The VMCC-BHR season finale at Cadwell Park last weekend was blessed with glorious weather, a huge entry, and masses of spectators. Despite the large entry, we only saw the two regular Team Rudge members competing of Merv, & Tony Perkin. Tony was out first in the up to 1962 500cc class, he duly took a 7th place finish in a field mainly consisting of Manx Nortons. He was struggling with braking however, as his front brake had expanded & was now running out of true. His second race in the 500cc class later in the day gave him an 8th place result.

Merv was out next in the up to '62 250cc class, which as always runs concurrently with the up to '72 250cc Specials, so as usual this saw him with grid positions right down the field. However the end of lap one saw him comfortably in front of his pre '63 rivals and giving chase to the pre '73 pack. At the end of the 4 laps Merv took the win in the pre '63 & 4th overall behind the first three of the pre '73 specials Charles Davies (Ducati), Andy Hunt (Ducati) & Ade Armson (Cotton). Davies being the surprise of the field as no one could work out where he suddenly got his speed from as he is normally a mid-field runner. The second 250cc race saw Merv get a much better start & was with the pre '73 trio on lap one. The race produced a thrilling 4 way battle for the lead, with positions changing numerous times. At the flag Hunt took the overall victory from Merv by 0.19 seconds, with Davies 0.48 down & Armson a further second back. With Taking the pre '63 honours Merv also upped the lap record in the process.

The Pre '49 Unlimited races saw both the Rudge men in action. Merv took both the wins, whilst Tony was still struggling with his braking issues was unable to fight off Richard Moss on his 640cc Scott Super Squirrel, so had to settle for a brace of 3rd places. To try and overcome his braking disadvantage, Tony swapped the front wheel from his spare machine for the Sunday. Much to his advantage he reported better braking & more positive handling.

Sunday saw another packed programme, both Rudge men were out first in the second of Saturdays pre '49 races held over because of delays. See results above. Tony was out next in the 500cc race, and took another 7th place. Later in the day in his second 500cc outing he took 9th.

Merv was again in the 250cc races, as yesterdays first race he didn't get as good a start as he would have hoped for, and whilst leading the pre '63 class, he had to chase down the pre '73 riders to get near the front. Whilst Hunt and Davies were doing the running, Merv had a bit of a moment at the gooseneck on lap 2 taking to the grass after passing Ade Armson ! Unable to pull back the front two, he slowed the pace and settled for third overall, but convincingly taking the pre '63 victory. The second 250cc race of the day again like Saturday, produced another 4 way battle at the front. The last lap saw Hunt from Merv, with Davies tight behind in third, Armson having been in contention for the first few laps was now 3 seconds adrift. The penultimate corner, the hairpin, saw Merv go up the inside on Hunt, only for Davies to try a move on both of them virtually on the kerb, which upset the order & almost saw all three of them go down!! The run to the flag saw Hunt from Davies by 0.01 seconds, with Merv taking third & the pre '63 win by 0.66 seconds.

The pre '49 Unlimited races saw a repeat of Saturday's results, with Merv taking two wins from Moss, with Tony in third.

That completes another VMCC-BHR season, with Merv taking both the pre '63 250cc title & the pre '49 Unlimited title. Tony made it a Rudge 1-2 in the pre '49 by taking the runner up position.

RS

29/8/14

The Belgian classic TT was held at Gedinne over 23rd/24th August. Merv was competing with the Stratford-Rudges for the first time here in their Pre '48 Unlimited races. Joining him flying the Rudge flag was new REC member Pascal Vanmaekelbergh with his 1939 Ulster. For Saturday's race Merv qualified for a front row start with 4th position on the grid. The race itself saw Merv get off to a good start, but predictably was out dragged by the larger capacity machines from the line, although he used his usual out braking tactics to gain back positions at the first corners. The Vincent Grey Flash of Mike Hawthorne initially took up the running, however that prematurely grenaded itself and then Merv had to avoid the debris of Jack Bennett stepping of his Norton Inter at over 100mph ! The red flags came out due to a separate incident in the concurrently running 200cc class.

The race restart sometime later took place in wet conditions with a much reduced distance of two laps, due to time lost. However Merv made the best of the conditions to pull off a debut victory by 4.1 seconds from Marc Delaunoy (500cc BSA). Pascal Vanmaekelbergh brought his '39 Ulster home in 17th place overall.

Sunday's action was held in dry conditions and Merv used his previous days experience to promptly set pole position in qualifying. The race this time was held over the full distance & Merv took the double, winning by a more than comfortable 14.7 seconds from Jean Claude Vanmaekelbergh (500cc Norton). Pascal this time took an 8th place finish.

Next action will be at the final round of the VMCC-BHR Championships at Cadwell Park on 27/28th September, where it is hoped the Rudge team will have a good turn out.

RS

2/8/14

Darley Moor was the venue for the penultimate rounds of the VMCC-BHR championships on the 26th/27th July. The Rudge team was back to just two riders for this meeting with Merv & Tony Perkin. The first outing for both the Rudge men was the pre '49 Unlimited race. Ian Bain was in action for the first time this year on his super quick Norton CS1 & duly took the victory with Merv in second & Tony 3rd. The second outing later in the day saw Bain again at the front with Merv taking another second. This time Tony could only manage 4th place as Simon Clover (Norton) grabbed the final podium position.

In Saturday's Pre '63 250cc races Merv took a brace of victories in a now somewhat dwindling class, however as it is run for concurrently with the pre '73 250cc specials class, he had a couple of close battles with pre '73 leader Andy Hunt (Ducati) who managed to take the overall victory on both occasions.

Tony took out his dope burning machine for its first race outings in the pre '63 500cc class, and notched up a 5th & 4th place finish respectively. He was somewhat pleased as his lap times were 1.5 seconds faster than on its Petrol powered counterpart, so for Sunday he would use the methanol machine for the pre '49 class.

Sundays action again started with the Pre '49 unlimited, as previously mentioned Perky was out on his new bike in this one & it certainly moved him up the field a bit. He & Merv were having a close battle for second spot, Only for Merv to retire on the final circuit with a lack of sparks leaving Tony to claim second behind Bain (Norton). The second outing saw a similar race, Merv having changed the magneto earlier in the day. Tony crossed the line in second place, although was given a 10 second penalty for jumping the start, so Merv took second with Tony third & Bain again using his superior speed to run away with the win.

Tony used his petrol bike for the 500cc races this time & racked up a brace of 6th places. Merv had two good outings again in the pre '63 250cc class with another brace of wins. The first race produced a good battle with Andy Hunt from the Pre '73 class, but the second saw Merv all out on his own at the front of the field as Hunt was back battling with the rest of the pre '73 field instead.

The final round of the VMCC-BHR season is at Cadwell Park on 27th/28th September, where we hope the Rudge Team will be boosted with Mike Farrall, Martin Walker & David Dale. Prior to that Merv will be in action at the Belgian Classic TT at Geddine on 23rd/24th August.

8/7/14

The VMCC-BHR season moved to the popular Lydden circuit on the 5th & 6th July, for a weekend of hotly contested action. Entries were down somewhat due to the CRMC also having a meeting not too far away at Brands Hatch. However the meeting saw 4 Rudges entered for the meeting, with Merv, Tony, Reinder Van Doodewaard over from France & Dave Dale. Unfortunately Dave was unable to compete as his machine was yet to be completed, but he still turned out to spectate anyway. The first action was in the pre 1963 250cc class, with both Merv & Reinder taking part.  The Pre '63 were as usual running concurrently with the pre '73 250cc Specials & as such the pre '63 runners started from the back of the grid, which left Merv a lot of work to get to the front of the pack, at the end of lap one he was the clear leader of the pre '63 class but 4th overall, by lap 5 he had taken the lead from Andy Hunt (Ducati) & went on to seal the victory with Belgian Rik Wambaq claiming second (Benelli 2C) & Hunt third. Reinder had a good first ride, despite a leak from the oil tank & completed the race with a third place in the pre '63 class. Saturdays second 250cc outing looked to be going Merv's way too as again he had pulled through the pack to again lead on lap 5 & start to gap the following riders, however on about lap 6 Merv encountered a rear wheel puncture, so Hunt & Wambaq began closing him down again. He managed to hang on at the front until what should have been the last lap, but a missed lap count meant they did 11 instead of 10 ! However Merv completed the race despite a flat rear tyre in third overall, but still took the win in the pre '63 class, with Reinder sliding his way to another 3rd !

Tony completed a brace of rides in the pre '63 500cc class on his '38 Special with 4th & 5th places respectively behind Norton Manxes & Dominators. All of the Rudge Team were in action for the Pre '49 Unlimited races & did not disappoint with a superb Rudge 1, 2, 3. Merv & Tony lead race one from the off, whilst Reinder was in a 4 way battle for the final podium spot for the entire race, but came through on the last lap to grab third place. Race two saw another Rudge 1-2 with Tony leading lap one from Merv, positions swapped for lap two & Merv headed the Rudge pair to the flag. Reinder sat this one out, as he was getting his oil tank leak welded for day two's races.

Sunday had promised to be a sunny one, but we awoke to rain which continued for most of the day! Despite this spirits were not dampened & the racing went on. Tony had the previous evening got his new Dope fuelled racer fired up for the first time & used Sunday morning's practice session for its first shakedown. He appeared suitably pleased with things, & proceeded to list all the mods he needs to do to the bike before its first use in anger.

Sunday's 250cc action saw Merv claim another two pre '63 victories, with Reinder taking two thirds. Tony claimed a third & a fifth in the pre '63 500 races again with only Nortons in front of him. The pre '49 Unlimited races was where the Rudge men showed everyone else the way home once more. Race one saw Merv & Tony with another start to finish 1-2 & Reinder taking a 6th place, despite sliding around in the wet conditions. Race two saw Merv have to switch to the No 1  bike, as the No 2 machine which had been in use all weekend, sprung a fuel tank leak just before the off. However this race  produced another Rudge 1, 2, 3 for Merv, Tony & Reinder to complete an excellent weekends action.  Reinder really enjoyed himself  & hopes to do some more UK races, despite the commentator referring to him every time as German ! Well I suppose it is confusing having a Dutchman from France, with a German race licence competing in England !!

Next meeting is at Darley Moor 26th/27th July

Roy

18/6/14

Just A week after the Bob Mac, the VMCC-BHR season was back in action at Mallory Park on 14th/15th June. Merv was out again, this time Joined by Tony Perkin on his '37 Special who ended up biting the dust at his last outing at Three Sisters whilst battling for the lead.

The Saturday produced some good close racing, with Tony out first in the up 1962 500cc class taking a 7th place. Both the Rudge men were out next in the unlimited to 1948 class & they duly took a 1-2 with Merv taking the win & Tony in second.  Merv was also as usual in action in the 250cc to 1962 class, which is now always run concurrently with the up to 1972 class. Merv took a runaway victory in the up to '62 in both Saturday's races, but had race long battles with Andy Hunt (Ducati) for the overall race win with Andy just stealing the top spot on both occasions.

Saturdays second unlimited to '48 race gave Merv another win. Tony however was hoping to challenge this time out, but his race never even got started as a rear tyre puncture prevented him from taking to the grid.

Merv's Saturday performances gave him the scoop of the days trophies, picking up the Milnes 250 trophy, the Rudge Trophy & the Peter Arnold trophy for best aggregate performance. Tony Meanwhile colleted the Norman Francis Memorial trophy for his race win at Three Sisters last time out.

Sunday lined up a repeat programme, again with Tony out first in the 500cc races. However his weekend ended there after a mechanical issue put him out of the running. Merv meanwhile took a brace of up to 1948 wins & a brace of pre '63 250 wins. The last of which produced a good race for the overall race victory between Merv & Andy Hunt, with Merv leading for most of the race in the damp conditions only for Andy to steal the flag by 0.1 of a second.

Next meeting is at Lydden on 5th/6th July

18/6/14

The SCRMC held their annual Bob McIntyre memorial races at East Fortune on 7th & 8th June. Despite the promise of last year only one Rudge was entered this year, with Merv flying the flag in the 250cc class. Dougie Lambourne however was in the parades on the Ex Adam Easton Ulster, which son Richard raced at Cadwell last year.

Merv got off to a good start to the weekend qualifying on the front row of the grid, this despite the handicap of a badly injured hand from a workshop accident the previous weekend. The first of Saturdays pair of 250cc races produced a third place for Merv behind the Suzuki T20s of Philip Shaw & Tom Jackson, with Manx GP winner Ewan Hamilton back in fourth. Race 2 saw another third place for the Rudge man this time behind Yamaha mounted John Davidson, and the Suzuki of Shaw, with Jackson back in fourth spot. The Saturday race points saw Merv tie with Jackson for second overall, but fastest laps saw Jackson take the 2nd place trophy & Merv 3rd. Dougie got out in the parade on the Ulster after a few fuelling issues, but seemed to be enjoying himself none the less.

Sundays action saw a three race programme for each class, the first of the 250s saw Merv going well in third only to drop back through the field to eighth after missing a gear when changing down & hard braking for Railway almost ending up in the hay field! By the end of the 8 laps he pulled back up to take fourth spot behind a trio of Suzukis. A third & a fifth in the other 2 races of the day gave him 4th overall in the points table. Meanwhile Dougie had another couple of outings in the parade.

Richard had a mixed weekend, he produced a magnificent win the 350cc class on the ex Denis Gallagher Honda after a race long battle with Harley Rushton. The flip side was.... literally as he flipped Mum's Petty Manx at the start of the 500cc race causing a hectic few moments for the rest of the field as they avoided the mele. Luckily for Richard he escaped with nothing more than a saw backside!!

19/5/14

The CRMC held the second round of their championships at Lydden over the 17/18th May in superb weather conditions. Merv was making an appearance as a guest ride on the Rudge in the 250cc European to 1972 class, as it was on the way home from the ASI Moto show in Italy. The track conditions were not as good as the weather, heavy Rallycross use had caused the tarmac to break up in many places, resulting on lap times being down somewhat on what we are used too. However despite this Merv managed to notch up two wins on the Saturday from all the regular CRMC 250s. Sunday produced two second places behind Iain Green (Ariel Arrow), Merv having to take it steady in race one, due to clutch slip.

Whilst we were basking in sunshine at ASI the previous weekend, VMCC-BHR were in very wet conditions at Three Sisters. Tony Perkin, & Martin Walker were due to fly the Rudge flag. Unfortunately Martin never made it as his van broke down on the way. Tony Produced two wins in the Pre '49 unlimited races on the Saturday, but unfortunately crashed out whilst challenging in the 500cc race. Fortunately Perky was ok, but the bike faired worse & he headed home to start the repair work for the next meeting.

The next Rudge action will be at the Bob Mac memorial meeting at East Fortune 8th/9th June, followed by VMCC-BHR at Mallory Park on 14th/15th June

RS

17/4/14

The 2014 VMCC-BHR season got underway at the Anglesey racing circuit on 12/13th April. Four Rudge riders turned out for action, with Merv on his 250, Tony Perkin on his '37 Special, Mike Farrall & Martin Walker on his '34 Special making a return after a 25 year break! However by the end of practice it was clear we were only going to see two in action for day one. Unfortunately Mike crashed out in practice & returned home for repairs. Martin had a few problems getting his bike running, so spent the day "on the spanners", eventually getting it sorted in the afternoon ready for Sunday's action. Meanwhile both Merv & Tony were in action in the first Pre '49 unlimited race of the day. Merv was making a return to this class this season, having spent last year playing in the 350cc class & upsetting the class frontrunners, whilst giving away almost 100cc in capacity & 30 years in machine age! This first race was red flagged on lap two due to a crash by the leader in the concurrently running BEARS class. The restart was again red flagged on lap two after a retirement was sent coasting down the track the wrong way!! The race was abandoned and re-scheduled for later. The following two pre '49 unlimited races saw a Rudge double with Merv & Tony taking first & second respectively.

Merv was also in action in the pre '63 250cc class which was run concurrently over the weekend with the pre' 73 250s & pre '63 350s, so he had a chance to play with the 350s once more. Merv took the win in both races from Rod Graham (Ducati) & also headed all of the pre '72 250s & all but one of the 350s !

Tony was also in action in the pre '63 500cc class, and had a good run enjoying himself with the Manx Nortons, although being outpaced somewhat. He kept himself busy over the weekend with a persistent rocker box oil leak & a broken chain case.

Sunday saw the full compliment of Rudges line up on the grid, Martin had got his going & completed practice, Mike had returned the following evening having repaired his crossover shaft, footrest & exhaust. The first race was the pre '49 unlimited re-run from the previous day. The first lap saw Merv & Mike swapping places, until Mikes bigger Rudge warmed up & the extra speed took over. Meanwhile Tony completed the Rudge top three, and unfortunately Martin pulled out with clutch problems. At the end of the race it was a Rudge 1,2,3 for Mike, Merv & Tony, with Mike & Merv also ahead of all of the concurrently running BEARS class riders.

It was not long before they were out again in the first of Sunday's scheduled events, the order looked to be the same again with Mike at the front & Merv in tow. However the end of the first lap saw Mike slide off his machine at the last corner. Incidentally Merv had a big tank slapper there on Saturday but managed to stay on. Mike's weekend was over as he had broken the crossover shaft once more. Martin was out again with a slipping clutch, so leaving Merv & Tony to fly the flag with a Rudge 1-2, which they repeated in the final pre '49 race of the weekend.

Merv took another clean sweep in the 250s, although nearly missed out in the first race as the Rudge cut out on the penultimate lap, luckily to chime back in again seconds later. Investigation saw a slight whisker to the plug, which was sorted for the next race. Tony again completed 3 good rides in the pre '63 500 class & looked to have slowed his oil leak down somewhat.

Next BHR meeting is at Three Sisters on 10th/11th May where Tony & Martin will be in action. Merv will miss this one as he will be at the ASI Motoshow in Italy the same weekend, but will be in action with the Rudge at the CRMC Lydden meeting on 17th/18th May having a play with the classic 250s.  Mike is out next at Pembrey on 19th/20th April in the Lansdowne series.

Roy