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Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix
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Oxford Products and Celeres Racing have, for the second year running, teamed up to campaign their Ducati 888 machines in the RST Superbike Classic TT Race at the 2018 Isle of Man Classic TT presented by Bennetts.
TT star James Hillier will again be riding the Celeres Racing Ducati 888 hoping for success this time. The campaign continues the celebration of 25 years since Trevor Nation, Robert Dunlop and Mark Farmer rode the Oxford Products liveried Ducatis, back in 1992/3.
This year, Hillier will be joined by Yorkshireman Joey Thompson. Thompson comes to the Classic TT for the first time, competing in only his second year on the roads. Riding a Paton in the Bennetts Lightweight TT this year, he achieved a very creditable 5th place so is confident of a good placing at the Classic.
‘I have been riding bikes since I was 4 years old, first competing in motocross and then riding at BSB in the support classes for the last 7 years. I have really clicked with competing on the roads and I am so proud that I have been given this opportunity to ride the Oxford Team Ducati’, said Thompson.
Hillier will once again run race number 5 with Thompson using 20.
Both Ducati 888 machines were built by Stafford Evans of Celeres Racing. The first bike competed in the 2016 Superbike F1 Classic TT Race. Wearing Ducati red, the bike was ridden to 11th place by Dave Hewson, with a best lap of 115.769mph. Last year James Hiller rode it in Oxford colours and after a 122mph lap in practice, he was confident of something special, only to be side-lined by an errant stone on the second lap of the race.
Team owner Stafford Evans is optimistic for a good result this year.
‘It’s a real honour to once again represent the Oxford brand at the Classic TT. We didn’t have the best of luck last year but we have doubled our efforts in 2018 to get a podium result, which is very achievable. Giving Joey an opportunity is very exciting – he’s a real star of the future and at only 20 years old, has a great future in front of him’.
Hillier is no stranger to the TT Mountain Course having visited the rostrum several times. These include a Lightweight TT win in 2013 and a 2nd place in the F1 Classic TT in 2014 as well as two 3rd places in this year’s RST Superbike and Monster Energy SuperSport TTs.
Joey’s credentials include his 5th place in the Lightweight TT, and the 2017 International Lightweight Championship (250) held at Oliver’s Mount.
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or via our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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The thirtieth anniversary of the RC30 Honda, one of the most iconic motorcycles of its generation, will be celebrated at this year’s Isle of Man Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts with a stunning collection of the machines being assembled in a pop up museum in the heart of the Classic TT Paddock. And over 30 RC30 Honda’s will take to the Mountain Course on Monday 27th August as well in the Classic Racer Magazine Classic TT Lap of Honour.
The RC30 is inextricably linked to the history of the Isle of Man TT Races and made its mark from the outset in the 1988 Formula One TT Race which Joey Dunlop won on an early version of the bike, setting an outright lap record in the process.
The bike was actually released in Japan in 1987 but only came to Europe in 1988 and made an instant impact when Fred Merkel won the inaugural Superbike World championship riders and manufacturers title, which he repeated the following year.
Many of the bikes that will be on the Isle of Man for the celebration were ridden by some of the greatest names in the sport including 26-time TT Race winner Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop, Phillip McCallen, Carl Fogarty and Freddie Spencer.
Other machines include bikes that Nick Jefferies, Steve Ward, Johnny Rea, Alan Bennallick, Kenny Irons and Australian Mal Campbell all raced successfully on during their careers at prestigious meetings around the world. Five factory NLOB RC30’s, formerly ridden by Dunlop, Fogarty, McCallen and Jefferies in either Castrol or Silkolene colours and Hislop’s 1988 Production RC30 Honda will also feature.
Steve Ward’s machines from 1988 and 1993 will be part of the paddock display. The Leeds rider achieved third place finishes in both the Formula One and Senior Races in the latter year, while the GT Motorcycles RC30 regularly campaigned by Alan Bennallick is another Honda RC30 that will form part of the celebrations.
Spencer’s Two Brothers Racing Honda RC30 that the triple World Champion rode in the AMA Superbike Championship is also in the exhibition.
In addition a number of RC30’s ridden in the World Endurance Championship will be on display including the 1989 Dholda Honda, an ex-Mal Campbell Moriwaki machine, also from 1989, that the Australian took to third in that year’s Suzuka 8-Hour and the Team Bike and That’s Racing machines that won and finished on the podium respectively at the Le Mans 24 Hour race as well as taking podium finishes elsewhere.
The free to enter Honda RC30 30th Anniversary Pop Up Museum curated by the Honda RC30 Owners Club, will be open from Friday 24th to Monday 27th August in the Classic TT Paddock .
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or via our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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Perennial Classic TT contenders Flitwick Motorcycles look set to continue their assault on the podium at the 2018 Classic TT presented by Bennetts, with three riders and an ever expanding stable of top quality classic racing machines.
Regular rider Olie Linsdell looks set for a busy fortnight with entries in the Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race, the Locate.im Junior Classic TT Race and the RST Superbike Classic TT Races for Team Flitwick. Once again Enfield mounted for the opening Senior Race, the 2013 winner is confident that he can challenge for the podium as he arrives at the event injury free for the first time in four years.
Olie will be joined in the Senior Race by Classic racing specialist Chris Swallow on a similar specification Enfield, this time housed in a Seeley chassis. No stranger to the podium himself the team is confident that Chris will be right in the mix on the Flitwick machine. As long as parts availability allows, a third Flitwick Enfield will also start this race, as 2017 newcomer David Linsdell looks to campaign the original Seeley Enfield that team owner Steve Linsdell rode to 2nd place in his 1981 Newcomers Manx Grand Prix.
For the Superbike Race Olie will ride the hub-center steered Yamaha GTS based machine that was campaigned so successfully by Steve Linsdell throughout the 1990’s. As the bike has not been used in anger for so long, the team are looking at 2018 as a development year, but are confident that the unique machine will put on a solid display while once again exciting fans around the Mountain Course.
For Monday's Junior Race the team will field two machines, with both Linsdell brothers down to compete in the smaller capacity event. Olie will look to challenge for the win on a top-spec TAB framed Honda 350 twin in a class where he always feels at home, while David will ride a single cylinder 350 Ducati as he looks to improve on his 2017 performance.
The Team would like to thank the continued support of sponsors Steve Bond, John and Olaug of SMV and Meryn Hackett, whose support is greatly appreciated.
Team owner Steve Linsdell says:
"Flitwick Motorcycles have supported the Classic TT since the beginning and having stepped back from modern racing, it has firmly established itself as the main event of our season. Having had a few years plagued by injury I wanted to have a real push to get us back to where we know we should be. Olie is back to full fitness and having Chris on board is a real boost as he knows how to ride a classic bike fast around the mountain course.”
He continued:
“It’s been a struggle with so many bikes to prepare, but I am confident that I can give both riders the tools for the job. Olie did 140mph through Sulby last year on my Bullet, so a 110mph lap is certainly not out of the question! I’m also looking forward to having two bikes from my past out and competing again – the 500 Enfield I did my newcomers race on that David will ride as long as I can make enough parts and my Hub Centre Steered Yamaha special that Olie will ride in the Classic Superbike race. It’s been a while, so it will be good to see them back where they belong!"
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or via our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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Midlands based Davies Motorsport will continue their association with the Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts, in 2018 with one of the strongest line up on the grid at this year’s event.
The team will again run three riders with Alan Oversby and Dominic Herbertson joined by new recruit Lee Johnston contesting the Bennetts Senior Classic TT and Junior Classic TT Races on their latest-spec Honda machines.
The team has been a mainstay at the event since the inaugural year of 2013. William Dunlop and Oversby represented them ever year and achieved four podiums.
Dunlop took second in the 2013 Bennetts 500cc Classic TT, before recording third in the same race twelve months ago while Oversby finished in third place in the 350cc Classic TT Race in 2014.
The Grange-over-Sands rider led in the early stages and lapped at an impressive 104.140mph before having to settle for second behind eventual race winner Johnston. He also added another podium to his name in 2016 with third in the same race.
Johnston will have his first taste of the Honda machinery having previously campaigned MV Agustas for Black Eagle Racing - winning in 2014, as well as finishing second in the corresponding race last year. He still holds the Junior lap record at 105.239mph while he also took third place in the 2015 Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race.
Rising star Herbertson made his first impression at the Classic TT in 2016 when he finished sixth in the Bennetts Senior Race. That brought him to the attention of Davies Motorsport and he rode superbly for them in 2017, finishing fourth and fifth in the Junior and Senior races respectively. He lapped at more than 108mph in the Senior Race and also had his best ever TT earlier this year as he lapped at close to 128mph on his way to twelfth in the RL360 Superstock Race.
With all three riders having proven pedigree around the Mountain Course, they are sure to be among the race favourites for the two four-lap races.
Davies Motorsport have been long-time front runners on the Classic racing scene and the team is headed up by John Davies, who sponsored numerous high profile riders in the 1980s and 90s including Alex Bedford, Kevin Mitchell, Neil Hodgson and Steve Thompson.
Davies himself was a regular competitor at the Manx Grand Prix between 1978 and 1997, with his best finishes being second in the 1978 Senior Newcomers race and a brace of fourths in the 1986 and 1987 Lightweight 250cc Races. He also campaigned a 500cc Grand Prix Harris Yamaha for the Padgetts team.
Specialising in Honda machinery, nephew Colin Davies handles all the technical aspects for the team and he too has a wealth of experience at all levels including numerous years as technician to Kevin Schwantz at Lucky Strike Suzuki where together they won the 1993 500cc World Championship.
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Thrilling racing and a close finish are expected to be the order of the day in the Locate.im Junior Classic TT at this year’s Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts with a grid of almost 80 entries featuring many of the world’s leading road racers.
Last year’s winner Michael Rutter returns with the Ripley Land Racing Honda which he also took to victory in 2015 and he will set off at number four again in a race which looks set to be dominated by the Japanese marque.
The Davies Motorsport trio of Alan Oversby (#2), Dominic Herbertson (#8) and 2014 race winner Lee Johnston (#13) are all race contenders as is Jamie Coward (#3) returns on board the Ted Woof/Craven Honda that he took to third place twelve months ago.
Daniel Cooper on the CSC Racing Honda has the honour of setting off first down Glencrutchery Road and he will be looking to get back on to the Classic TT podium for the first time since 2014.
Rutter has a team-mate this year in the shape of Derek McGee - the Irish rider, who achieved his maiden TT podium in this year’s Lightweight TT Race – who will go ten seconds behind his team leader with Olie Linsdell (#9), Conor Cummins (#10) and Phil McGurk (#11) adding further weight to the Honda challenge.
Only two of the first ten starters won’t be Honda mounted - Danny Webb (#6) on the Dunnell Racing Norton and Chris Swallow (#8) on his Velocette both fly the British flag.
Classic racing legend Bill Swallow (#17) is also on board a Velocette and aside from Bob Owen (#20) on an Aermacchi, the remaining top twenty all on the favoured 350cc single cylinder Honda with Hefyn Owen (#14), Alex Sinclair (#15), David Madsen-Mygdal (#16), Peter Boast (#18) and Steve Ferguson (#19) all top ten contenders.
There are a number of other riders more than capable of finishing inside the top ten seeded outside of the top twenty including Chris McGahan (#21), Mark Herbertson (#22), Dave Matravers (#26), Chris Moore (#30), Lancelot Unissart (#33) and Sam Johnson (#39). A number of regular TT competitors have also entered the Junior Classic TT Race including Timothee Monot, Dave Moffitt and Forest Dunn.
The four-lap race is scheduled to get underway at 10.15am on Monday 27th August.
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £30. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 25th August and the RST Classic TT Heroes Dinner on Sunday 26th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or via our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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