Bennetts Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Festival

Classic Motorcycle Racing Club - Round 5

30th - 31 July 2022

Heading to Donington Park to last Sunday to spectate and photograph the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club, I was wondering if a set of black and white photos would be the best way to present the Classic bikes on track.

Most of the bikes I was expecting to see would be the classic black and chrome livery with racers in black leathers, but I was pleasantly surprised by the paddock as the CMRC also runs races for bikes from the 1970 and 80s which were far from monochrome.

The pits and paddock were rammed with classic metal stretching from the back of the Wheatcroft straight grandstand, which is standard for a motorcycle meeting all the way to the corner at Redgate.  A quick walk round before the racing started set the scene for the day and allowed me to check out the bikes up close.

There was also a display area set-up on the Melbourne Loop which we checked out. I’m not too keen on looking at these displays as it can have a very detrimental effect on my bank balance! There were some amazing restorations which got me thinking, I need a bigger garage.

The best display for me was the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club which had a great display of racing machines, but the best part was to come at the lunch break. Yamaha had brought together current and ex-racers for an autograph session with some great free posters up for grabs.

This is very Goodwood revival and by the amount of fans present, it's what they want to see more of. The YRHC was set up in 2021 and is "Designed to protect and share with younger generations Yamaha's racing history. YRHC will bring together selected collectors from around the world who count some of the iconic racing machines from Yamaha's racing heritage amongst their collection".

What that boils down to is Yamaha will be getting their bikes, and selected private owners of interesting machines, out on track where they belong which gets the thumbs up from me.

Centre stage on the stand was the current British Super Bike Champion Taz Mackenzie who was accompanied by his dad Niall. They would take to the track later for a parade lap on some iconic machines.

Niall Mackenzie was riding the #3 Gene Romero's Daytona winning 1974 TZ 750 and Taz was on a 1991 YZR500, the sister bike to what his father rode back in the day! 

Phil Read was first in line for the autograph hunters, and rightfully so as an 8 times world champion. He did the 1971 season as a privateer on a motorcycle of his own design -  the 250cc Yamaha Team Read Castrol, and he went on to win the 1971 250cc World Championship, a feat that will not be repeated in the modern era.

Alan 'Mighty Mouse' Carter with now a motorcycle coach working with riders on the BSB circuit, was not only signing he was also out on the parade with his 1983 TZ250, with which he won the 1983 French Grand Prix becoming the youngest ever GP winner.

Donnie McLeod was a double British 250cc champion,  250cc Grand Prix podium finisher and team-mate to Niall Mackenzie in the Silverstone Armstrong squad. Scotsman Donnie McLeod was one of the brightest young racing talents Britain produced in the early 1980s. 

Charles ‘Chas’ Mortimer won seven GPs during the 1970s, and remains the only rider to have won GP races in the 125, 250, 350, 500 and 750 cc classes.

Steve Parrish sitting next to Chas was team mate to Barry Sheene, in 1977 he finished fifth overall in the 500cc world championship and won the British Super Bike title in 1981. Recently he is more well know for his TV presenting work and competitive Truck racing wining five European championships. 

Brian Reid became the first rider to lap the 4.25-mile Southern 100 Colas Billown Course, as it is now known, at over 100 miles per hour during the ‘Unlimited’ race in 1983 on the Topping Racing RG500 Suzuki, and then went on to win that year’s Southern 100 Solo Championship race.

Brian also won two Formula 2 World Championships in 1985 and 1986, plus five TT races between 1986 and 1993 before hanging up his leathers in 1994.

And last but not least is South African Alan North, who won the 1977 350cc Nations Grand Prix at Imola.

The first racer that caught our eye was #75 Ant Hart who completed a hat trick of wins on his Yamaha TZ 350 in the PC 250/350/ 500. The first race was a close one battling with Phil Atkinson. He passed Ant going into the final chicane but ran slightly wide which made him slower out of the corner. Ant crossed the line by 0.01 of a second ahead.

It was more of the same in the Classic 200 races for 250cc Air Cooled motorcycles.  #157 Symon Woodward on his Yamaha 250 had a right battle with #122 Jerry Longland on a Suzuki GT250-X7.

To put the battle into context they were separated only 0.030 of a second after 7 laps and 13.8 miles in race 23, that’s close racing. Mind you I shouldn’t be surprised as earlier in the year at Pembrey 0.038 seconds was all that that separated them! They have history of close racing.

Symon Woodward is part of the Royal Air Force Classic Motorcycle racing team which was out in force at the weekend. The RAF team had three other riders competing #71 Mick Rudd on a Yamaha RD250 #74 Gav Heggs also on an RD250 and Honda VFR750 and #114 Andrew Green who rides a early Yamaha TZ350C and an Aermachhi 350 which he rides for Cleve Brightman.

 #114 Andrew Green didn’t get a qualifying lap on the Aermachhi, so started from 39th and last place and so far back on the grid he couldn’t see the starter's flag! He got his head down and ended up crossing the line 6 laps later in 15th overall - a sterling effort.

Andy managed to get himself a ride on something a little more modern during the parade lap, a Yamaha R1 owned by Andy Arland after the ex RAF Armourer threw his back out and offered up the ride to Andy. 

This was to be #74 Gav Heggs' first meeting of the year, having been away defending the nation, and it didn’t start well. RAF team mechanics, Roy Dale and Steve Potts  had a bit of spannering to do, rebuilding his RD after it seized and threw him down the track. Got to love two strokes!

His problems didn’t stop with the RD though, the VFR had clutch problems which was not surprising on the first run out after sitting for some time, but with the support of the team he is ready for the rest of the season.

#71 Mick Rudd, on the other hand, had a trouble free weekend on his parts bin RD he built with Andy Green a few years ago after racing an unreliable Suzuki X7, which Andy said they were "ready to burn" with the problems it caused. Mick recorded a first in class and best lap of 1:35.157 in the Classic 200 race 12 on Saturday.

Our last rider to spotlight is Pistonclick’s adopted “grass roots” rider #2 Mick Pennell who experienced a mixed weekend, culminating in a superb result in what was his 400th career race.

Problems with his Yamaha FZ600 in the Production class on his first race of his busy weekend on Saturday led to a retirement and subsequent non-entry from his second scheduled outing that day.

The cause of his problem when the bike was “stripped down” proved quite remarkable.  Somehow, a significant length of blue insulating tape had been drawn through the carburettor, becoming jammed on the butterfly plate.  The picture says it all.

I’m not mechanically minded but that doesn’t look good.

With the tape removed the bike’s performance, not surprisingly, dramatically improved. In Sunday’s first race, Mick, starting from the back of the grid, made up 16 places in just 6 laps, to record an impressive 22nd place, ensuring he could start a bit higher on the grid for his final race in that class.  Starting mid-grid in the final race he made up 3 further places, eventually crossing the line in 18th place overall.

Mick competes on his second bike, a 350 Yamaha, in a class that contains much more powerful machinery, but makes best use of his bike’s nimbleness.

He was reduced to just one outing on Saturday, with the days race programme being delayed, recording a creditable 18thoverall.

The first race on Sunday was held in slightly “sketchy” conditions, due to some morning rain, which left the track damp in places, but, nonetheless, Mick improved to 14th overall. 

Race 2 on Sunday resulted in an overall 16th placed finish, but Mick left the best to last in his final race of the weekend and his 400th race start, finishing just outside the top ten, with a superb eleventh place, having run as high as 8th overall at one point, and recording 5th in class. 

The weekend was a typical “grass roots” rider meeting, full of highs and lows, but overall Mick was able to make the journey home feeling encouraged and raring to go at his next outing in the British Historic Championship at Darley Moor in mid-August. There, he will compete with the number 2 plate, and is currently leading his class championship and well placed in the over 55 championship.

That concludes our look at the thanks to the Bennetts Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Festival and round 5 of the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club Championship.

My thanks go out to the RAFMSA Classic Racing Team, Mick Pennell and David Gowshall from DEEGEE Motorsports Photography for helping out with this report.

You can see more of David Gowshall images on his website.