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Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix
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MV AGUSTA MOUNTED TT STARS JOHNSTON AND HARRISON LEAD STRONG OKELLS BREWERY 350cc CLASSIC TT RACE ENTRY Spacer
A stellar line up has entered the Okells Brewery 350cc Race at this year's Classic TT presented by Bennetts and with the riders and machines, arguably, more evenly matched than any other race, it could prove to be the closest of the festival. The race, which was oversubscribed with a number of high quality entries, is scheduled to take place on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August.
Lee Johnston, last year's race winner heads the entry list with the Northern Irishman having romped to victory in record breaking style 12 months ago. The 26-year old shattered the lap and race records and returns on the Black Eagle Racing 350cc MV Agusta and few would bet against him serving up a repeat performance.
As usual, he'll start at number 13 and will head down Glencrutchery Road ten seconds behind his teammate Dean Harrison who could well prove to be his closest rival. The Bradford rider missed last year's race but he has shown in the past his aptitude for anything with two wheels and won the 2013 Formula Classic Race.
Honda-mounted riders form the bulk of the entry and a number of them will provide Johnston and Harrison with some stiff opposition, none more so than the Davies Motorsport pairing of William Dunlop (6) and Alan Oversby (4), the latter having taken a good runners-up spot to Johnston twelve months ago.
Michael Rutter (Ripley Land Racing) makes his debut in the class and gives the Japanese manufacturer another great chance of victory. Other contenders include Olie Linsdell (Flitwick Motorcycles/SMV Engineering), James Hillier and Alex Sinclair (CSC Racing), Jamie Coward (Ted Woof Racing) and Andy Lawson (Easy Air Conditioning). Chris McGahan, Nigel Moore, Phil McGurk, Paul Coward, Pete Boast and Chris Petty give Honda further strength in depth.
Like the 500cc class, Norton will be well to the fore with the Team Molnar Manx pairing of Cameron Donald (number eight) and Dan Cooper (number five) expected to be running at the head of the field while Keith Amor will have strong expectations on Tony Dunnell's machine, the Scot leading the field away at number one. Wattie Brown, Nick Jefferies and Gavin Lupton are just three more fancied Norton runners.
The father and son combination of Bill and Chris Swallow are likely to be in the mix on their respective Ripley Land Racing AJS and Fawcett Aermacchi machines as will Mark Herbertson on another AJS whilst the consistent Doug Snow is again on the entry list with his trusty 340cc Ducati.
Meanwhile, there are no less than 15 250cc machines in the field and all will be aiming to win the Phil Read Trophy awarded to the class winner. The T20 Suzuki's are the choice of many including Adrian Harrison, Tom Jackson, Jeff Ward, Maria Costello, Billy Cummins, Andy Wilson and Alan Bud Jackson but the Yamahas of Chris Moore and Dave Edwards and Pete Symes' Kawasaki will ensure they don't have it all their own way.
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This year's Classic TT presented by Bennetts will have added poignancy as Bruce Anstey will ride in the Classic Racer Magazine Lap of Honour in a tribute to six-time TT winner Geoff Duke OBE. The bike will also be on show for all of the Classic TT weekend and Geoff's son, Peter Duke, will ride it at Festival of Jurby.
Anstey will ride a 1950 'Works' Norton owned by Mr Peter Bloore and restored in New Zealand by Ken McIntosh and McIntosh Racing, This is the only 1950 'works' Norton in original condition that exists in the world.
The Kiwi's 108.110mph lap in last year's Classic TT was achieved using a completely standard, original spec Manx Featherbed frame, which is essentially the production version of the 1950 McCandless design.
The name 'Featherbed' was coined by 1949 Senior TT winner Harold Daniel who is reported to have said: "It was so comfortable it was like riding on a featherbed." Duke described it as the "best handling motorcycle I ever rode." With a fine-handling Norton perfectly suited to his riding style and streamlined one-piece leathers, Duke and the Featherbed became the unbeatable combination.
The 'Featherbed' Norton was unique as it changed motorcycle racing from a 'horsepower' contest to a 'roadholding' contest. The entire chassis and suspension was designed and built, hands on, by Rex McCandless and his small team from Belfast with Artie Bell, McCandless' business partner and the winner of the 1948 Senior TT on a Works Norton. He was responsible for the testing and development of the prototype 'featherbed.'
The new frame and a small increase in power gave Norton a clean sweep in 1950 with a first race win at Blandford followed by a TT Junior/Senior 'Double' and first, second and third places as well as lap and race records in both classes. Duke graduated from being a new and junior member of the Norton 'Works' team to being the leader in a week after second place in the Junior TT behind Artie Bell, and then dominating the Senior TT including smashing the lap record, set by Harold Daniel in 1938.
The Norton Featherbed became a production motorcycle using McCandless' design and patents, for which in the early years the McCandless and Bell partnership were paid a £1 royalty for each machine sold. The Featherbed frame continued to be the standard by which all other machines were judged until the 1970s.
The only surviving 1950 'Works' Norton was rebuilt by McIntosh Racing in New Zealand using the only original 1950 'Works' frame found at Beaulieu Autojumble by the owner, Peter Bloore and his subsequent 30 year search for the missing parts.
Many of the original 1950 parts had seen further service in the later 'Works' bikes and were very difficult to acquire largely because the eight 1950 'Works' Norton's were all broken up at the end of 1950, the parts being used to build the updated 1951 team bikes. The only survivor in modified form was Eric Oliver's 1951 World Championship winning sidecar outfit, which was based on a 1950 'Works' 500.
As a result, the bike Anstey will ride took over 2000 hours labour to restore, as every part is special. No 'Manx Norton's' parts are the same as the 1950 'Works', although nearly every part forms the prototype for the production 'Featherbed Manx' which was made for the next 12 years, until 1963.
Bruce Anstey will lead the Lap of Honour away joined by Geoff's son Peter who will ride a replica of the 500cc Gilera he won three World Championships on in the 1950's.
David Cretney, the Isle of Man Government's political member with responsibility for Tourism and Motorsport said:
"Geoff Duke is undoubtedly one of the true TT icons and despite his multi world championship wins he will forever be remembered for his exploits on the Isle of Man - not least his remarkable achievements on the works Norton and the Gilera. It is entirely fitting that we pay tribute to Geoff and I am very grateful for the support that we have had from the bike's owner Peter Bloor, Ken McIntosh of McIntosh Racing and the Duke family in creating this tribute."
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Michael Rutter has confirmed he'll contest a full programme of events at this year's Classic TT presented by Bennetts with the four-time TT winner now lining up in the Motorsport Merchandise Formula One race as well as the Bennetts 500cc Classic and Okells Brewery 350cc TT Races.
The Midlands ace will ride a F1 Ducati, identical to the machine his father Tony took to third place in both the 1984 Formula One TT Race and TT Formula One World Championship and comes in addition to his outings on the Ripley Land machines in the 350cc and 500cc Races. Rutter, who took third in this year's Bennetts Lightweight TT Race, will run the bike in the same livery that his Dad rode, complete with matching helmet and leathers.
Tony Rutter had a strong association with Ducati in the 1980s, taking four successive World Formula Two Championships from 1981-1985, but he also had success on the larger capacity version, particularly in 1984 when he was only beaten by the works Hondas of Joey Dunlop and Roger Marshall in the six lap TT Formula One Race. He lapped at an impressive 111.35mph that year and went on to take fourth at the Ulster GP and Vila Real, Portugal, fifth at Zolder, Belgium and seventh at the Dutch TT to claim third overall in the World Championship.
Michael will now ride a replica of his Dad's machine built by Belgium company Redfox Grinta who are renowned Ducati specialists. Owned by Jan de Vos, Redfox Grinta have been competing and winning in Supersport, Superbike, Battle of the Twins, Supertwins and Endurance racing for almost 20 years with all of their bikes built and developed in their workshop.
With years of experience, they have recently branched out into Classic racing and will now make their debut at the Classic TT where rider, machine and team are sure to generate huge interest in the paddock.
Michael Rutter commented:
"I really enjoyed the Classic TT last year and to come back this year with bikes for every class is brilliant, especially getting the opportunity to ride a F1 Ducati identical to my Dad's. It's something that's been in the pipeline for a while and although we originally planned to contest the F2 Race, we've now decided to go in the F1 race instead. Dad got round at some impressive lap times almost 30 years ago so it's going to be a thrill and honour to ride a bike identical to that and having the matching paint scheme and leathers makes it even more special."
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Having been forced to miss last year's Classic TT presented by Bennetts through injuries sustained at the preceding Ulster Grand Prix, Scots ace Keith Amor will finally get to make his debut at the event later this year.
The Falkirk rider was due to ride 350cc and 500cc Manx Norton's for Dunnell Racing and it's that same team that the now 43-year will ride for in August, contesting both the Bennetts 500cc and Okells 350cc Classic TT Races.
It will be Amor's first time on Classic machinery around the Mountain Course but the Dunnell machines are well prepared with Dunnell being one of the most respected classic bike builders in the UK.
Conor Cummins rode for Team Dunnell at the inaugural event in 2013, finishing seventh in the 350cc Race whilst Amor's late replacement twelve months ago, Mick Godfrey had an excellent ride in the 500cc Race and went one better coming home in sixth, also lapping in excess of 102mph.
Although he has a lack of Classic race experience, Amor's diminutive stature and knowledge of the Mountain Course should mean he'll be challenging for podiums in both race and he's relishing the opportunity to finally compete, particularly as he had to miss last year's races due to the aforementioned Ulster GP crash.
Adding his name to the entry list for the 500cc and 350cc Classic TT Races, the five-times TT podium finisher, now back to full fitness after his Supersport TT spill in June, adds further spice to an already mouthwatering line up that promises to be even better than the two previous years.
Dunnell himself has a long association with the Isle of Man, first as a competitor in the Manx Grand Prix and, in later years, as a sponsor and entrant. After a four year layoff, Tony returned to the Isle of Man in 2013 and has clearly embraced the Classic TT movement as he will be providing Keith with the latest specification 500cc and 350cc Manx Norton's along with spare bikes for each class.
Speaking about making his Classic TT debut, Keith Amor commented: "Obviously I was gutted to pick up the injury at the Ulster Grand Prix last year, but mainly because it meant I couldn't ride at the Classic TT. Tony has put together a great team for me for the event and the bikes should be as quick as any other single cylinder bike out there. Podium's in both races has to be our target and if we can do that, given the nature of Classic racing, anything is possible after that. Michael Rutter, Bruce Anstey and Dan Cooper showed that you can run at the front on a single last year and I intend to be right on that kind of pace."
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Endurance racing specialists Prime Factors Racing has signed Steve Plater as Team Manager as they prepare for the Isle of Man TT, Roads and Endurance World Championship. Plater will start this new role from the World renowned Bol d'or event in September at the EWC finale, ready for a full assault in 2016!
Having secured the 2014 British Endurance Championship, Prime Factors Racing stepped up to the Superstock class in the FIM Endurance World Championship for 2015, enjoying a point scoring finish in their opening race at the iconic Le Mans 24hr. Looking to take another massive step forward in 2016, the Surrey based team will be entering the blue riband Superbike class (including the Suzuka 8HR) as well as campaigning on the 'roads' - making their debut at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.
Overseeing Prime Factors Racing's progression into these categories will be Steve Plater, who has signed as Team Manager. Plater is known for his wide experience having won races at British Superbike, Endurance, NW200 and Isle of Man TT events. The Lincolnshireman will be bringing his unrivalled knowledge to the team over the winter to ensure they arrive at the opening event in the best possible position.
The team are now currently in discussions with various manufacturers, partners and riders for the 2016 season which will be unveiled in due course.
Speaking after joining Prime Factors Racing, Team Manager Steve Plater said, "This is a really exciting opportunity. I'm looking forward to coming on-board with Prime Factors Racing and bringing my experience to this new chapter for the team. I've been involved in a managerial position with some various teams before, including the AIM team and Honda Racing, so I'm looking forward to working alongside Bruce - who will no doubt be busy enough on the retail side of Prime Factors!
Despite being a relatively new team, Prime Factors Racing has already shown their credentials by winning the British Endurance Championship and getting a strong start to their 2015 World Endurance Championship at Le Mans.
My first tasks will be to arrange our choice of machine, riders, tyres and the like for next year. We've got an idea of where we want to go so I'm looking forward to progressing this over the next few months. Then it will be my job to ensure we're shipshape for every race and keeping the staff happy, which is a vital part of ensuring that we achieve our goals for 2016."
Team Principal of Prime Factors Racing, Bruce Charman is equally as excited to be welcoming Steve to the team "2015 has seen the team move up from National to International level racing, which has been a real learning curve and successful so far.
Bringing Steve on to help prepare us for 2016 is another exciting step forward for the team and I'm positive it's going to see us achieve further success. It's a very big move as we'll not only be stepping up into the Superbike class of the World Endurance Championship but also taking on the challenges of the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT - something I'm particularly looking forward to having never been to either, despite working within motorcycling for many, many years!
I'm really looking forward to working alongside someone with the skills, pedigree and success that Steve has. The step up is certainly going to be a challenge for the team but it's a very exciting time and one I'm sure we'll excel at."
To complete the busy plans for the group, Prime Factors Motorcycles has recently opened to prepare and service bikes for track and road, all based out of their unit in Redhill, Surrey. The company is also a major distributor for BMW race equipment suppliers Alpha Racing.
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