27/9/11

The Final round of the 2011 VMCC-BHR season took place at Cadwell Park this weekend. With an entry of four Rudges only two made it to the grid, those of Merv on his 250s & Mike Farrall on his 1930 & 1933 500s. Miki Sprosen pulled a crankcase stud out on his 250cc 2 Valve machine & Dave Mead on the Ex Paul White machine never completed practice.

Merv was out first in the 250cc race & took a convincing win from Greeves mounted Tony Webb & Rod Graham (Ducati). Mike was next out in the Unlimited to 1948 race and also taking another win for the Rudge team over Sam Rhodes (360cc Velocette). They were both in action in the unlimited to 1934 race & provided a good battle for the lead with Mike eventually taking the win from Merv by 0.72 seconds, with Sam Rhodes taking third place.

Merv's next 250cc outing saw a tighter race as the traffic from the concurrently run 350cc & Unlimited classes came in to play. Merv looked to have this one in the bag until the last lap when Webby managed to make best use of the traffic & nip through for the win. Mike took second place in his second up to '48 outing with the win this time going to Ian Cramp on the 500cc Velocette.

Saturday's final unlimited to 1934 race provided an excellent three way battle for the lead between Merv, Mike & Sam Rhodes with each of them taking there turn at the front. The final result saw them covered by 1 second with Sam Rhodes (360cc Velocette) taking a well deserved win from Mike in second & Merv in third.

Sunday's action saw a repeat programme, so Merv was again out first in the 250cc race. This provided some unwanted excitement on the first lap, as the right hand exhaust broke off near the silencer going into Park corner & lifted the rear wheel off the ground. Merv thought he was off! but couldn't understand why. Fortunately he got away with it & carried on without the rear section of exhaust to take the win from Charles Davies (Ducati). Tony Webb looked set for second place, but the Greeves' gearbox let go on the final lap & Webby pushed over the line for third. The second 250cc Race later in the day saw Merv take another win, this time with Webby getting his second place after changing the gearbox.

Mike took a second and a third in the day's unlimited to 1948 races with Ian Cramp taking both wins. The unlimited to 1934 races saw both the Team Rudge members in action once more, with Merv having to use the No 2 machine for the first race following the exhaust pipe incident in 250cc race. The races again provided some good battles, the first race going the way of Cramp with Mike in second, Rhodes third & Merv fourth. The second race & the final race of the day for the Rudge men again saw Cramp take the win from Mike, but this time Merv edged out Rhodes for third place.

Roy

6/9/11

Mallory Park hosted the penultimate rounds of the 2011 VMCC-BHR season on Sunday. The day started off with a very wet practice session & the Rudge representation was again as Lydden with Merv & the Team Wildcard due of Miki Sprosen & Chris Wickett. Unfortunately Chris' day on the Rudge got no further than practice as the big end went. By the time Merv's first race came about the rain had stopped and the track was drying slowly, but still damp all round. This was the 250cc race which was being run concurrently with the pre '49 unlimited. Merv got away at the front pulling out a seven second gap from the second place battle of Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield) & Rod Graham (Ducati). Early second place man Tony Webb went out on lap 3 when his Greeves seized on the exit of Gerard's. Merv took the win from Henshaw & Graham.

Next up was the unlimited to 1934 race and with the return of Ian Cramp (Velocette) this was going to be Merv's main opposition, however Crampy never made the start following his retirement in the opening pre '49 race. Merv took an early lead from the flag, and looked to have this one in the bag only to coast round Devil's Elbow at the end of lap one with a dead engine. Merv pulled off to retire & let the race lead go to Roger Moss (Scott), who went on to take the win. The Rudge honour was left to Miki to uphold on his 250cc 2 Valve machine, only for him to crash out at Edwina's on lap five due to over cooking it whilst in a battle for second place.  Later investigation on the Stratford-Rudge found the cause of the problem to be a whiskered plug, which in turn killed the magneto!

With the number 1 machine out of action Merv turned to the the number 2 bike for the second brace of races. In the 250cc race he again got off to a flying start and took the lead on lap one, only to go straight on at Edwina's chicane with lack of brakes!, closely followed by Rod Graham on his Ducati. This let Tony Webb into the lead on his  Greeves, which had an engine change over the lunch break. Merv did eventually manage to pull back in to the lead, but was clearly struggling with braking & after a hectic moment at the hairpin, Webby re-took the lead & hung on to the flag for the win from Merv, with Rod Graham in third.

The final unlimited to '34 race saw Merv take the win from Roger Moss (Scott), although still struggling with the lack of braking power on the No 2 machine.

Next meeting is Cadwell Park for the final championship rounds over 24th/25th September.

Roy

3/8/11

The 2011 VMCC-BHR season moved on to Lydden in Kent for a scorching weekend's racing over 30th/31st July. Rudge entries were only present with 250cc machines of Merv & team Wildcard duo of Miki Sprosen & Chris Wickett.  The weekend did not get off to a great start as barely half a lap of practice had been completed when the Red flags came out, wit Ian Cramp coming to grief on his Greeves after the front wheel came out! He was taken off to hospital with a leg injury, which put him out of the weekends action.  Merv's first race was in the Unlimited to 1934, with Cramp out of action from his practice spill he cruised to an easy victory over Richard Moss (640cc Scott). Miki took third & Chris fourth.  The 250cc race was straight up next giving us consecutive races to contend with all weekend as we have had at at every BHR meeting this season!! Only one good thing the "pitstop" is now well practiced! This race saw another victory for the Stratford-Rudge, with the runner up spot going to Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield).

Sundays second round of races saw repeat victories for Merv in both the up to 1934 & 250cc races. Miki & Chris repeated their results too with third & fourth respectively. They both went two places better in the afternoons Stan Summers handicap race, with Miki taking the win by 0.87 seconds from Chris in a brilliant Rudge 1-2. Incidentally Chris went one better in the Sidecar handicap by taking the win on his Triumph outfit.

Sunday's programme followed the same format, although racing did not get away until after lunch because of the local council restrictions. Merv swapped the rear wheel over from the No 2 machine in the morning preparations as Saturdays hot conditions had finished off the rear Avon. He carried on where he left off in the opening unlimited to 1934 event with another victory over Richard Moss, with Chris this time picking up third Position. The 250cc race was again a Stratford-Rudge benefit as was the second of the unlimited to 1934 races, but this time with Roger Moss taking the ride on the Scott & second place. Miki took third this time & Chris was unfortunately forced out with mechanical problems.

Merv seemed to have the final 250cc race sewn up with a commanding lead, only for him to go out on the penultimate lap with a broken rear wheel spindle. However with the weekend's points haul there was enough on the table for him to seal his 20th 250cc title & 8th Unlimited to 1934 title.

Monday morning was spent as usual cleaning down the race machines & draining the oil, but brass swarf & hardened steel shards from the oil tank of the No 1 machine required further investigation! On stripping the engine it was reveal one of the main bearing shoulders had been knocked off, thankfully without causing any major damage to the rest of the engine but still work to do before the next meeting at Mallory Park on 4th September.

Roy

2/8/11

The weekend of the 8-10 July saw Merv take in the Classic grand prix with the Stratford-Rudge at Schleiz in Germany for the first time. Qualifying took place on the Friday, with Merv taking out the no 2 machine for his first taste of the track in wet conditions. At the end of the days qualifying he finished in 5th place for Saturday's races.  Mike Farrall was also present with his brace of Rudges, Andreas Ulm lined up with his newly acquired ex-Terry Williams Cotton-Python & Reinder Van Doodewaard was aboard his 250 2 Valve machine with Bronze head.  The first of the races saw the win going to Thomas Fritsch from Austria aboard his Norton, with Mike Farrall taking 2nd place for the Rudge team, with Merv in 4th.  The second race saw a repeat 1-2 but this time Merv also stepped up to the podium taking 3rd place.

Roy

28/6/11

The 2011 VMCC-BHR season continued at Cadwell Park this weekend in perfect weather conditions. There was a good showing of Rudges for the club's first visit to the Lincolnshire circuit this season. Merv was out in the 250cc & Pre '34 classes on his 250. Ian Whitehead was there on the Saturday with his 250cc 2 Valver, also on a 2 Valver was Chris Wickett, & Alex Ruemmel was over from Switzerland on his 1934 Special. After practice in damp conditions from the overnight rain, the first race on track was the up to 1948 Unlimited in which Alex should have had his first outing. Unfortunately due to an intermittent loud speaker in the paddock he missed the call & the race so had to wait for the unlimited to 1934 for his first taste of action. Merv & Ian were out next in the 250cc race, Merv took to the front from the flag with Tony Webb (Greeves) in tow in second. The positions remained to the flag with Rob Charles (NSU) taking third and Ian taking 8th on his '37 2 Valve machine. Immediately after was the up to 1934 unlimited race, so Merv had to do a "splash & dash" to get to the grid for this one.  Ian Bain was making a return to action on his 500cc Norton CS1 and he took to the front with Ian Cramp (500cc Velocette) giving chase in second & Merv third. After a bit of chopping & changing on lap one they remained in this order at the chequered flag. Alex Ruemmel took his 1934 Special to 5th after a battle with Alan Lewis (Norton CS1). Chris Wickett missed this one due to some magneto trouble.

Alex made it to the grid for the second of the up to '48 events & took a 6th place finish, with the win going to Bain. Merv & Ian were again in action in the second of the 250cc races with Merv taking another start to finish victory. Tony Webb looked to be on course for another 2nd place but retired with a cooked plug letting Rod Graham (Ducati) take the runner up spot with Ian taking 7th place this time out. During the "Splash & dash" for the up to '34 race we noticed the timing side of the Stratford-Rudge was covered in oil, so a rush was made to get the No 2 machine, just making the grid!. This resulted in a repeat result for Merv with another 3rd place finish. Chris Wickett got his 250 out this time & took it to a credible 5th place. Alex had to sit this one out due to a leak in the petrol tank, which he later fixed in readiness for Sunday's action.  Later investigation on Merv's oiling problem revealed that the timing cover gasket had blown out, so some evening work to fix that for Sunday too.

Alex was out first in the up to '48 Unlimited on the Sunday morning, after a slow start where he left the grid in second gear he was rapidly pulling in Alan & Simon Lewis (Both Triumph mounted) when the big end decided to let go at the start of the second lap, putting him out of action for the rest of the weekend. Merv was out next in the 250s and was the only Rudge out this time as Ian had only entered for the Saturday. Merv again took to the front from the start & was holding a comfortable lead over Tony Webb when he had to pull out at the end of lap 3 due to being stuck in top gear. On returning to the paddock it was clear what the problem was, as one of the pivot pins from the pedal mechanism had come out. However it was unlikely he would have finished the race, as oil was all over the bike & a considerable amount on the back tyre, with this time the inner timing cover coming loose! Webby Was left clear to take the 250 victory from Rod Graham & Rob Charles.  The No 2 bike was used for the up to '34 race & took a second place behind Bain. Cramp was missing from the proceedings with Valve seat problems on the Velocette KTT. Chris Wickett brought his 250 home in fifth place.

Work over the lunch break saw the timing cover problem fixed for the afternoon's action & extra oil soaking felt being added to the offending area as an added precaution!  During the lunch break we were visited by Nick Sharp & his newly acquired ex Barry Blythe 1936 Special racer. Nick hopes to be bringing this machine back into competitive action in the near future & we look forward to seeing another Rudge on the grid.

With the oiling issues fixed Merv took another start to finish victory in the final 250 outing of weekend, followed by Webb in second on the Greeves & Rod Graham third. The following up to '34 race saw another second behind Bain, with Chris taking a fourth place finish.

Merv's next outing will be at Schleiz in Germany on 9th July where he will be joined by fellow Rudge racers Mike Farrall, Andreas Ulm & Reinder Van Doodewaard. Next VMCC-BHR meeting is a Lydden 0n 30th/31st July

Roy

17/6/11

The last two weekends have seen a 'double dose' of Scottish race action with the CRMC meeting at Knockhill on the 4/5th June & the 'Bob Mac' at East Fortune on the 11/12th. Merv had his Greeves Silverstone in action at Knockhill for the first time since the same meeting last year and dually took it to four second places behind John Hynes (Ducati) on a dry but very chilly weekend. Stark contrast to the Friday which was heat wave temperatures! The following weekend saw Rudge race action at East Fortune for the SCRMC's annual Bob Mac memorial meeting. This year we managed to persuade Mike Farrall to come up and join us so we could have Rudges hassling the more modern machinery in the 500c class too!

We awoke Saturday to a dry morning, but the rain quickly came in before practice and never stopped till the evening! We managed to get practice & qualifying out of the way & then unfortunately the rest of the days action had to be abandoned because of the sheer amount of standing water on the circuit.  The day was then spent with everyone hibernating in the vans, caravans & awnings etc!  Mike was already 'hooked' even though he was yet to have raced, proclaiming "I'll be back next year even if it is raining" !

Sunday promised to be a better day & indeed it was, even if a little overcast at times. The programme had been modified slightly, so no Sunday practice & straight into racing with two rounds of races before lunch for the Saturday trophies & two after lunch for the Sunday awards. Mike had his taste of action first & dually set about embarrassing G50's, Manxes & Honda twins! with his 1933 'D' Type engined racer. Merv's race in the 250's followed & he had a good battle with Philip Shaw (Suzuki T20) & Barry Davidson (Honda K4) for 4th place at the flag in a tricky race as he had lost the clutch on lap two!. After the race we found the cause to be the clutch arm pivot (original Rudge!) had sheared causing the operating arm to disappear up the track somewhere! Luckily we had some spares in the box to fix it for race 2!

Mike continued his fine form in his second race as he got more used to the track moving his way further up the field.  Merv's second race produced a similar battle as race one until he shook of Davison for another fourth place finish. The win going to last weekends victor John Hynes from Thomas Moore (Kawasaki). On returning to the paddock Merv was missing!  He then re-appeared 10 minutes later in the back of the recovery van, he had lost all gears as he crossed the line at the flag!!  We started work immediately looking at the pear drop mechanism, that did not work so we decided a gearbox change was the only option. So we started stripping everything off in preparation, only when I removed the rear chain we realised the cause of the problem. The gearbox sprocket had come off!! We set about  putting that right, then reassembling all the bits we had stripped off the bike & finally finished about five minutes before the call for the next race!

Mike was again enjoying himself in the first of 'Sunday's' races & looked to pick up a 5th place finish. Merv again took another brace of 4th places in his two 'Sunday' races. At the end of meeting awards presentation Mike picked up 4th overall in the 500cc for the 'Sunday' races with Merv taking 4th for Saturday & 3rd for Sunday in the 250cc. Even though we only got one day's race action it was still the most enjoyable meeting so far this year!

After the meeting Merv decided too strip the engine because of Saturday's huge amount of water. Good job he did as the magneto armature was bent & the shoulder had broken off of the timing side main bearing, causing a bit of shrapnel in the engine. So probably would not have lasted another race anyhow!  Some work to do for the next meeting in a fortnight which is the third round of the VMCC-BHR championships at Cadwell Park 25th/26th June.

Roy

23/5/11

The second round of the 2011 VMCC-BHR season took place at Pembrey in Wales. Saturday started off in dry but overcast conditions with Merv's first outing in the opening 250cc race. This being race 1 on the programme, and being run concurrently with the 250cc Specials & 350cc specials classes. The 250s were on the back row of the grid, so there was a bit of traffic to get through, however at the end of lap one Merv was comfortably in front of his 250cc class rivals and 4th overall battling with Ian Cramp (Cramp Greeves Special) from the 250cc specials class. By Half distance both Merv & Cramp were ahead on the road in front of the 350cc specials class.  The race turned out to be a good dice between the two with Cramp having the speed advantage, only for Merv to outdo him on the brakes every lap at the hairpin. The final lap saw cramp have the advantage going into the final corner, only for Merv to take the win at the line by 0.07 seconds.

Next up was the Unlimited to 1934 race. Three Rudges were entered, Merv, Mike Farrall on his 1933 'D' Type engined racer, and Miki Sprosen on his 250cc 2 valve machine. Mike had earlier taken a second place in the Unlimited to 1948 race behind Ian Cramp (500cc Velocette). Again it was cramp in this one who would provide the main rival to the Rudge team. Mike took to the front from the off with Cramp chasing in second & Merv third. By Lap 4 however Cramp had taken the advantage & unfortunately lap 6 saw Mike out with mechanicals. Cramp took the win with the 250 Rudge duo of Merv & Miki in 2nd & 3rd.

By the second half of the programme the weather had closed in so the next 250 race was held in damp conditions, this did not deter Merv though as by the end of lap two he was at the head of the 3 class field & went on to take the win. second 250 home was Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield).

The second of the Unlimited to '34 races was held in yet wetter still conditions, but this only served as a leveller giving Merv a chance to close in Cramps speed advantage with the 500cc Velocette. Mike had already started on his journey home to repair his broken machines for the next meeting & Miki was a non starter, so it left Merv to uphold the Rudge honour anyhow. Merv had the advantage on lap one only for Cramp to use the speed to take the lead on lap two. The pair were neck & neck for the next few laps until Merv managed to take the lead again on lap 7 & hold out for the Win by 0.3 seconds.

Sunday's action was dry but in blustery conditions & this cut the speed a bit on the back straight. Merv took another trouble free two wins in the 250cc class, the second race of which saw another good battle with cramp who was running in the concurrent 250 specials class, this time Cramp just edged out Merv for the overall race win. Cramp took the two wins in the Unlimited to 1934 class with Merv taking two seconds.

Roy

27/4/11

The 2011 VMCC-BHR season got under way on Easter Monday at a very sunny Mallory Park. The circuit was re-surfaced over the closed season, and appeared to cause a few problems at the CRMC meeting a few weeks back with numerous crashes. However no such problems appeared at the VMCC season opener, in which four Rudge riders were in attendance. Merv with his 250 4 Valvers, Miki Sprosen & Chris Wickett on their 250 2 Valvers, & the welcome return of Mike Farrall on his 1933 'D' Type powered machine.

Merv's 2 rides in the 250cc & Pre '34 classes were in back to back races yet again, which provided us with the unwanted hectic 'pitstop' between races! However he was out first in the 250cc race & starting from the front row took the lead from the lights & was never headed to the chequered flag to take the win by some 16 seconds from Ian Henshaw (Royal Enfield) & Rod Graham (Ducati). Tony Webb (Greeves) looked to have second place sewn up for most of the race, but he pulled out with mechanical problems near the end. The up to 1934 unlimited class was next & was being run alongside the 500cc specials, but no split start saw a lot of traffic problems for the pre '34 boys. Ian Cramp (500cc Velocette) took the lead, with Merv battling the traffic, chasing in second & Mike Farrall third. Merv & Mike swapped positions a couple of times before Mikes extra power of the 500cc motor saw him get away & proceed to chase down cramp & snatch the lead on the last lap for another Rudge win with Merv in third. Chris Wickett & Miki Sprosen took 6th & 7th place on their 250cc Rudges also.

The second 250cc race saw another start to finish victory for Merv, & setting a new 250 lap record in the process. This time Tony Webb got his second place, 10 seconds down on Merv, with Henshaw taking third. The second pre '34 race also saw a repeat result with Mike taking the win from Cramp & Merv. Miki & Chris reversed their results this time with Miki 6th & Chris 7th. Mike also took a win & a second in the pre '48 races making a tally of 5 Rudge victories from 6 starts!, so a succsesfull opening round.

Next meeting is at Pembrey in Wales on 21st & 22nd May

Roy