Circulates throughout the world Established 1903

Chins on tanks

By chance I happened to see the British Historic GP racing from Brands Hatch on television (Eurosport, 7 August). I was disappointed not to see, nor was there any reference to, Triumphs, BSAs or Velocettes. The entire race seemed to be exclusively Manx Nortons, AJS 7Rs and Matchless G50s – which is the reason, as a teenager, I was more interested in the 250s, as there was a greater variety. However, in the race no one looked to be seriously racing... for a classic 500cc machine, Brands Hatch has some quite long straights. There are many places where the rider surely needs to bury his chin in the tank. Where is the point of having a Perspex screen and not looking through it? I ended up shouting at the telly... pointless I know!

Page 26 of the September issue in your excellent magazine has a picture of Geoff Duke illustrating how it should be done. Page 76 shows John Storr really racing. Neither of them have their head hovering above the screen – they are looking through it. If you think that someone who’s passed 50 is too portly to ride properly then perhaps they should keep away from the puddings and get the bicycle out more often.

In 2007 my cousin Mike Rogers borrowed a 250cc Mach 1 Ducati for the TT parade. Later in the week, a parade took place at Castletown and to iron some of the bugs out, we took the bike to Jurby. I had the opportunity of riding it and just before setting off was snapped on the stand. In spite of the seat being set for my cousin and too far forward for me, I had no difficulty finding the tank with the bottom of my modern crash helmet...

Peter Rogers
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