New & Features

January 2013 TCM on sale now This month's contents includes: • News   • Stafford show    • Subscribe and save    • ABCs at Brooklands    • H&H auction    • Letters    • Men who mattered (Granville Bradshaw)    • Graham Hurry interview   When Graham Hurry took up grasstrack racing, the sport was riding high, especially in the southeast of…

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Gwen White reunited with trophy Ruth Holliday presented her with the silver rose bowl for the best lady rider in the West of England club’s tough opening round of the trade supported trials championship season in 1952. Riding her 197cc Francis-Barnett, Gwen was one of the best lady riders of her generation and her name…

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George Smith takes a break from practising on his prewar 500 Enfield with its rare all-alloy engine The event, which took place on November 18 this year, is intended to provide easy self-marked sections for complete beginners and this also makes them suitable for classic and vintage trials machinery. Among the older bikes participating was…

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Don (Centre) racing his KTT at Brands Hatch London born and bred, he came through Zeppelin raids in the First World War. Witnessing racing at Brooklands in the 1920s determined his life’s path. Don worked for Raleigh, in London, and honed his riding skills on the relatively empty London arterial roads, although not unnoticed by…

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Rain battered this year’s run The annual run is usually supported by individuals and clubs who provide a sideshow of classic machinery, but turnout was low this year due to weather. As the long cavalcade of 500 entrants wound its way out of London and down to the break at Crawley, it was hit by…

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VIP guest John Surtees at JD Classics Surtees talked about working for Vincent where he earned £2-10s a week and his first race on a Triumph Tiger 70. Later, he bought his Vincent Grey Flash in pieces from Mike Hailwood’s father Stan. Success followed resulting in world championships in 1956 and 1958-60. It was Britain’s…

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Bonhams BMWs Headlining the team of machines is a very rare and much admired Kompressor, or supercharged, 1939 RS255, the model that legendary racer John Surtees said “rightly deserves a place as being one of the all-time greats of motorcycle Grand Prix racing”. The RS255 (‘RS’ stands for rennsport, or race sport) is a genuine,…

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BSA was on a sales roll before the war Why was the year’s Exeter Trial held in January of the following year? That was the question asked in the car and motorcycle Press. Publishers carried in their December issues details of the 1937 event, which would be held January 7-8, 1938… Logic of sorts applied…

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Rally around… “There is already great interest in next year’s JD Rally and we are hoping for a field of at least 150 motorcycles built between 1913 and 1936, when the last of these famous races took place on public roads between the two cities,” said clerk of the course and chairman of the Classic…

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Norton calendar can be bought by non club members The NOC is this year offering the 2013 NOC Calendar for sale to non club members. The calendar has 12 full colour pages of various lovely Nortons in A3 format. Calendar price is; UK £10.32, EU £12.74 and ROW £13.16, which includes postage. It’s available from…

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