ClassicRacer 69
Cl iR 69
Words:JohnWattersonPhotos:PeterFaragherHose’s, madeagreat start to the Senior
500cc event on hisGreenhallHonda-4 and
hadestablished a2.6 secondleadoverBarry
Davidsonof Ballymenaby half-distance.
Davidson fought backinthe closing
stages on his similar Honda, butatthe close
Fergusonclaimedhis first win on the course
by 2.9 seconds.Helater admittedhow
shocked and stunned he wastowin, having
takenitverysteady on the turns.
Bill Swallowwas third on the Gleve Paton,
sayingthe bikewas fast in astraightline
buthewas notasbrave as he oncewasin
the wet.
Young gun James Cowtonwonthe Geoff
Duke Junior Post-Classicevent forthe
fourth year on the trotwith Pete Berwick’s
250Yamaha.Cowtonled all of the way,but
admitted that Davidson hadkepthim honest.
TheUlsterman wasmoredaring on the
brakesintothe tighter corners and Cowton
admitted he wasslipping andslidingin what
were difficult conditions.
Davidson,who hadfancied his chances
in the wet, hadbeenliningthe Driffield rider
up foralast-corner overtakingmanoeuvre,
but he caughtabackmarkerinthe wwwrrrooonnnggg
place at Church Bendsand lost
his opportunity.
GaryVinesofColchester was
thirdonBobTaylor’s TZ250 that
nowadays livesinamuseum on
Peel quayside.
Theopening sidecar race
provided aflag-to-flag battle
between the 1070c BuschBMW offf
Vince Biggs/VickyCookeand the
1200cc BLR Imp of RodBellas and
DannyQuirk.
Biggsand Cookeled by 1.1secondson lap one and were 2.3 seconds
up on lap two, butBellas/Quirkled intothe
tightright-handeratCrossFourWays on lap
three to enterthe finalcircuitsix-tenths of a
secondahead.
TheBMW wasfasteronthe longer
straights, and Biggs/Cooke usedthat
advantagetoget back in front.
Bellashad onemorestabatCrossFour
Ways,but amissedgear decidedit, and at
the finish thewin went to Biggsand Cooke
by sevententhsofasecond.Aboveleft: Theorderinwhichtheycrossedthe
line.MikeHose(4)leadsthe350ccracefrom
AlanOversby(2)withBarryDavidson(40)a
watchingthird.To pright:KeithShannonbasksinthesunshine
onthe 350 BultacoAboveright: JamieCowardonawinningcharge
ontheKawasaki 750 intheSeniorouting.He
clockedanaveragespeedof93.557mph.Hawkins madethe jump on Owen to grab
the lead at Ballabeg Hairpin on lap threeand
had 0.6 of asecond advantage at half-distance.
Owen retaliated on thebrakesintoCross
Four Ways on lap five, but then overshotand
dropped time, turninghis bike around in the
slip-road.
With onelap remaining he wasalmost 10
secondsdown, so Hawkinskept it steady over
thefinal four milestotakethe win by 8.427
secondswith afastest lapof84.815mph on
thatfifthlap.
Meredydd Owen wasthree-quarters of a
minutedownonhis brotheratthe close, with
Dixon fourth on asimilar AJS 7R at another 18s.
Shannon completed a250ccclass double,
fifth on theroad,4.2s ahead of Loderwho rode
extremelywellinhis course debut.
VeterancampaignerAlanSmallbonesof
Lincolnwas delighted to make the final step
of the podium on hisDucati, 14th of the
21 finishers.
Twodays latertherewas acomplete
turnaroundfrom perfect conditions to
persistentrain forthe mainBank Holiday
Mondayaction.
Iain Robertson of Balerno, Scotlandwon the
openingsupport race comfortably on hispost-
ClassicHonda 750, while MikeHoseled the
Lightweightona250cc ArielArrow from start
to finishinmiserableconditions.
He backed offinthe latterstages, thinking
he waswellclear,but he wasalmost caught
napping by Ulsterman Brian Mateer who got to
within 1.6secondsof himatthe close.
It wasHose’s fifth win on the 250cc Ariel
Arrow, but his 15th overall –drawinghim level
at the top of themost-wins table with Heath
and Swallow.
Steve Ferguson,afellowWirral man of068 PreTTclassic_SEP.indd 69 27/07/201713:05:10