Perennial Classic TT contenders Flitwick Motorcycles look set to continue their assault on the podium at the 2018 Classic TT presented by Bennetts, with three riders and an ever expanding stable of top quality classic racing machines.

Regular rider Olie Linsdell looks set for a busy fortnight with entries in the Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race, the Locate.im Junior Classic TT Race and the RST Superbike Classic TT Races for Team Flitwick. Once again Enfield mounted for the opening Senior Race, the 2013 winner is confident that he can challenge for the podium as he arrives at the event injury free for the first time in four years.

Olie will be joined in the Senior Race by Classic racing specialist Chris Swallow on a similar specification Enfield, this time housed in a Seeley chassis. No stranger to the podium himself the team is confident that Chris will be right in the mix on the Flitwick machine. As long as parts availability allows, a third Flitwick Enfield will also start this race, as 2017 newcomer David Linsdell looks to campaign the original Seeley Enfield that team owner Steve Linsdell rode to 2^nd place in his 1981 Newcomers Manx Grand Prix.

For the Superbike Race Olie will ride the hub-center steered Yamaha GTS based machine that was campaigned so successfully by Steve Linsdell throughout the 1990’s. As the bike has not been used in anger for so long, the team are looking at 2018 as a development year, but are confident that the unique machine will put on a solid display while once again exciting fans around the Mountain Course.

For Monday's Junior Race the team will field two machines, with both Linsdell brothers down to compete in the smaller capacity event. Olie will look to challenge for the win on a top-spec TAB framed Honda 350 twin in a class where he always feels at home, while David will ride a single cylinder 350 Ducati as he looks to improve on his 2017 performance.

The Team would like to thank the continued support of sponsors Steve Bond, John and Olaug of SMV and Meryn Hackett, whose support is greatly appreciated.

Team owner Steve Linsdell says:

"Flitwick Motorcycles have supported the Classic TT since the beginning and having stepped back from modern racing, it has firmly established itself as the main event of our season. Having had a few years plagued by injury I wanted to have a real push to get us back to where we know we should be. Olie is back to full fitness and having Chris on board is a real boost as he knows how to ride a classic bike fast around the mountain course.”

He continued:

“It’s been a struggle with so many bikes to prepare, but I am confident that I can give both riders the tools for the job. Olie did 140mph through Sulby last year on my Bullet, so a 110mph lap is certainly not out of the question! I’m also looking forward to having two bikes from my past out and competing again – the 500 Enfield I did my newcomers race on that David will ride as long as I can make enough parts and my Hub Centre Steered Yamaha special that Olie will ride in the Classic Superbike race. It’s been a while, so it will be good to see them back where they belong!"


Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25^th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26^th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or via our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.

This year’s Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race will again signal the start of the 2018 Race programme for the Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts and with an 80-strong grid, another fiercely contested Mountain Course Race is expected.

Heading the entry at number one is 2016 Race winner and current Senior Classic TT Race lap record holder John McGuinness who returns on the Team Winfield Paton. After almost 18 months out of racing, 23-time TT winner McGuinness’s comeback is eagerly anticipated.

The twin-cylinder Paton has won no less than four of the five previous Senior Classic TT Races but there are plenty of other riders capable of stopping their domination, perhaps none more so than ten-time TT winner Ian Lougher (#5) on the John Chapman Racing MV Agusta. Lougher won the race in 2014 and will certainly be aiming for the top step again.

Maria Costello (#10), third in 2016 and fourth last year, will again be mounted on the Team Beugger Racing Paton but perhaps the biggest threat to the Italian multi-cylinder machines will come from the three pronged attack of the Davies Motorsport Honda team.

Works Honda TT rider Lee Johnston will, arguably, be their strongest challenger as he sets off at number 13 but both Alan Oversby (#2) and Dominic Herbertson (#8) will be pushing for a podium - at least - with the latter finishing in fifth place twelve months ago.

The field is packed with potential rostrum men riding British machines led by last year’s runner-up Jamie Coward (#3) on the Ted Woof/Craven Manx Norton. The Yorkshire rider has the distinction of setting the fastest ever lap on a British single-cylinder machine during last year’s meeting.

Six-time TT winner Michael Rutter (#4) will again ride the Ripley Land Racing Matchless with former World Championship 125cc and Moto3^TM competitor Danny Webb (#17) on board the Dunnell Racing Norton with Michael Russell (#19) riding a similar machine for Izzard Racing.

Olie Linsdell, the maiden winner of the Senior Classic TT Race in 2013, will again be on the Flitwick Motorcycles/Steve Bond Royal Enfield, this time with the number nine plate, while the CSC Racing Honda pairing of Daniel Cooper (#11) and James Hillier (#14) and the father and son duo of Bill and Chris Swallow also feature in the top twenty. Bill goes at number 15 on a Ducati while Chris is a place behind on the grid on another Royal Enfield.

Austrian ace Horst Saiger rounds out the top twenty on the Egli Motorradtechnik Vincent machine but there is also quality throughout the field and other riders outside the top twenty include Mark Parrett (Norton), Mark Herbertson (Matchless), Peter Boast (D&M Engineering Honda), Phil McGurk (Dave Hardman BSA), Dave Matravers (Round Oak Services Paton), Steve Ferguson (Greenall Racing Honda) and John Barton (Wemoto.com Matchless).

The Welsh family of Hefyn, Bob and Mereydd Owen are back for another attempt as are David Madsen-Mygdal, Lancelot Unissart, John-Leigh Pemberton, Alex Sinclair and Chris McGahan.

Josh Daley, Matt Mylchreest, Barry Lee Evans and Dean Osborne are amongst the debutantes in the four-lap race which is scheduled to get underway at 11.00am on Saturday 25th August.

Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com

Midlands based Davies Motorsport will continue their association with the Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts, in 2018 with one of the strongest line up on the grid at this year’s event.

The team will again run three riders with Alan Oversby and Dominic Herbertson joined by new recruit Lee Johnston contesting the Bennetts Senior Classic TT and Junior Classic TT Races on their latest-spec Honda machines.

The team has been a mainstay at the event since the inaugural year of 2013. William Dunlop and Oversby represented them ever year and achieved four podiums.

Dunlop took second in the 2013 Bennetts 500cc Classic TT, before recording third in the same race twelve months ago while Oversby finished in third place in the 350cc Classic TT Race in 2014.

The Grange-over-Sands rider led in the early stages and lapped at an impressive 104.140mph before having to settle for second behind eventual race winner Johnston.  He also added another podium to his name in 2016 with third in the same race. 

Johnston will have his first taste of the Honda machinery having previously campaigned MV Agustas for Black Eagle Racing - winning in 2014, as well as finishing second in the corresponding race last year. He still holds the Junior lap record at 105.239mph while he also took third place in the 2015 Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race.

Rising star Herbertson made his first impression at the Classic TT in 2016 when he finished sixth in the Bennetts Senior Race. That brought him to the attention of Davies Motorsport and he rode superbly for them in 2017, finishing fourth and fifth in the Junior and Senior races respectively. He lapped at more than 108mph in the Senior Race and also had his best ever TT earlier this year as he lapped at close to 128mph on his way to twelfth in the RL360 Superstock Race.

With all three riders having proven pedigree around the Mountain Course, they are sure to be among the race favourites for the two four-lap races.

Davies Motorsport have been long-time front runners on the Classic racing scene and the team is headed up by John Davies, who sponsored numerous high profile riders in the 1980s and 90s including Alex Bedford, Kevin Mitchell, Neil Hodgson and Steve Thompson. 

Davies himself was a regular competitor at the Manx Grand Prix between 1978 and 1997, with his best finishes being second in the 1978 Senior Newcomers race and a brace of fourths in the 1986 and 1987 Lightweight 250cc Races. He also campaigned a 500cc Grand Prix Harris Yamaha for the Padgetts team.

Specialising in Honda machinery, nephew Colin Davies handles all the technical aspects for the team and he too has a wealth of experience at all levels including numerous years as technician to Kevin Schwantz at Lucky Strike Suzuki where together they won the 1993 500cc World Championship.

Forecasted rain this week could make roads slippery after the heatwave warns the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA).

There are two reasons why motorists should slow down and drive with care on roads that are wet after a heatwave. Firstly, during periods of prolonged hot weather the bitumen in asphalt roads becomes more mobile and can sometime ‘bleed’ through to the surface. This reduces the texture depth and wet skidding resistance. In extreme conditions, like those experienced this summer, councils will apply grit to the road surface to increase its skid resistance. Secondly, dry roads often have a build-up of rubber and oil particles. When it rains these substances can mix with water and create a greasy layer that can become very slippery.

“Wet roads after a prolonged hot, dry period can become slippery. In addition to ensuring that their tyres are in good condition and properly inflated, motorists should slow down and drive with care”, warned Howard Robinson, RSTA chief executive.

He continued: “Just like the freezing and ice of the winter, summer’s high temperatures underline how essential it is to ensure that roads are maintained to a correct standard. Unfortunately, continued cutbacks to highway budgets means that councils cannot afford the necessary programmes of long-term maintenance and surface dressing to ensure pothole-free, skid resistant roads.”