Classic Racer takes you so close you can actually smell the Castrol R. With the world's finest archive, and an editorial team who live and breathe the sport, the only way you'll get closer will be to put on your leathers.
ARCHIVE We wonder if this was the best $1000 that Stan Hailwood – dad of the legendary Mike Hailwood – had ever spent. The story goes that while getting ready for the 1964 United States Grand Prix at Daytona, Florida, in February 1964, a reporter bumped into Stan Hailwood in a hotel and told him of the world one-hour speed record around the legendary banked circuit. His interest piqued – the wealthy Hailwood Senior not only contacted Count Domenico Agusta, to get permission to use one of Mike’s spare MV 500cc works machines for the attempt, he also paid the $1000 to hire the track himself… Riding clockwise around the oval, Mike howled the four-cylinder MV Agusta around the circuit for the full hour, with father Stan standing by the…
ARCHIVE Wayne Gardner, the first Australian 500cc World Champion, did things the hard way: he had to. Brought up on a background in dirt-track, where he raced from aged 15, he finally switched to the Tarmac at 18, and then thumbed his way to the UK aged 21. The aim: to get noticed by the top British teams, which was a good way of getting onto the world scene. A number of Aussie talents have trod this path since. While riding in the UK on a Moriwaki he soon drew the attention of Honda Britain, who hired him and gave him the chance for a number of Grand Prix wild-card rides – that he had to pay for. He said: “When people mention my hard-riding style, it came from being…
ARCHIVE Yasutomo Nagai was one of the Yamaha factory’s favourite sons of the early 1990s. Nagai raced in the All-Japan championship for many seasons, seven of them with the Yamaha factory. Most notably, he took a win in the 1994 Bol d’Or with brothers Christian and Dominique Sarron, before joining a young Colin Edwards II in the new Yamaha World Superbike factory team for 1995 – which would be managed by Christian Sarron. As a wild-card rider he’d already taken a pole position at Sugo in 1994, as well as 3rd and 5th places in the two races. He was a major part of the development of the four-cylinder YZF750SP. The machine was a real ‘screamer’ compared to the-then dominant Ducati V-twins and their bulging torque delivery. The YZF would…
WIN Nomad gloves will keep you riding through winter!They feature full grain leather, a textile construction and a waterproof Hipora membrane andThinsulate inner liner. Plus, a two-layer storm cuff closure system and touchscreen compatible fingers. Find out more at www.weiseclothing.com Across 1 & 4: The amount of space available for a machine to soak up both rider weight and surface undulation. (10,6)7: See 29 Across.10: Honda team started by Klaus, the only Austrian to win a Sidecar World Championship. (6)12: ___ Source, famously tight hairpin at Spa Francorchamps. (2)14: Tools, often said to be spun by race mechanics. (8)15: One of the fastest parts of the Isle of Man circuit, coming out of Bray Hill. (4,4)17: The immediate forerunner to 35 Across. (4)18: See 30 Across.20: European country that has…
Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR. CRletters@mortons.co.uk facebook.com/ClassicRacerMag/ If you want to get in touch… Then please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we enjoy hearing from you whether you’ve an event coming up, a motorcycle you own or just want to let us know about something you find interesting in Classic Racer’s world. LOVED LADY LUCK Dear CRI couldn’t help but giggle at the feature about superstitious racers in the last issue of Classic Racer. Had they lost their wits? I ask you… prerace rituals, special ways to dress themselves, lucky numbers, jewellery – and as for old Walter Migliorati – wearing some knickers on yer heed? Surely we should be calling Wally out on this…
Send your classic racing news to: editor@classicracer.co.uk Wayne Gardner hits the UK The 1987 500cc Grand Prix champion Wayne Gardner will be the star guest at the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic show, taking place at Newark Showground on January 11/12, 2025. Wayne – known as the ‘Wollongong Whizz’ went from a young lad riding around his hometown on a five-dollar dirt bike to becoming the king of the two-wheeled world. As well as being the first Australian to win motorcycling’s top title, he was well known for grinding out results when the equipment wasn’t up to par, and for bouncing back from some terrible injuries. Many of his rivals said Gardner was one of the bravest 500cc riders of his generation. And of course, a big part of his…
