3/10/08

The final round of the VMCC British Historic Racing championships was at Cadwell Park last weekend on the 27th & 28th September. With a bumper entry the weekend's action took place on the full circuit both days.

This was Merv's 40th anniversary meeting, as it was this meeting at Cadwell Park in 1968 where he made his road racing debut on the same 250 Rudge he raced this weekend.

We had a busy programme as most of Merv's rides in the pre '34 and 250cc races we run back to back, so this involved us having to do a 'pit stop' at the entry of the holding area each time in order to get refuelled and back out onto the warm up lap for the next race.

Saturday's action started on time in spite of the misty start to the day and Merv got out in the first practice, however after this that was the end of the action for a couple of hours as the mist came down more and you could not see around most of the circuit!

When the meeting finally got underway later in the day and practice was over, Merv's first ride in the pre '34 was race one on the programme. This saw his best finish in this class so far this season taking a second place to Ian Cramp (500 Velocette). Mike Farrall took third on his 1930 Rudge Ulster although he was struggling with gearbox problems and unable to use second gear. Other Rudge results saw Terry Williams take 6th on his 500 Cotton-Python, Paul Balmain 8th (1930 Ulster), Alex Rummel over from Switzerland took 10th on his ex-Derek Leigh/Tim Johnson '34 Special.

After the 'pit stop' Merv was straight out in the first 250cc race. The result saw him take his first win of the weekend, with Stu Noble (Ducati) taking second and Nigel Lines (Velocette) taking third. In a good turnout of 250 Rudges Terry Williams took 10th on his 4-valver, Ian Whitehead 15th (2 Valve) and Mike Whittaker (4 Valve) 16th.

The second half of Saturday's programme had to be reduced to 3 laps to try and regain some of the time lost from the morning. The second running of the pre '34 saw Mike Farral take the win after having a play with his gearbox! Ian cramp took second this time with Merv in third. Terry Williams (Cotton-Python) took 5th and setting the fastest lap some 1.5 seconds faster than anyone else! Paul Balmain took 8th on his Ulster.

The second 250 Race saw a reverse of the first two positions as this time Stu Noble took the win with Merv in second, Tony Webb took a fine third on his Greeves Roadster and Rudge riders Ian Whitehead and Mike Whittaker took 13th and 14th respectively.

Sunday had a clearer but wet start to proceedings. The first pre '34 race was run in the very wet conditions, not helped by a fuel spillage all round the circuit which made conditions very tricky. Ian Bain (Norton) took the win from Ian Cramp with Sam Rhodes (407cc Velocette) picking up third. All the Rudge runners finished one after the other with Terry williams 6th, Merv 7th, Mike 8th and Miki Sprosen on his 250 2 valver 9th.

The following 250 race should have benefitted Merv after having 4 laps of 'practice' with the conditions in the pre '34 race. Stu Noble had already pulled out on the warm up lap not liking the track conditions. Lap one saw Merv take the lead with Tony Webb in second, however lap two with 'webby' still in tow Merv slid off at Hall bends after loosing the front end. Luckily unhurt and minor machine damage, Merv had to sit and watch the remaining 2 laps. Webby took the win by three tenths of a second from Rob Charles (NSU) and Nigel Lines third. Ian Whitehead was the leading Rudge in 13th with Mike Whittaker 16th.

By the time the second half of the programme came round, after the running of Saturday's races which were not run because of the time constraints, conditions had vastly improved.

The Pre '34 saw Merv take an easy win. Ian Cramp was absent after getting his foot caught in the starter rollers whilst starting his bike! , and Mike Farrall was awaiting recovery holding two pushrods in his hand from the previous pre '48 race! Terry Williams took second and again setting the fastest lap, this time almost three seconds faster than the winner! Paul Balmain took 6th on his 1930 Ulster and Alex Rummel took 7th this time also 1930 Ulster mounted.

The last 250cc race of the weekend and the season saw Merv take another win, this time over Classic runner Kevin Breedon on his Bultaco Ian Henshaw took third on Steve Cotrell's Royal Enfield. The Rudges of Ian Whitehead and Mike Whittaker took 14th and 15th positions.  The weekend's results should have elevated Merv one position to third in both the 250 and pre '34 championships.

Well thats it for another season, Roll on 2009!

Roy

 

8/9/08

The VMCC British Historic Racing Penultimate round and 'Tim Johnson meeting' took place at Lydden over the weekend of 30th/31st August. This was a busy weekend for us having only returned from the Manx Gp at 5 AM on the Friday morning!. A few hours sleep, unload the Van, then re-load and off to Lydden by Lunch Time! In the 'Island' Merv took a 9th place finish and replica in the Lightweight Classic MGP on his Greeves Silverstone. This in a delayed and reduced to three lap race in far from ideal conditions. Far from ideal conditions was pretty much the story of the whole Manx fortnight with cancelled practice sessions and every race delayed and reduced!.

The first day of the Lydden meeting came with a fairly sunny and warm day. Merv's first race was in in the pre '34 and he was using this to get 'dialled in' again to short circuit racing. This race saw a battle at the front between Ian Cramp (500 Velocette) and Ian Bain (500 Norton), the win went to Cramp from Bain, with Mike Farrall taking third on his 1930 Rudge Ulster and Merv in 4th. Miki Sprosen brought his 2-valver home in 6th place.

The first of the 250 races saw Merv start from the front row of the grid and take the lead on lap 1. This he held to the flag with Stu Noble (Ducati) taking second and Richard Bartlett on his Classic eligible Greeves take 3rd. However when the results were posted Merv was demoted to third, having allegedly started on the wrong grid position. Taking this to the Clerk of the course, he looked at the grid at lunchtime and agreed it was difficult to see and find the positions, but to no avail the 'official' result stood. Needless to say many riders received penalties over the weekend for wrong grid positions!

The second of Saturday's 250 Races saw the win go to Richard Bartlett, now getting used to the bike. Noble Took second with Merv third. Miki Sprosen took eleventh on his Rudge as he did in the first outing.

The second running of the Pre '34 had the first two positions swapped with Bain taking the win from Cramp, Farrall and Stratford.

Saturday Nights Entertainment was provided with a Bar-b-q by Steelcraft (Andy Hunt & Stu Noble), Beer by Trevor Johnson and Music in the form of a 'British Historic Racing' song from 'Team Wildcard' (Miki Sprosen and Phil Betty). Thanks to all !!

Sundays weather report didn't look to good with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast! Luckily though apart from a small shower we escaped it, whilst the rest of the country didn't.

The first Pre' 34 race went to Mike Farrall on his Ulster with Cramp in second, Ian Bain having retired with mechanical problems. Merv took 4th and Miki 7th.

The 250's saw Richard Bartlett at the front again, with Merv and Stu battling for second, however 2 laps from the end Bartlett pulled out with trouble, the lead to Noble. Then less than a lap later Merv also pulled out. The win went to Noble from Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield), with Miki Sprosen taking his Rudge to 5th place. On investigation of the stoppage we found the culprit to be an exploded spark plug! The plug had actually split in halve on the steel section below the hexagon and blown all the ceramic and electrode out!

With the No 1 bike now sidelined due to the plug mishap, the No 2 bike was wheeled out for the second round of races. The Pre '34 race had another win for Ian Cramp, from Farrall, Bain and Stratford with Sprosen 6th.

Sunday's last 250 race went to Richard Bartlett, from Stu Noble and Merv.

A week later we were out again at Snetterton with CRMC where Merv was riding his Greeves again, Practically as it finished the Manx apart from a clean and a sprocket change! This was another mixed weather weekend and not unlike the Manx!, with delays and shortened races. However a fairly succsessful weekend was had with Merv taking a brace of second and third places.

Next outing with the Rudges will be at the British historic racing final round at Cadwell Park on 27th/28th September

Roy

 

24/6/08

The VMCC's second visit to Mallory Park this year proved better than the first. With no chance of snow this time and no oil spills the meeting got underway in sunny but windy conditions. We managed to get the 'No 1' bike repaired in a busy week following last weekends prang. Having stripped the bike down we decided to get on and repair it rather than take the the best bits and put in the 'No 2' machine as first decided. After straightening the forks, straightening an re-brazing the frame, taking the front wheel to the wheel-builder (thanks to Dick Waldren for an ultra-fast turnaround !) plus many other repairs and parts to remake, we eventually finished it at 10:30 Saturday evening in time for Sunday's meeting.

It took a couple of practice sessions and the first pre' 34 race to get the bike almost set up right again. Merv took third place in that first pre '34 race behind Ian Bain (500 Norton) who took an easy win from Ian Cramp (500 Velocette). Paul Balmain completed the 'Rudge results' taking 5th on his 1930 Ulster. The first of the 250 races saw Merv have a front row start, but Stu Noble (Ducati) got off the line best and into the lead with Merv second. The two went round together for the six laps never further than .8 of a second apart. At the the flag Stu took the win by .4 of a second from Merv. A satisfying result after a week of hard work! Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield) took third.

The second of the Pre '34 saw a repeat win for Bain, but this time with Paul Dobbs (640 Scott) in second. Merv again took third place and will also pick up the Tyrell Smith Rudge trophy for best Rudge performance. Paul Balmain brought his 1930 Ulster home in 4th. This was probably the smallest Rudge turnout for some time with only Merv and Paul present. Mike Farrell was entered but didn't show, as was Keith Prime's Special, although Keith was in action in his Berkley 3 wheeler.

The second of the 250 races saw another win for Stu Noble. Merv had a bad start from the back row of the grid and then suffered clutch trouble, as the retaining nut came loose, the clutch pushrod then pushed the clutch off the taper slightly, so no clutch! and a retirement on lap 3.

A pretty good day though with a few more tweaks to do on the bike to get it back to last weeks pre-crash condition. No more race action for us now until the Manx Gp, and then hopefully a full programme at the end of the year, starting with Lydden immediately after the Manx.

Roy

 

17/6/08

The annual SCRMC Bob McIntyre memorial meeting took place over 14th/15th June at East Fortune, near Edinburgh. The weekend's forecast rain turned into sunny spells and showers for the Saturday and a rather sunny but breezy Sunday. The meeting boasted a full entry as usual. The 250 class saw action for the Merv taking the Rudges for their second visit to Scotland. Saturdays programme saw two races for each class, and on both occasions the rain started to come down at the start of the 250 races! This caught a few riders out in race one, early leader Thomas Moore (Kawasaki) crashed out on lap 3. The race win went to John Davidson (Yamaha TD1c) from Philip Shaw (Suzuki T20). Merv finished down in 7th place after a steady ride in the slippery conditions. The second race saw a repeat win for Davidson, but this time VMCC regular Stu Noble managed to take second away from the Suzukis with a rather hairy looking move on the last lap. This time Merv brought the Rudge home in 8th Place.

Sunday saw the improvement in the weather and also a few more riders turn out including usual Bob Mac front runners Ewan Hamilton and Johnathon cutts (Both T20 Suzuki). Sunday's first race saw a runaway win for Cutts, with Davidson second and Hamilton third. Merv again had another 8th Place after a 5 way battle for the top 4 spot. Sundays second 250 race proved the most eventful for Merv. A good start saw him in 4th at the end of lap one, and then drop back a place after a battle with Stu Noble. He eventually got the better of Stu and then set off after third place man, Suzuki mounted Colin Cairns-Ford. Cairns-ford missed a gear in the Hannah's chicane whilst Merv was right behind him, so avoiding action was needed with Merv running across the concrete and a few cones! Next lap saw another near miss for Merv at the chicane whilst chasing down 2nd. A back marker inadvertently came across the front of Merv and had to pick it up and also run across the concrete. The last lap saw Merv closing in on second place man Shaw, however taking Pates corner after the start/finish straight a bit too quick, Merv ran off the edge of the circuit onto the concrete along side the railway straight, whilst still flat out he tried to get it back on to the track. However after getting up the big step back on to the tarmac the Rudge got into a big 'Tank slapper' and threw him off at about 80 mph. Fortunately Merv was ok apart from a few cuts and bruises, and a twisted ankle. However the bike faired less well after 'cart wheeling' down the track, taking out the forks and links, front wheel, rev counter plus damage to many other parts. Further investigation after stripping down has shown the frame is twisted and broken. So a major rebuild is in order! We are out again next weekend at Mallory park, so we are taking the engine and gearbox from the 'wreckage' and putting them in the spare bike to try and make the best of the two!

Roy

28/4/08

The 2008 British Historic Racing season finally got underway at Donington Park yesterday, in the VMCC's first visit there for many years. The first round at Mallory Park on Easter Sunday looked to be a no-go because of heavy snow. However it finally got underway only to be abandoned after a huge oil spillage in practice couldn't be cleared. Indecently we never made it to the meeting because of the heavy snow in the morning.

Anyway on to the Donington meeting, this escaped the rain which had been promised all week, apart from the last couple of races. Merv was entered for two classes the usual 250cc ride and a return to the unlimited pre '34 class, which this year is a free entry event in order to try and boost grid sizes. The first 250cc race saw a good dice between Merv and Andy Hunt (Royal Enfield) throughout the six lap race for 2nd and 3rd places. Out in front was Nick Roberts on the faired classic eligible Ducati. On the penultimate lap Stu Noble (Ducati) came through from behind to take 2nd place in front of Andy and Merv. Also Rudge Mounted Ian Whitehead finished in 20th place on his 2 valver, although he was having carburetion problems as the main jet thread had stripped!

The second 250 Race again had some interesting battles. Stu Noble got away at the front with Merv coming through from the back of the grid to give chase. However Roberts on the Ducati came through and took the both, the fairing giving an obvious speed advantage on the fast Donington track. Merv pulled in Stu and out braked him into Goddard's for the final time only for Stu to grab back the advantage for 2nd at the line. Andy Hunt came in fourth.

The first of the Pre '34 races looked to be an interesting race with a large entry of 14 riders although all did not materialise for the grid! As predicted this race was a benefit for the larger capacity machines, with a good dice at the front between Ian Cramp (500 Velo) and Ian Bain (500 Norton). Merv spent the race trying to make up for ground lost to the larger machines at the start, and trying to chase down Pat Welch (500 Cotton). The race win went to Cramp by a whisker from Bain. Mike Farrall on his 1930 Ulster took third, Welch 4th and Stratford 5th. Other Rudge interest in this race fizzled out with I believe Miki Sprosen on his 250 2 valver pulling out just after the start, and Paul Balmain on his 1930 Ulster pulling out at the end of lap one.

The second of the pre '34 races looked like it was to get underway in the downpour that caught the tail end of the meeting. Merv had opted to miss this one out, not fancying the wet conditions this time. However as it happens the race never got underway as a number of riders didn't fancy it either after the sighting lap, and with the time at ten to six an end was called to the meeting. Earlier delays and oil spillages yet again slowing the programme!

The next of the Historic Racing rounds sees a return to 3 Sisters next month.. However we are skipping that one and will be out next at the Bob Mac Meeting at East Fortune on the 14th & 15th June.

Roy