second in the 500cc class on a
very successful weekend for the returning event.
This means that after three rounds of the Irish Road Racing Championship that the standings for the various classic classes are as
follows. Philip Shaw heads the 250cc table by 25 points from Gary
Hutton with Alex McVicker only a further 10 points behind in third.
Barry Davidson has an already commanding 35 point lead in the
350cc class from Davie Hastings and Johnny Doran with Herbie
Ronan snapping at their heels in fourth. Tony Willis heads the closest of the four championships on 50 points from Gary Jamison (42
points) and Martin Lyons (40 points). The 1000cc class is led by
Robert McCrum on maximum points from Dave Brough in second
place.
15
Classic Road Racing 2014: Part 2
The Irish Road Racing Championship returned to Dungannon for
the Bush Road Races on the last weekend of June. This was the
fourth round of the 2014 championship which was held on a fine
bright day. Nigel Moore’s first finish on his 350 Honda was a winning one. Taking a victory around the 3.31 mile circuit, this included a new lap record on lap 6 which dipped 2 seconds under the
previous best.
There were a number of close battles through the rest of the 350
field. Second place in the class and on the road was claimed by
Herbie Ronan. He managed to hold off championship leader Barry
Davidson by four hundredths of a second in third. Alan Brew was a
safe fourth with eventually going to Davie Hastings by less than
half a second from Freddie Stewart. Jonathan Doran was next
home besting Billy Lyle also by half a second for seventh.
The first of the 250cc runners were next to finish on the road. Victory went to Jeff Shaw who reversed the Kells result by leading
home Garry Hutton. Third in this class was Brian Mateer on the
second Demspter Racing Honda 198. While numbers were down
somewhat on previous years it was Philip Shaw on the number 76
Suzuki who took another road race victory in the 250 class. Wattie
Brown on another Suzuki kept the leader honest to eventually finish the race some 6.7s back in second place. Barry Davidson on
the 198cc Dempster Racing Honda was third at the flag. The big
Westlake of Robert McCrum was the winner of the 1000cc class to
extend his tight grip on this championship. Second in the class
was Trevor Stewart on his Honda. The 500cc race got quite strung
out by the time the race ended after 8 laps. The winner was Alan
Brew on his Seeley G50, his first victory of the 2014 season. Second place was taken by Martin Lyons with the third step occupied
by Gary Jamison.
The Skerries 100 in North County Dublin provided the backdrop for
round 5 of the 2014 Irish Road Racing Championship. This is probably the biggest of the southern rounds and always attracts a big
crowd of spectators and usually excellent weather. However this
wasn’t the case during Friday practice where some heavy down-
16
pours led to untimed practice for all classes. This meant that the
grid for all of the races would be formed based on championship
positions.
A much brighter day greeted all the riders on Saturday morning
and there was optimism that the weather gods had smiled on the
event again. This held right up until the Junior Classic race was on
the road preparing for the warm up lap. A large squall passed over
the circuit as the riders formed up on the grid. This left the track
wet and slippery as the first wave left the line. Nigel Moore thrived
in the difficult conditions and took the 350cc race win from Barry
Davidson and Richard Lambourne who came through from the second wave. The 250cc win was taken by Jeff Shaw from Alan Bud
Jackson and Garry Hutton.
Thankfully the weather improved and the Senior Classic was held
in perfectly dry conditions. There was still however drama with a
red flag coming out for a fallen rider turned the race into a 4 lap
sprint. Tony Willis who had been the leading 500 on his Honda was
unable to restart the re-run due to a fuel leak causing a small fire.
Luckily a marshal was on hand and minimal damage was caused.
When the race did get going again it was Robert McCrum who
swept to the win from Richard Ford in the 1000cc class. The 500cc
race was won by Ed Manly on the beautifully turned out G50 of
Tony Carton. Second and third places in the 500cc class went to
Gary Jamison and Alan Bud Jackson respectively.
Continuing this busy period of Road Racing the Race of the South
at Walderstown Co. Westmeath was next up a week later. Once
more the weather was unkind on practice day although the track
was more damp than the all-out wet of the week before. Still the
decision was taken to run all practice as untimed which once again
meant a championship position grid for race day.
The dry weather of Sunday morning this week held all day and a
full day’s dry racing was had. The first classic class on the road
was the Junior Classic once more. A large field of 19 riders started
the race. Barry Davidson broke the lap record on his way to the
win by seven seconds over Nigel Moore. Herbie Ronan was third
with George Stinson fourth from the second wave. The 250cc class
17
started as the third wave and the front runners soon made it up to
the 350’s from the back of the second wave. Philip Shaw once
again took the class win and made it up to seventh overall. Second
was Richard Ford on his Suzuki with Gary Hutton on the 198 Honda a fine third.
Robert McCrum continued on from the week before to take the win
from Richard Ford in second. He did however attract some official
attention and was pulled over by a Garda at turn one on the slowing down lap. Luckily for him all the Garda wanted was her photo
taken on the big Westlake! The 500cc class saw superbike regular
Andy Farrell out on Gerry O’Sullivan’s 500 Honda. He started in
the last wave due to the championship position grid. At the flag
Tony Willis led on the road in the class but Andy Farrell took the
win by 2/10th second when corrected time was applied. Third
place went to Gary Jamison on the Black Bomber 500.
So after six rounds of the 2014 Irish Road Racing Championship
the standings for the various classic classes were as follows. Philip
Shaw heads the 250cc table on 145 points. Gary Hutton is 52
points back in second with Alex McVicker in third. Barry Davidson
has consolidated his lead in the 350cc class on 161 points. Herbie
Ronan is second on 79 points just 9 points ahead of Nigel Moore.
Gary Jamison has taken over the lead of the 500cc class on 94
points from Tony Willis in second on 85 points. Billy Lyle is only 2
points further back in third is a very close championship. The
1000cc class is led by Robert McCrum on maximum points from
Dave Brough in second place and Richard Ford.
18
Classic Road Racing 2014: Armoy and Faugheen
The last round of the Irish Road Racing Championship in the
North took place in in Armoy on the 26th July. There were heavy
showers during the day which posed the usual problems for all
the competitors. The Junior Classic was the fifth race of the day,
in the 250cc class Philip Shaw continued his winning streak by
coming home just under two seconds ahead of Richard Ford who
was in second. Third place in the biggest 250 field of the season
was Garry Hutton on the Dempster Honda. Barry Davidson took
his fifth win of the season in the 350. His normal sparring
partner Nigel Moore was second once more just over three
seconds back from the winner with Freddie Stewart in third.
The Senior Classic was out two races later and Robert McCrum
continued his 100% record for the season. Richard Ford on his
Norton was second in the 1000cc class and third on the road.
First man home in the 500cc class was Martin Lyons on the
Ewing Racing Honda. He was well clear of Gary Jamison who
secured second from Gary Hutton.
The penultimate event of the year brought the paddock back to
Faugheen in Tipperary for the first time in five years. The
overnight weather of very heavy and persistent rain did not bode
well for race day. However despite some showers during the day
most of the races managed to escape the worst of the rain.
Barry Davidson was again the race winner in the 350. Ed Manly
held second from flag to flag and with Nigel Moore having
machine problems third place was up for grabs. That went to
Herbie Ronan in the end although he had to fight hard with
Jonathan Doran for a number of laps. Richard Ford and Gary
Hutton rounded out the 250 class from winner Philip Shaw.
The senior classes had quite a small grid after a number of
breakdowns and retirements from the practice day. The 1000cc
class had a somewhat familiar look to it with the Westlake of
McCrum once more heading Richard Ford home. Third went to
the returning John Scott in the big bikes. The 500cc class threw
19
up a first time winner this year with Marl Connolly on the Norton.
Sean Henry was a fine second with Kevin Callan on the third step
of the podium.
Overall it was a good return for the small club on the Tipperary /
Kilkenny border who ran a slick event despite the heavy showers.
Hopefully they can continue again next year along with the Kells
and the cancelled Mid Antrim events.
With only one round left in Killalane at the beginning of September
all of the championship winners have been decided. In ascending
class order the 2014 Irish Champions are Philip Shaw (250), Barry
Davidson (350), Gary Jamison (500) and Robert McCrum (1000).
The podium places are still up for grabs in all of the classes and
will be decided on the 9th and last event of the season in north
county Dublin.
20
Classic Road Racing 2014: Killalane
The final round of the 2014 Irish Road Racing Championship took
place in the North Dublin sunshine. The Killalane road races run
by the Loughshinny Club brought a big grid of classic bikes out in
both classes to bring the road racing year to a fitting conclusion.
The weather this weekend played a positive part as the weather
gods smiled on the organisers with two completely dry and sunny
days. First classic practice out was the Junior Classic which had 22
bikes including a certain Michael Dunlop on a 350 Honda. Herbie
Ronan took pole from Jonathan Doran with Dunlop back in 5th
after a small electrical problem. Dunlop was also out in the Senior
Classic practice on the 500 Honda but the 2014 Unlimited
Champion Robert McCrum had a problem causing him to retire
after a lap. That put him back in the second wave for the race on
Sunday. There would be a lot of looking at the stopwatch to see
where he could make it up to during the race.
Race day turned out more like July than September with everyone
reaching for their sunglasses as the Senior Classic went out for
their warm up lap. There was a large crowd around the circuit to
watch this race. The first lap saw Richard Ford first out of
Kennedy’s Corner with Dunlop followed very closely by Ed Manly
and Gary Jamison. Robert McCrum led the second wave and was
already setting off after the last rider from the first wave. Next
time around Forde still held a good lead from Dunlop with Manly
tucked in right behind him. The rest of the field had already
spread out a bit but McCrum was already moving through the
pack.
Dunlop retired on lap 3 leaving the race a battle between Ford and
McCrum on corrected time for the Unlimited class win. Despite
Ford finishing first on the road McCrum took the victory by 6
seconds after getting within sight of the leader on the road. The
500cc class was won by Ed Manly. Gary Jamison the 2014 500cc
Champion just held off a hard charging Mark Connolly at the flag
by a tenth of a second.
A number of red flags in other classes caused some delays before
the Junior Classic got on track before the grand final. Michael
Dunlop made up for his earlier retirement with a storming flag to
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flag win in the 350 class. Second place went to Jonathan Doran
after a race long fight with Herbie Ronan won finished third.
Sean Leonard on the newly County Crest liveried bike came in
4th. The three Suzuki’s in the field filled the podium positions in
the 250 class. Philip Shaw came home first from Richard Ford
and Bud Jackson who filled 5th to 7th positions overall in the
race
So the final flag drops on the 2014 season. 9 events were
successfully run starting last April with a couple of events
returning successfully to the calendar after a break of a number
of years.
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Classic Short Circuit Racing 2014: Season Finale
The final round of the 2014 Southern Centre and CBRI Championships took place at Mondello. The International Circuit was in use
at the Kildare track for the final round of the Masters Series. There
were three races held over weekend with one on Saturday and two
on Sunday. Friday saw a full day of rain fall over the Leinster area
which didn’t leave much hope for a dry weekend’s racing. But in
keeping with the slightly out of kilter weather Saturday morning
dawned with clear blue skies. Thankfully the other classes were
available to dry the track before the classics got out for our qualifying session. There was a decent grid of bikes there for the Saturday which is traditionally a bit awkward for some riders.
Race 1 was being led comfortably by James Conroy on the 350
Honda, but it wasn’t to be his weekend. On lap 4 after spotting
some oil leaking from his machine he retired in to the paddock.
Unfortunately it was to prove terminal and he was unable to compete for the remainder of the weekend. With the normal front runner out it fell to Alex Conroy to hold off Herbie Ronan for the race
win by 2.5 seconds. George Stinson was a fine third with Nicky
Lamb in fourth. The top five was rounded off by Sean Henry on the
350 after a tight finish with Ivan Crowe who was sixth. This
brought Saturday’s racing to a close and the hope that the weather would hold out on Sunday despite the forecast of afternoon
rain.
A number of riders arrived on Sunday morning to help bolster the
numbers on the grid. The first classic race of the day was out just
before lunch with the dry weather holding although the temperature was low. The first three riders pulled a big gap at the front of
the field but stayed quite close together eventually finishing two
seconds apart after some good racing. Tony Willis took the race
win from Alex Conroy who just managed to hold off Herbie Ronan
to the line. Mark Connolly took fourth on his Manx Norton. Unfortunately the threatened rain arrived as the afternoon wore on. The
track was damp as the last race of the season started with a depleted field. The weather caused a number of riders to decide to
save their bikes for next year. Despite the tricky conditions Alex
Conroy set a fast pace to win his second race of the weekend from
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an equally quick Herbie Ronan in second. The rest of the field set
a conservative pace although with third placed Tony Willis a small
oil leak helped to curb his pace.
The 2014 season has drawn to a finish with all of the CBRI Championships decided. It has been another year of good racing in
Mondello. The 250/350 class in the club championship was won
by Herbie Ronan with a clean sweep of race wins. Second place
went to Ian Thompson with Ivan Crowe claiming third in the final
race of the year. The 500 class was claimed by Tony Willis on the
Davies Honda from Gerry O’Sullivan in second and Mark Connolly
taking the final podium spot. The Unlimited class was won once
more by Eanie Horan with Richard Ford in second.
CBRI would like to thank all of the clubs who ran events with classic races in them this year. Also a big thanks to all who have
helped in anyway with running events and all the riders who competed during the season
The late Patsy Plunkett who left
us in June 2014
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Classic Bike Racing Ireland wish all our members, sponsors and friends
A Very Merry Christmas
and a safe, competitive 2015 season
25
2014 CBRI Irish Short Circuit Championship Results
250/350 Class
Herbie Ronan
225
Ian Thompson
134
Ivan Crowe
96
Sean Henry
89
Ian Thompson (63)
65
Willie Wilson
45
Brian Mathews
45
Dave Molloy
19
Kevin Callan
16
Liam White
13
500 Class
Tony Willis
175
Gerry O’Sullivan
125
Mark Connolly
105
Brian O’Neill
73
Kevin Callan
51
Gary Jamison
49
Pat Murray
40
Chris Turner
28
Unlimited
Eanie Horan
150
Richard Ford
60
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27
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