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Dave Jones poses with the 1913 Ariel he’d borrowed from Chris Thomas. The first day of spring 2016 (March 20) and the Sunbeam MCC’s Pioneer Run ushered in the start of the riding season with the 77th trip to Brighton for strictly controlled, genuine veteran machines. Some light early rain had cleared by the time…

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Frank Kay bought this hard-used Greeves Hawkstone scrambles bike in 1980 and registered it for the road. It was a sharp contrast to the previous week, when the annual Ashford Cattle Market event had been hit hard in the aftermath of storm Katie. While there were a number of regularly attending bikes, organiser Julie Diplock…

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Motorcycles return to the hallowed banking on July 3, 2016. The show will pay homage to those prewar pioneers and daredevils of the track, but also feature the latest machines from some of today’s top manufacturers. The famous Test Hill will provide a unique opportunity to see how the prewar race bikes fare against today’s…

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Mick Grant was in the Classic Trial Challenge this year, but in 1972, he raced this John Player F750 Norton, now in the National Motorcycle Museum collection. This year, Norton was the main theme for the motorcycling element of this huge three-day show, occupying four halls of the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The stand…

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An eclectic assemblage of classic iron. This year’s Classic Dirt Bike Show, which took place on the weekend of February 20-21, was an especially memorable event for several reasons. First off, a very impressive array of famous figures from the mud-splattered world of off-road riding turned up to show their support, with Nick Jefferies, Barry…

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Fire-up time at the Speedway Museum. It marks the anniversary of the first big meeting, at nearby High Beech, Essex, on February 19, 1928. This year’s event, held on February 21 in milder weather, attracted far more visitors and there was much more to see, all in addition to the packed museum. Read more in…

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Stuart Hooper poses with a sign showing the speed he reached with his Velo on the Salt Flats. An initial sighting run of 177mph appeared okay until the team discovered a nearly empty fuel tank – equating to almost 10 litres of fuel used. This fuel consumption became problematic on the next run, eventually drowning…

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Winner of his first ‘DJ’ was Ralph Pitchford, using his experience as an off-road rally co-driver to good advantage. This was the first outright DJ Rally win for Pitchford, riding a 1926 500cc Triumph P-type. Ralph’s immaculate, self-prepared flat-tanker Triumph ran perfectly on the two-day event which took competitors from Durban to Johannesburg with an…

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Steve Parrish at Mallory Park in 1977 on a RG500 Suzuki. This year’s guest of honour is Steve Parrish – read an interview with the former 500 GP rider and now Panther owner (and restorer) on page 82 of this issue – while there’s the usual plethora of attractions to peruse, too. Read more in…

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