5/10/13

The final weekend of September & Cadwell Park played host to the final rounds of the 2013 VMCC-BHR season. For this meeting we had the biggest Rudge turn out for some time, as well as the season regulars of Merv & Tony Perkin, both Mike Farrall & Richard Lambourne made an appearance. Merv was out first in the 250cc race, and still a bit sore from crashing the Greeves the previous weekend at Snetterton. He pulled in after a steady first lap with the machine vibrating badly causing the carburettor to come loose. After tightening the carb we restarted it to see if all was well, but the vibrations were so bad we assumed perhaps maybe a main bearing had broken up. So it was decided to park the machine up for the weekend. Later in the day Merv noticed that one of the rear engine bolts was broken, thus the cause of the vibration, so with this replaced the bike was back in action.

The second 250cc race saw an easy victory for Merv in the pre '63 class with Rod Graham taking second on his Ducati.

The Pre '49 race was due to see Tony, Mike & Richard in action, but unfortunately Tony missed this one out as problems with his machine in practice meant he was busy working on it. Both Mike & Richard made it to the start but Richards race ended early with a first lap crash on the ex-Jonathan Skeets, ex- Adam Easton Rudge. Mike however made up for it with a start to finish victory on his 1933 500.

The second of the day pre '49 races again gave Mike another victory, Championship leader Tony unfortunately was yet again missing from the line up as it was discovered the cam timing had slipped on his '38 Special. He was busy in the paddock rectifying things, but missing out on valuable championship points. Richard however got the '39 Ulster to the flag this time, bringing it home in seventh position. Ending on a high Richard then decided to retire the Rudge for the weekend to prevent further damage!

Merv had only one ride in the 350cc class on the Saturday, as lack of time meant the second race was held over till the Sunday morning. Merv was unable to match the front runners pace here on the "261" with the 350cc Manx Nortons having a speed advantage, but he managed to take a 4th place in race one behind the Manxes of Molnar, Buller & Bedford to consolidate his 2nd place in the championship. The second "Saturday" race gave a repeat performance.

Moving on to Sundays races proper, Merv was again in action in the pre '63 250cc class and took a brace of victories from Rod Graham & Rob Stafford to confirm his 22nd championship victory in this class.

The Pre '49 races saw both Mike & Tony in action. Mike again took the Rudge to victory with Tony managing to take the points for two 6th place finishes & fortunately for him it was championship rival Simon Clover's turn for bad luck with two non scores to allow Tony to take victory in the Pre '49 Championship.

Merv was out again in the 350cc races and the 3rd of the weekend saw another repeat result with another 4th place. The final 350cc race & Merv's final race of the season ended in disaster on lap one, as flat out in third at Charlie's the conrod broke across the big end eye, throwing it through the front of the crankcases !!

Roy

 

29/08/13

Mallory Park was the host for the fifth VMCC-BHR meeting of the season over the bank holiday weekend. Numbers of both riders & spectators were down, probably due to the fact that the meeting clashed with the Classic TT/MGP. However this did not detract from the close racing over the weekend. Merv's first outing of the weekend was in the pre '63 250cc class, which as usual was run with the pre '72 250s, but this time also the pre '48 Unlimited, so this saw the weekend's other Rudge rider Tony Perkin in the same race. Merv was situated on the back row of the grid, but pulled through the field to 3rd overall, but first 250 by the end of lap one. Tony had the honour of leading overall for the first two laps before Merv came through along with some of the pre '72 250s. However at the flag Merv took the win & Tony took the win in the Pre '48. His first ever victory, to complete a Rudge double !! The second event later in the day saw a repeat of the Rudge Victories, although this time Tony managed 2nd overall & was able to follow Merv for a few laps to pick up some tips!

Merv was also in action in the 350cc class over the weekend on the '261'. The first race saw him take a third place behind Graham Buller & Nick Bedford, both Manx Norton mounted, but clutch slip prevented Merv from mixing it at the front. However for the second race the clutch had been adjusted, and Merv was in second place behind Buller at the end of lap one. The battle ensued for the next 6 laps with Bedford in the mix too, of what had to be the best race of the day. At the end of every lap Merv & Buller were only separated by hundredths of a second & at the flag Buller took the win from Merv by only 0.08 seconds.

Tony also had another 2 races on the Sunday in the 500cc Class in which after some spirited rides he took a 3rd & 4th place respectively.

Monday's races saw a repeat programme, so the Rudge men were both again in action in the combined 250cc/Pre 48 event. The first race saw Tony lead the overall race from Merv at the end of lap one, with Merv taking up the head on lap two keeping Tony in tow. The Rudge duo headed the field for the remaining laps to complete another Rudge double. The second outing later in the day looked to go the same way, but unfortunately Tony pulled out halfway round lap three with a broken pushrod, allowing the pre '48 honours to go to Simon Clover (Norton).

Tony's two outings in the 500cc class on Monday saw him pick up a brace of 4th place finishes amongst much more modern machinery.

In the 350cc races the action was again hot at the front, with the three way battle continuing between Merv, Buller & Bedford. The first outing saw Merv lead the first two laps, only to loose a chunk of time on lap three when he almost went into the back of Buller exiting Gerrards after being ran wide. However he pulled back the gap to take third & take the fastest lap of the race in 1m 5.06s. The final outing was again a close battle as the previous days second race, Merv led Buller for the first two laps fairly comfortably but lost the lead exiting the bus stop on lap three after bouncing across the rumble strips, however he regained the lead round the outside at Gerrards on lap four, keeping in front at the line every time until the final lap. On exiting Devil's elbow for the final time the engine went & he coasted across the line to take third! Later investigation showed that an inlet valve cap appears to have split, dropping the valve into the path of the piston!!

Next Meeting for Merv, will be the CRMC race of the year at Snetterton, 21st/22nd September where he will be Greeves mounted. The Final VMCC-BHR meeting is at Cadwell Park on 28th/29th September.

Roy

 

3/08/13

Last weekend, 27/28th July Lydden hosted the fourth VMCC-BHR meeting of the season. The Saturday got off to a delayed start, as just as the first practice session was out a huge downpour of rain came down which caused an hours delay. After the delay things dried up and practice continued. Merv's first race of the weekend was in the combined pre '63 250cc & pre '73 250cc. Merv had got to the front of the pack from his back of the grid starting position by the end of lap one & then was never headed as he took a comfortable win from the pre '73 Ducati of Nick Kennett by 5.28 seconds. 2nd place man in the Pre '63 was Rod Graham, also Ducati Mounted. The second of the Saturday 250cc races proved more exciting as Andy Hunt on his pre '72 Ducati took to the front and led for the majority of the race with Merv further back in second. The last two laps saw Merv haul in Andy to within passing distance & at the hairpin Merv went for the inside as Andy moved over to close the door but left just enough room for Merv to complete a block move up the inside & take the lead with one corner to go & complete the double. Again Rod Graham was the second of the Pre '63s.

Merv was also again in action in the 350cc on the '261'. The first race saw Graham Buller take an early lead (Manx) with Merv chasing him in second, Lap two saw Tim Jackson take the lead on his AJS 7R, with Merv chasing him in what looked was going to be a good battle. However lap 5 saw Merv pull out with a dead engine - no sparks! Jackson went on to take the win from Buller. Later investigation on the sparks issue found the spark plug had blown apart!, luckily without damaging the magneto. We replaced the plug & she fired once again. The second 350cc race saw the same runners at it again, Tim Jackson once again looked to have the win from Buller, with Merv 4th. However it transpired Tim incurred a 20 second penalty for a wrong grid position & overtaking on yellows so the win went to Buller, from Nick Bedford (Manx) with Merv taking third.

Tony Perkin was also in action on his 1938 Special, he had a bit of drama first thing as just as he was about to go out to practice the nipple came off the clutch cable - and this time Ed Byrne wasn't involved!! A quick repair saw him make practice. He scored two 7th places in the 500cc races after some good battles with a lot later machinery and making uses of the overtaking tips from Merv. He took a third place & a second in the pre '49 unlimited races behind Tim Jackson (BSA) & Simon Clover (Norton).

Sunday's races again saw Merv out first in the 250's and the first of which provided another good race, Stu Noble & Andy Hunt both took to the front on their identical Ducatis with Merv Chasing in third, by lap three Hunt was in front & Merv was up to second and that order remained until the last lap. Again at the hairpin Merv made his move on Hunt although no as spectacular as Saturday's it was enough to secure the win. The second 250 encounter saw a repeat result although Merv made his move to the front at half race distance to make a clean sweep of the 250cc races.

The 350cc races saw the same protagonists at it again, Merv scored a brace of third places with Jackson & Bulller again taking the first & second spots.

Tony again had some excellent rides, with his growing confidence evident. The 500cc races saw him take a 7th & 6th respectively, but on a faster pace than Saturday. The Pre '49 races showed him take a second place behind Tim Jackson with him still in sight at the flag & Clover back in third. Another 2nd place in the 2nd race saw him complete an excellent weekend for him & I bet he still has not got rid of that smile on his face!!

Next Meeting is at Mallory Park, Sunday/Monday 25/26th August

Roy

 

28/06/13

The annual Bob McIntyre memorial classic meeting was hosted by the SCRMC at East Fortune last weekend. This event is very much gaining in popularity with the Rudge racers & this year there were no less than 6 racing Rudges in the paddock. Merv with two 250s, Mike Farrall with his 500 Ulster & 580 D-Type, Novice Tony Perkin with his 1938 Ulster, and Dougie & Richard Lambourne with the Ex Jonathan Skeets - Ex Adam Easton 1939 Ulster. The latter machine had not run since the 1970's, and with myself, Merv, & Dougie all working on it all day Thursday it finally fired up at 9.30 pm.

Onto the racing, first to see Rudge action was the 500cc class & boasted 3 Rudges on the entry list with Mike, Tony & Richard. Richard had tried the Rudge in practice & got as far as the first corner before the carburettor blocked from the debris in the tank, so for the races he used the Petty Manx. Both Mike & Tony had good rides with 13th & 16th respectively amongst the host of more modern classic machinery. Richard however had an even better ride & produced a win on his Mum's Manx. - If Only it was a Rudge! Dougie meanwhile was busy sorting the fuelling problems on the Rudge, in the hope that both he & Richard could run it in the parades.

Merv was out next in the 250cc class & lined up on the front row of the grid in a race mainly of Japanese machinery. He had a good race and pulled off a 4th place finish behind the T20 Suzuki of Jonathan Cutts, John Davidson (Yamaha TD1c) & Phil Shaw (Suzuki T20).

Mike was out again in the unlimited class & finished up in 7th place after a good battle with Mike Kemp (Norton). The afternoons proceedings saw a repeat of the programme, and also Richard completing the parade on the Rudge.

The second 500cc race produced another good finish for Richard, this time a second place on the Manx. Mike took a 14th place, but was struggling a bit with confidence in an old tyre he had on the front. Tony meanwhile was going well until disaster stuck! The bottom of the piston disintegrating & ending his weekends racing!

Merv produced another 4th place result behind the same front three in the second 250cc race to claim the overall 4th place prize for the Saturdays action. He had another run out in the last race of the day for the team challenge race between England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales. He came home 2nd 250cc to help the English team lift the trophy, with Jamie Coward & Harley Rushton, taking the points in the 500 & 350 classes for the team.

Sunday's programme was scheduled to run three races for each class, again the 500s were to see the first Rudge action, this time with just Mike as Tony had left for the long drive home & to begin stripping his engine. Unfortunately Mike was also out of luck as the machine cut out with fuelling issues. Later investigation produced a small piece of tissue from the main jet! The second 500 race of the produced a 9th place for Mike.

In the 250cc race Merv also had some fuelling issues, as the bottom end carburetion was not clean. He did however manage to bring the Rudge home in 5th, just shy of the 3rd & 4th place men of Shaw & Thomas Moore (Kawasaki). Work on the float bowel found the float needle had worn in its seat, a clean out & lap in with some metal polish resolved the problem in preparation for race 2. Said race two which was run in pretty wet conditions saw Merv take a third place behind Davidson & Shaw to gain him 3rd overall in the days 250cc proceedings.

Mike had a good run in the Unlimited races producing an 8th place in race one. He was up to 3rd in race two when the red flags came out due to the shear amount of water on the track. The result went back a lap so he ended up 4th.

After much deliberation & downpours it was decided to curtail the afternoons third round of races, but everybody had got two in so were happy. Unfortunately the cancellation of the afternoon meant Dougie missed his shot on the Adam Easton Rudge in the parade - still there is always next year!

Next Rudge racing action is at VMCC-BHR Lydden 27th-28th July - See you there!!

Roy

 

8/06/13

The weekend of 1-2 June hosted the 3rd meeting of the VMCC-BHR season at Three Sisters. The weather for the weekend was excellent, although the entries were small due to some riders not liking the venue as it is a twisty technical circuit and possibly compounded by the fact it clashed with the TT & a Lansdowne race at Oulton Park. Never the less it produced some close racing. Merv was the only Rudge representative in attendance, with Mike Farrall at the Oulton Park meeting and new boy Tony Perkin having the lousy excuse of being the best man at a wedding!

Merv had 8 races over the weekend with the 250 & the '261'. The pre '63 250cc races, which ran alongside the pre '72 250cc & pre '49 unlimited produced 4 victories for the Stratford-Rudge over the weekend, with the runner up spots in the pre '63 going to Rod Graham on his Ducati.

In the 350cc class Merv took 4 second places with the '261' behind Graham Buller on his Norton Manx. The 350cc races produced quite a challenge to get through the field as they were run concurrently with the pre '86 BEARs series causing some difficult passing manoeuvres to get past the speedy lager machines on the corners.

Next meeting will be the Bob Mac memorial meeting at East Fortune in Scotland 22-23 June. This is always a good meeting whatever the weather & this year boasts three Rudge riders as along with Merv, both Mike & Tony will also be in action so come along and support the Rudge Team.

Roy

 

23/05/13

Last weekend saw the VMCC-BHR racing circus move to Darley Moor in Derbyshire, Saturday dawned damp & cloudy for the two Rudge men in competition. Merv's weekend did not get off to a good start as he only just made the first corner in practice on his No 1 machine, when it stopped due to lack of sparks! He was out in the first 250cc race on the No 2 machine & duly cruised to a clear win over the rest of the field. The second 250cc event later in the day brought a repeat result, with the next best of the pre '63 250's being Rod Graham (Ducati) who took the two runner up spots.  Meanwhile in the day we had looked at the magneto on the number 1 machine & found oil in the points housing, with this duly cleaned out & the brush re-faced the machine fired up & ran well. Merv took it to the line for the first 350cc race, but it yet again gave up the ghost on the warm up lap.  For the second of the 350cc events Merv took out the number 2 machine. All looked to be going well as he was challenging the leaders on lap one exiting the hairpin when the exhaust cam follower snapped!!

Tony Perkin also had a full programme of events on his '38 Special, the first of which was in the pre '63 500cc class where he was going well & improving his lap times throughout, only for the top of the float chamber to come adrift on the final circuit. He did complete the race though for a creditable 7th place. The second of these events later in the day saw Perky move up the order & score a third place in class.  He was also in action in the pre '49 unlimited class which Mike Farrall had dominated at Mallory Park. The first race saw him take a 4th place behind Keith Riley (350cc Velocette) after a race long battle. The win went to Ian Bain (Norton CS1). The second race saw Perky get the better of Riley & claim a superb 3rd behind Bain & Tim Jackson (500cc BSA).

The evening saw work for both of the Rudge men, with Tony taking the top end off his machine due to an oil leak which had been getting worse all day. Merv swapped the magneto from the No 2 bike to the No 1, to make one bike of the two for Sunday's events.

Sunday proved the better day of the two with bright sunshine. Merv's first outing was in the 250cc race, after a run out in practice to check the bike was OK. Sunday's 250 races were never going to be as easy as Saturday's with the arrival of old rival Tony Webb on his Greeves. Indeed at the end of the first lap it was Webby who had the lead with Merv right behind him. With Merv taking the lead on lap as 2 he upped his own year old lap record to 1.15.4 to maintain the gap and take the win ahead of Webby. The day's second 250 outing saw another repeat performance, although this time the pace was not quite so hot.

Merv elected to miss the first 350cc race of the day, but in the second he was battling with the leaders until settling for fourth place. However jump start penalties saw Seb Perez (AJS 7R) incur one  & Merv was promoted to third behind The Manx Nortons of Tim Jackson & Graham Buller.

Tony had another good ride in the first 500cc outing, with his oil leak now cured, he took another 7th place. The second of these events saw him miss the start after loosing the clutch arm pivot pin on the warm up lap! The two pre '49 unlimited races saw him produce a brace of 4th places for his efforts with again improving lap times as he gains more experience.

Next Meeting is at Three Sisters 1st - 2nd June

Roy

 

23/04/13

Mallory Park hosted the opening round of the 2013 VMCC-BHR season on Sunday. Three Rudge men lined for this opening round with Merv riding in the the 250cc & 350cc races, Mike Farrall running in the 500cc & Unlimited to 1948 races, & new boy Tony 'UK Champion' Perkin also in the Unlimited to 1948 & novice class on his '37 Special. Merv took out his 'No 1' machine for the first practice to run it in after its recent engine freshen, however after a few laps he was not happy with the performance, being a 1000 RPM down, so pulled in for investigation. A quick check over showed a bit of detonation on the plug. So another fitted & then out for another check but no improvements so that was put to rest for the day.

Mike was in race action first on his 1930 Ulster in the 500cc race, he had a steady ride to 5th place in a field dominated mainly by Manx Nortons. Merv was out next in the opening pre '63 250cc race which was run concurrently with the pre '73 250cc specials class. He made a good start from the back of the grid to head the field at the end of lap one, only to miss a gear as he crossed the line which allowed Richard Molnar from the concurrent specials class to get past, however by lap three Merv had dispensed with Molnar and pulled clear to take the overall win by 4.64 seconds. Tony Webb on his Greeves Roadster took the runner up spot in the pre '63.  Back in the paddock, whilst prepping the machine for the next race we found the missed gear incident caused a bent exhaust valve & bent pushrod. The pushrod was changed, but the valve would have to wait till we got home & so would have to be used 'as is' for the rest of the meeting.

Both Mike & Tony P were in action in the first of the Unlimited to '48 races. Mike went into an early lead on his '33 'D' Type engined job on lap one & was never headed throughout to take a comfortable win from Ian Bain (Norton CS1) & Ian Cramp (Velocette KTT). New boy Perkin had a good ride to take a creditable 7th place in his first race. Merv was out next in the 350cc class on the '261', this was again a split race as it ran concurrently with the 350cc specials, so the pre '63 350's were at the back of the grid. Merv again had good start though and came through the field on lap one to be third overall, lap 2 he was up to second behind class leader Andy Molnar (Manx). For the next few laps Merv was in a battle with Ian Steltner (Ducati) from the specials class, but managed to keep in front for second overall as well as second in class behind the Manx of Molnar.

Merv was out again after lunch in the 250cc race, and again was at the rear of the grid. End of lap one he was second overall behind Richard Molnar, but leading the class. Lap two saw Merv dip under the lap record to take the lead & again pull clear after once more upping the record on lap 4. Webby once again took the runner up spot on the Greeves. Mike & Tony were back in action in the up to '48 second race. Mike put on a repeat performance at the front for a copybook win, with Bain second. Cramp crashed out at Devil's elbow on lap 3 & some other retirements promoted Tony to 3rd place at the flag, an excellent result in only his second race. To finish first, first you have to finish as they say!

Merv had his final race of the day in the 350cc class and again took another second place behind Andy Molnar after another good couple of opening laps. Tony was out in the final race of the day, which was for novices & is run on a handicap and landed him with a 5th place finish.

All in all an excellent day for the Rudge Team.  4 x First Places, 2 x Second Places, 1 x 3rd, 2 x 5th, 2x 7th

Next meeting is at Darley Moor 18/19 May

RS