Classic Racer

Bertie Simmonds bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk Phil Aynsley, Jeff Ware, Niall Mackenzie, Steve Parrish, James Robinson, Stuart Barker, Gary Chapman, Ian ‘Shroom’ Burgess, Pete Crawford, Mick Ofield, Fred Pidcock, Ben Rumbo

//DATE: JULY 10, 1955 //LOCATION: MOUNT FUJI Yamaha engineers had just six weeks to get their new production machine – the YA-1 – ready for The Third Mount Fuji Ascent Race in 1955, and during their preparation the Yamaha Motor Company came into bei

DATE: AUGUST 1, 1993 LOCATION: DONINGTON PARK, GREAT BRITAIN Wayne Rainey – by his own admission – shouldn’t have been racing on this day. A highside in practice coming out of the final corner at Goddards had taken two fingernails from his left hand

Dear CR Late last year, my friend of over 60 years, James ‘George’ Ward lost his long, brave battle with cancer. George was an enthusiastic club racer in the 1960/70s. His first mount was a 500 BSA Gold Star and very early in his racing career he ha

Remember to keep sending in your letters. Now, more than ever, as we deal with the coronavirus situation, we want to hear your stories and find out what you think of the magazine. Each issue we’ll pick a star letter, the writer of which will win a su

Dear CR How about a series of columns from a variety of racers in the classic arena: think of the old boys who have raced and are still racing… One that springs to mind is Mike Edwards (above left). He’s a British champ and still out there doing it.

Because of Covid-19 and like many, many other businesses in the UK and across the world, the ACU will suffer a significant financial downturn which is continually being monitored by the board of directors. Despite this, and looking forward to next ye

The BHR committee held an extraordinary committee meeting on Sunday, June 28, to discuss and finalise plans for the remainder of the 2020 race season while under existing Covid-19 lockdown rules. A long debate ensued, which covered both the positives

Four-time World Superbike champion, team owner and ‘King of the Jungle’ Carl Fogarty has claimed that the onset of the four-stroke MotoGP era in 2002 was the final nail in the coffin for the previously dominant four-stroke racing formula – WSB. Foggy

The FIM Europe Vintage Road Race Championship round at Pau-Arnos in France has been cancelled, leaving only Grobnik on the 2020 calendar. As a result, the 2020 championships will be cancelled, but the Grobnik race, assuming it goes ahead, will be add

We seem to haveYamahas on our mind this issue and rightly so. July 1 wasYamaha Motor Company’s 65th anniversary, and we here at Classic Racer felt it was worth examining a few facets of their six-and-a-half decades of brilliance. Few know that their

‘IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU’VE GOT IT’ so said the logo on the back of ‘Flyin’ Fred Merkel’s crash helmet. This summed up the Californian’s intent by the time he got to compete in the nascent World Superbike championship in 1988… Merkel was just what the

1988 Yamaha FJ1200 engine, standard 63.8mm stroke, 1mm over 78mm bore, 11:1 compression up from 9:1, polished and modified standard crankcases, T-Rex billet engine covers and block off plates, alternator removed, lightened and balanced crankshaft, Ca