'LIVE'  2003 MANX GRAND PRIX   'LIVE'

Many thanks to Caroline Etherington and the Manx Motorcycle Club for enabling us to provide this 'Live' coverage.

Practice Week: Saturday 16th - Saturday 23rd August

Race Week: Monday 25th - Friday 29th August

Please scroll down for previous reports.

Senior, Junior & Lightweight Classic Race Report. (Mon 25th & Wed 27th)

Following the final practice session on Saturday the three non-qualifiers (Ian Rycroft, Ted Edwards and Marek Wieckowski) were all allowed to start there respective races. The First Greeves in action for race week was Ian Rycroft on the 380cc Griffon derived machine. He was out in Monday's Senior Classic race which was held in ideal conditions. Unfortunately the Greeves effort ended prematurely with Ian retiring on lap 2 with a broken swinging arm spindle !! However Greeves man John Loder finished a credible second on a Weslake to Bill Swallow on the big Aermacchi. Also for the Greeves fans, the former moto-crosser Arthur Browning finished 35th in his debut Manx Grand Prix on a Jawa.

Senior Classic Top Three.

Bill Swallow (476cc Linton Aermacchi) 1hr 26:47.2 (104.33 mph)
John Loder (492cc Nourish Seeley Weslake) 1hr 27:08.9 (103.90)
John Goodall (496cc Matchless) 1hr 28:00.3 (102.89)

Fastest Lap: Alan Oversby (Norton) 21:24.1 (105.77 mph) on Lap 1.

The combined Junior and Lightweight Classic races took place on Wednesday 27th August. For this event four Greeves lined up on the grid, John Loder and Marek Wiekowski in the Junior and Mervyn Stratford & Ted Edwards in the Lightweight. The Junior race saw John having to make a pit stop for the first time for a number of years following the new 24 litre max fuel tank ruling. Marek Wiekowski's race did not last long as he holed a piston on the Ridgeon Greeves on lap one. John however completed the race distance to finish in a well earned 7th place and take a silver replica in a time of 1hr 35:42.9 (94.60 mph).

In the Lightweight event Mervyn had a trouble free run to 11th position, just missing a replica behind the Japanese dominated top 10 in a time of 1hr 45:20.2 (85.96 mph). Mervyn was again the first single cylinder machine and only British bike home, together with being the second genuine race machine. The first being Dave Smith's Yamaha in 7th place among the Suzuki T20s. Ted's race ended after one lap when he pulled in to the pits with clutch trouble.

Junior Classic Top 3

Jason Griffiths (350cc Turner Honda) 1hr 29:12.4 (101.50)
Bill Swallow (349cc Linton Aermacchi) 1hr 30:01.4 (100.58)
Doug Snow (340cc Ducati) 1hr 33:33.6 (96.78)

Fastest Lap: Jason Griffiths 22:07.3 (102.33) on Lap 3 (New Record)

Lightweight Classic Top 3

Roy Richardson (250cc Bullock Suzuki) 1hr 31:09.3 (99.33)
Barry Wood (247cc Suzuki) 1hr 33:39.0 (96.69)
Ewan Hamilton (247cc Suzuki) 1hr 35:21.3 (95.96)

Fastest Lap: Roy Richardson 22:23.6 (101.09) on Lap 1 (New Record)

That concludes the 2003 Manx GP coverage, I hope you have enjoyed it! Sorry for the delay in the race reports - I just did not have time !!, Once again thanks to Caroline Etherington and the Manx motorcycle club for enabling the 'Live' coverage.

Roy Stratford

Saturday 23rd August PM Practice

The final  practice session for the 2003 Manx Grand Prix saw all five Greeves entries in action. The conditions on the roads were mainly dry with damp patches under the trees, especially at Ramsey hairpin leading up to Waterworks. Riders experienced a lot of sun dazzle from Union Mills all the way through to Appledene and also at the gooseneck. First out was John Loder he completed two laps, the first of which was 25:32.22 (88.65 mph) and 24:28.28 (92.51). Also out in the Junior Classic class was Marek Wieckowski on the Ridgeon Greeves managing a lap just .86 seconds outside the qualifying time in 28:00.86 (80.81). Ted Edwards was also out again tonight although unfortunately he failed to complete the lap. Mervyn completed another two laps on his spare machine with times of 28:13.46 (80.21) and 27:15.97 (83.03). Ian Rycroft was out once again on the 380cc Greeves he completed a first lap in 28:30.26 (79.42) a minute and a half outside the qualifying time. Unfortunately he retire on the second lap so was unable to improve on this.

Officially only Mervyn and John have qualified for their respective races on number of laps and lap time. Ted, Ian and Marek have all done the required number of laps but are all out of their respective qualifying times. Ted and Marek should hopefully be allowed to ride as their times are very close to qualifiers.

Fastest Greeves laps of the week:

Ted Edwards (250cc) : 29:06.51 (77.77) - Friday eve 22nd August.
Mervyn Stratford (250cc) : 26:10.26 (86.50) - Monday eve 18th August.
John Loder (350cc) : 24:28.28 (92.51) - Saturday eve 23rd August.
Marek Wieckowski (350cc) : 28:00.86 (80.81) - Saturday eve 23rd August.
Ian Rycroft (380cc) : 28:07.09 (80.51) - Friday eve 22nd August.

Saturdays top classic times:

Senior 500cc
Alan Oversby (Norton) 21:59.42 (102.95)
Nick Jefferies (Norton) 22:39.61 (99.90)
Bill Swallow (Aermacchi) 22:46.20 (99.42)

Junior 350cc
Chris McGahan (Honda) 22:39.88 (99.88)
Jason Griffiths (Honda) 23:00.88 (98.36)
Terry McGinty (Honda) 24:03.92 (94.07)

Lightweight 250cc
Roy Richardson (Suzuki) 23:58.05 (94.45)
Norman Kneen (Suzuki) 24:04.23 (94.05)
Barry Wood (Suzuki) 24:25.68 (92.67)

Friday 22nd August PM Practice

Friday evening's practice session saw four Greeves go out. Weather conditions were good all round the course with light winds, however there was a lot of oil at 13th milestone, where two riders had crashed and also at May Hill. The Greeves out were Marek Wieckowski, Mervyn Stratford and the first showing of Ted Edwards and Ian Rycroft. Marek did not complete a lap, retiring with a broken gear linkage. Mervyn had one lap bedding in the race engine, a time of 26:55.99 (84.05 mph). Ted Edwards completed two laps problem free, although he reported his bike as being very slow. His first lap was 31:39.30 (71.51) and the second being just 6.51 seconds outside the qualifying time in 29:06.51 (77.77). Ian Rycroft's two laps on the 380cc Greeves were 31:50.76 (71.09) and 28:07.09 (80.51) respectively. He needs to to a 27 minute lap to qualify, so hopefully we should see this in Saturday's final practice if all goes well.

Fridays top classic times:

Senior 500cc
Barry Wood (Honda) 22:25.98 (100.91)
John Goodall (Matchless) 22:27.57 (100.79)
Denis Gallagher (Honda) 22:39.80 (99.89)

Junior 350cc
Chris McGahan (Honda) 22:54.98 (98.79)
Alan Oversby (Seeley 7R) 23:09.64 (97.74)
Jason Griffiths (Honda) 23:20.62 (96.98)

Lightweight 250cc
Ewan Hamilton (Suzuki) 23:23.17 (96.80)
Stephen Smith (Suzuki) 24:22.22 (92.89)
Barry Wood (Suzuki) 24:33.19 (92.20)

Thursday 21st August PM Practice (Afternoon)

Thursday afternoons practice session was abandoned after an initial lap by the modern classes due to deteriation in the weather conditions. Mist had come down on the mountain particularly at the bungalow where visibility was less than 50 yards. The organisers said that it is not necessary to run the Friday morning emergency practice.

Meanwhile in the Greeves camps, Ted Edwards had got his Silverstone ready for action and was due to go for the practice, however not without problems. Trouble with his Gearbox has meant he has had to borrow one from Mervyn Stratford as last year. This was in the morning, and to add to his problems the fuel tank sprang a leak and needed a quick repair, so he did well to get it all together in time for the practice even though it was cancelled.

John Loder's two laps on Wednesday evening were not problem free either. Even though he got round ok albeit somewhat off his usual pace, he found the top of the piston had sunk and was on the point of dropping through. He also had a broken engine bolt and split exhaust !

Still no appearance of the 380cc Greeves of Ian Rycroft, and George Ridgeon's man Marek Wieckowski has not done a lap in the timed sessions to qualify, although he has completed two laps in the morning un-timed sessions.

Wednesday 20th August PM Practice

In Wednesday's evening session there were again only two Greeves out. John Loder on his Oulton and Mervyn Stratford on his Silverstone. Ted Edwards did not have his Silverstone ready so he was out on the Weslake once more. Conditions were good but still windy as yesterday with 20 to 25 mph gusts. Both John and Mervyn completed two laps, John's times were 25:09.33 (89.99) and 25:09.95 (89.96). Mervyn's times were 26:28.58 (85.50) and 26:22.61 (85.83), with the experimental engine still holding out although it is not as quick as his usual engines.

Today's Practice (Thursday) is the afternoon session, so if the weather holds out we may see some quick times today.

Wednesday's top classics

Senior 500cc
Nick Jefferies (Norton) 22:16.05 (101.66)
Denis Gallagher (Honda) 22:47.84 (99.30)
Allan Brew (Seeley) 22:50.54 (99.11)

Junior 350cc
Jason Griffiths (Honda) 22:43.55 (99.61)
Bill Swallow (Aermacchi) 22:50.53 (99.11)
Chris McGahan (Honda) 23:06.17 (97.99)

Lightweight 250cc
Roy Richardson (Suzuki) 23:24.11 (96.74)
Ewan Hamilton (Suzuki) 24:07.04 (93.87)
David Smith (Yamaha) 24:49.04 (91.22)

Wednesday 20th August AM Practice (un-timed)

This morning's practice session only saw one Greeves rider out, this was Marek Wiecowski on George Ridgeon's Oulton. This time out he got away without any problems and completed one lap although suffering from detonation problems. George said they are now swapping the engine into the other frame to try this evening, and also trying to cure the detonation.

Hopefully we should see Ted Edwards out tonight, along with Marek, and Mervyn is scheduled to be out tonight for another two laps on the 'experimental' engine.

Tuesday 19th August PM Practice

Today's evening practice was held in sunny conditions although it was again windy on the mountain with gusts up to 25mph in places. Three Greeves were on the Glencructhery road for the start of practice. First away was Mervyn Stratford, tonight trying a different 'experimental' engine. John Loder was out on his Oulton for the first time tonight, after finally getting an engine together. He completed two laps with the fastest being 24:57.7 (90.69 mph). Merv also completed two laps trouble free with the fastest being 26:19.0 (86.02 mph).

Marek Wieckowski was also due to be out on the Ridgeon Greeves, but scrutineers pulled him off the line with seconds to go after oil was spotted dripping heavily from the gearbox. Ted Edwards got hold of his second crank today, so hopefully we should see him out in Wednesdays sessions. Still no sign of Ian Rycroft's 380cc machine, although it was reported to be at Jurby but with problems.

Tonight's top Classic Times.

Senior Classic
Alan Oversby (Craven Manx) 21:42.4 (104.29mph)
Bill Swallow (Linton Aermacchi) 22:12.6 (101.93)
Wattie Brown (Petty Manx) 22:55.7 (98.73)

Junior Classic
Jason Griffiths (Turner Honda) 22:39.4 (99.92)
Chris McGahan (Hales Honda) 22:53.4 (98.90)
Terry McGinty (TAB Honda) 24:09.5 (93.71)

Lightweight Classic
David Smith (Yamaha) 24:37.5 (91.93)
Decca Kelly (Suzuki) 24:39.7 (91.79)
Roy Richardson (Bullock Suzuki) 25:27.7 (88.91)

Monday 18th August PM Practice

The evening session got underway with dry conditions, but with wind in places particularly on the mountain mile and the 32nd milestone through to windy corner. Mervyn was the only Greeves out in tonight's session. He got another two laps in to complete his five for race qualification. Merv's two laps were 26:30.13 (85.42 mph) and 26:10.26 (86.50 mph) respectively. Both John and Ted were out tonight on their Weslakes and Ian Rycroft completed two laps his 250cc Yamaha. Former Greeves man Arthur Browning also had two laps on the 500cc Jawa just outside of the qualifying time.

Hopefully some more Greeves will be out Tuesday Evening so more news then and possibly some photos !

Top Three in each of the Classics tonight.

SENIOR 500cc
Alan Oversby (Craven Manx) 21:56.74 (103.15 mph)
Bob Price (Honda) 22:49.99 (99.15)
Wattie Brown (Petty Manx) 23:11.16 (97.64)

JUNIOR 350cc
Jason Griffiths (Honda) 22:48.54 (99.25 mph)
Doug Snow (Ducati) 24:10.34 (93.65)
Derek Whalley (AJS) 24:19.10 (93.09)

LIGHTWEIGHT 250cc
Ewan Hamilton (Suzuki) 23:58.78 (94.40 mph)
Barry Wood (Suzuki) 24:17.28 (93.21)
David Smith (Yamaha) 24:46.70 (91.36)

Monday 18th August AM Practice (un-timed)

Monday's Morning session began with overcast but dry conditions, although with damp roads and wet under the trees. Only two Greeves out this morning. Marek Wieckowski had his first outing on George Ridgeon's Oulton, and completed one lap. Mervyn was also out for one lap this morning on his RBS, with an unofficial time of 30:10.72.

We still await the appearances of John Loder, Ted Edwards and Ian Rycroft on their respective Greeves machinery. John has been busy assembling an engine and new front brake for his machine. While Ted has had problems with his Silverstone before even firing up, with the crankshaft shearing in half. Ted is hoping to get a second crank on Tuesday, to get the bike up and running.

First Practice Session Saturday 16th August (Evening)

The first practice session of the 2003 Manx Grand Prix was delayed by 30 minutes due to a parked car on the course at Bishopscourt. Once the car had been cleared practice got underway in excellent conditions although there was warnings of melted tar at Quarter Bridge, shown with yellow flags. Mervyn Stratford was the only one of the Greeves contingent out tonight on a Greeves. He had two trouble free laps with times of 27:20.65 (82.79 mph) and 26:49.00 (84.42 mph) respectively. However there was a lot of oil at various points around the course particularly at Ballacraine and Ballaspur and flags at various points due to fallen riders (almost walking pace at May Hill) and machines broken down in awkward places.

Although not out on a Greeves, former works Greeves moto-cross rider, Arthur Browning was out in the Senior Classic on a 498 Jawa and did a lap in 27:44.93 (81.58 mph) George Ridgeon's rider Marek Wieckowski is scheduled to be out in Monday mornings practice for his Greeves debut, and we also await the appearances of the other Greeves riders John Loder, Ted Edwards and Ian Rycroft, although they have all been out on their other machines.

Top 3 times in each of the classic classes

SENIOR 500cc
Alan Oversby (Craven Manx) 22:20.77 (101.31 mph)
Allan Brew (Seeley) 23:12.71 (97.53)
Barry Wood (Honda) 23:34.88 (96.00)

JUNIOR 350cc
Bill Swallow (Aermacchi) 23:48.43 (95.09 mph)
Tim Johnson (Norton) 24:02.06 (94.19)
John Goodall (AJS) 24:24.13 (92.77)

LIGHTWEIGHT 250cc
Ewan Hamilton (Suzuki) 24:13.30 (93.46 mph)
David Smith (Yamaha) 24:14.26 (93.40)
Stephen Smith (Suzuki) 24:37.71 (91.92)

Manx Grand Prix Preview

The 2003 Manx Grand Prix will have a good Greeves line up. The Lightweight Classic class will see the usual duo of Ted Edwards and Mervyn Stratford on their Silverstones. Last years race saw Ted retire on lap one at the 33rd milestone, but Merv went on to finish in a 'Manx' career best of eleventh, and also be the first British bike and single home. Ted will be hoping for better luck this year and Merv will be hoping to improve on last years performance. Both of them will be aiming for a hard to come by replica and the honour of being the first single or British machine home in a race dominated by Suzuki twins.

The Junior Classic will have regular top ten man John Loder out on his Oulton, and George Ridgeon's Oultons will be ridden by Marek Wieckowski from London. Marek is currently third in the BMCRC MZ championship. John has a bit of a hurdle to jump this year due to the new maximum fuel tank capacity ruling of 24 litres. This will mean he will have to take in a scheduled pit stop during the four lap race, which will almost certainly knock him down the finishing order. John will be hoping to improve on last years result however, after retiring at Sulby Bridge with clutch problems and a broken exhaust. Team Ridgeon will also be hoping for better luck this year. Last years effort saw many changes of rider, but none of them managed to qualify for the race.

This year a Greeves will also be featuring in the Senior Classic race in the hands of Ian Rycroft. This will be the first Greeves to compete in a Senior race since Chas Mortimer in the 1968 Senior, which is the only time a Greeves has done so.

We hope to bring you 'LIVE' updates once again this year, so keep a check here at www.greeves-racing.co.uk for the latest !!

RS