British Historic Racing - Mallory Park, Round 1

Round one of the British Historic Racing championships was held at Mallory Park last Sunday 15 April in glorious but chilly sunshine. I decided to ride the tried and tested 1954 NSU Sportmax replica I raced last year in the pre-63 250cc solos as the NSU Norton is still not fully race ready.

Having raced the bike quite a few times last year, I was quietly confident before practice. As it was a sunny, crisp but quite cold day, my mechanic decided to fit a slightly larger carb jet. The bike felt faster than I remembered it, we also raised the rear shocks to speed up the handling. Things were looking good.

Come the first race of the day, I was allocated 7th on the grid - dead last. At least I had nothing to lose. My start was disappointing however as I failed to find second gear after what was a pretty decent launch. I then spent the next five laps chasing the backmarkers and after three laps found myself in fourth place. The race was then red flagged following a red flag incident.

The second race after lunch saw me sat in pole position - all was to play for and I had my eyes set on a podium finish. I managed another good launch but once again fluffed second gear, this time only worse. I found myself dead last, sixth again. The field managed to pull away and all I could manage was to harass the rider in fifth position through some of the tighter turns.

So, before Cadwell next month I will be practicing my starts, (especially selecting second) and looking for some more power with a larger carb to help me on the 'mini-Nurburgring's' long straights.

Until next time...

Mallory Park Test Day - NSU Norton

These photos were taken at the recent Mallory Park test day on March 22nd - first time out for the NSU Norton! The new machine performed faultlessly apart from a trapped breather pipe that meant a little oil began escaping through the filler cap - an easy fix. The new bike replaces the NSU Sportmax replica that I campaigned in the VMCC Economy Appliances Championship in 2011.

Mallory Park is a relatively simple track but one that takes time to perfect. From the first gear bus stop chicane to the very fast Gerrards, it's a track that demands a combination of slow and fast bike control. My favourite corner has to be the devils elbow, a slightly downhill left-hander just before you cross the start/finish straight. One of the other great things about Mallory is the number of 'lines' at each corner. The track is quite wide, allowing plenty of overtaking and even spectators are well catered for thanks to the raised viewing banks.

The NSU Norton is a 250cc NSU Max engine, cradled in an un-modified Manx Norton featherbed frame. The first thing you notice is the front mounted oil tank, located low, out in front making the most of the cool air-flow- it also helps maintain a low centre of gravity. The next major difference to the original Norton layout is the drive-side. Located on the right-hand side, instead of the left, the NSU engine/gearbox unit is also self-contained.

Heading out onto the track for the first time the NSU gearbox is as sweet as a nut. Fitted with Sportmax cams, the engine thrives on revs and only past 3000/4000rpm does it come on song. The following 4/5 laps gave me chance to enjoy the fantastic handling while running-in the new engine. The first race is in 3 weeks time back at Mallory Park, I can't wait!

Mallory Park VMCC - In the paddock

A selection of some of the tastier motorcycles spotted on the lunch break around the paddock at the VMCC test day. Look out for the rare Godet Vincent and Mularney 4 valve Manx..

Mallory Park VMCC test day - 8th April 2011

Some very sunny images of the recent test day at Mallory Park with NSU 250 Sportmax Replica and 500 ES2 'Green Meanie'. The fantastic weather and brand new surface at Mallory provided the perfect opportunity to put some miles on both machines in preparation for my inaugural race later in the season.

The nimble, lightweight NSU proved itself as an extremely capable track machine, (hopefully like the rider in the near future) diving into turns and remaining very stable at higher speeds. Wearing new Avon Roadrider track tyres the strong little 250 was very stable under braking and encouraged ever higher cornering speeds as my knowledge of the track improved.

There were all sizes and ages of machines present, including this pre-war Velocette 350 I'm chasing into Edwine's.

This shiny beast was built by the very highly skilled Mike Pemberton of Pushrod Performance. Beginning with a 1960 Norton 99 Dominator frame, the bike uses a 350 crank, short stroked with an alloy 500 barrel. Combined with belt primary drive, a rather special piston and you have quite unique machine. Nick-named the Green Meanie (a drop of green paint was used to achieve the frame colour), I see it as something of a streetfighter from the 60s...