Oliver’s Mount Returns
We thought we'd celebrate the return of racing to Oliver's Mount with a pukka feature on the epic story.
Last year, Scarborough’s Oliver’s Mount, the only road race circuit in England, lay silent. Since 1946 bikes had raced around this undulating and daunting track, but at the end of 2017, after a number of serious incidents, the track was closed. No longer would excited commentary boom across the hillside; no longer would the paddock rumble with the sound of race engines; and no longer would local pubs fill with knowledgeable enthusiasts regaling stories of days gone by. Race fans feared the worst – Oliver’s Mount, it seemed, was on the brink and like so many once-great tracks in Europe, heading for the history books.
However, a few brave men chose to take on the impossible and try to resurrect
Oliver’s Mount. Multiple TT winner Mick Grant and former Manx GP winner and GP rider Eddie Roberts took the helm; they couldn’t let the track they loved so deeply fall into ruin without a fight.
Many thought trying to re-introduce a road race in a world increasingly constrained by health and safety regulations was risking financial suicide. That their proposal would have had the Dragon’s Den team wetting themselves with laugher.
Thankfully though, all the doubters have been silenced and racing continues. Here, former Fast Bikes road tester from back in the day and regular competitor at Oliver’s reveals the amazing story of how the track was resurrected.
In the words of 16-times TT podium finisher and three-times GP winner Mick Grant: "We couldn’t let it die, we simply couldn’t." Mick grew up watching at Oliver’s Mount and famously went head-to-head with Barry Sheene at the famed hillside track, which overlooks Scarborough, in the 1970s.
“I was in short pants when I first came to Oliver’s Mount on holiday with my parents, which must have been in the 50s. I loved the track. It has a place in my heart, and I couldn’t let it go.”
And how could he not? The circuit dates back to 1946, and the rider list of former winners is like a ‘who’s who’ of motorcycle racing history: Cecil Sandford, Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Bob McIntyre, Mike Hailwood, Phil Read, Giacomo Agostini, Klaus Enders, Jarno Saarinen, Kent Andersson, Takazumi Katayama, Mick Grant, Barry Sheene, George O’Dell, Jock Taylor, Wayne Gardner, Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop, Carl Fogarty, James Whitham, Ian Lougher, David Jefferies, Dave Molyneux, Nick Crowe, Guy Martin, Ryan Farquhar, John McGuiness, Ian Hutchinson and Dean Harrison have all raced at Oliver’s Mount over the years and stood on top of the podium. Dean Harrison made his road racing debut here, and without Oliver’s we may never have heard of Guy Martin, who dominated the track at one stage.
And come on, today we live in a society where children must wear goggles to play conkers, and truck drivers must take ‘ladder awareness’ courses just to be able to climb a few steps into a truck – the world has gone a little mad.
So how do you start to rebuild a notoriously dangerous road-race circuit on the edge of a hill overlooking England’s oldest seaside resort, Scarborough?
Thankfully, Scarborough council wanted racing back, as did the local tourist economy, which missed the crowds. The newly formed organisation was joined by Andy Haynes, a former racer himself, and Shaun Daulton, chairman of the newly formed 1946 Marshals’ Association. And by January everything was starting to fall into place. The next stage was getting the ACU involved and improving the track to meet their high safety standards.
The new owners and the Marshals’ Association worked in partnership with the ACU to improve safety standards for riders, marshals and spectators, but it was no easy task – like turning an ageing cruise ship into a modern speed boat. The track was last updated in 1991 when they introduced Farm Bends in a bid to slow riders down, but the new owners invested over £100,000 into the track, with the majority going on improved safety fencing. Shaun Dalton, now acting as circuit manager, gathered his team together, mianly consisting of volunteers, and set about re-developing the track.
The team soon realised this would be a
mammoth task. The track had sat dormant for so long that weeds, wild grass and bushes now covered the podium where once Guy Martin had sprayed champagne. All the equipment had disappeared; the paddock was almost unrecognisable; and the track had seriously deteriorated. Racing kerbs, which had once upon a time been glanced by the elbow sliders of Dean Harrison, John McGuinness and both Michael and William Dunlop, were unrecognisable.
Unperturbed, volunteers, both young and old, got stuck in. The council cut down trees, sections of the track were dug up and re-laid, and kilometres of cabling for the tannoy system were updated. Showers and toilets were re-plumbed, the paddock
café was overhauled, and the entire paddock had to be re-wired, while over a kilometre of fencing and boarding had to be erected. This was DIY SOS, but on a far grander scale.
Like a ghostly battleship coming back up from the depths of the ocean, the track slowly came back to life. New offices were installed, new staff were brought it, social media and a new website were created – no rock was left unturned. The ACU were so impressed, the circuit was granted a new racing licence without hesitation.
But with the first meeting on the horizon, the next hurdle was handling a race meeting. Would the riders turn up? More importantly, would the race fans return? It was a massive gamble, and the whole team had everything crossed.
On the run-up to their first meeting, the Barry Sheene Memorial held on the last weekend of July, it was all hands to the pump. Volunteers and staff were
putting in 20-hour shifts to get everything completed in time. The amount of paperwork processed and behind-the-scenes planning was biblical, with everyone feeling the pressure.
Managing director Eddie Roberts says: "It was like trying to rebuild a classic car. Every time we turned something on or tried something out, it was broken. We had over 50 fire extinguishers from the previous club, but none of them worked. We needed to buy flags, trophies for the races, hire a new medical team, paint the track, buy service vehicles, arrange ticketing. At times it was one step forward and two back.” With 24 hours to go the new track set up was about to be tried for the first time.
The 2.43-mile circuit is all public road used by everyday traffic, and isn’t ‘officially’ handed over to the club until 6pm on the Friday night before racing. This means the road must be converted into a racetrack through the night. That £100,000 of safety fencing can only be erected once the road is handed over, which meant an all-night job for Shaun and his team.
As dawn broke on the morning of the first race meeting, the historic paddock came alive once more. Bikes waited patiently for technical inspection, over 100 marshals gathered their essential gear, and the tannoy came alive – Oliver’s Mount was ready to roar once again. As riders took to the grid, tensions were high, but as the first bikes hurtled towards turn one, there was hardly a dry eye in the control tower. They’d done it. Oliver’s Mount was alive again to the sound of racing.
Riders quickly praised the updates and safety improvements. Dean Harrison, the current lap record holder, commented: “The track looks mega: new kerbing, grass cut back, and Rectocele barriers – it’s the same layout, same track, but new. The new dummy grid is a great idea. There’s plug-in power on the dummy grid, so now we can just wait there and nobody is rushing.”
Arguably, the highlight of the first weekend was the exotic parade, which included four times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty. The three-times TT winner took to the grid with good friend and former Oliver’s Mount lap record holder James Whitham and TT legend John McGuinness. To see the three riders take to the track in front of a packed crowd in perfect conditions will linger in the memory of onlookers for years. Carl was happy to be back on track. “That was great, the place is packed. Scarborough has always pulled in a huge crowd and it’s the same today. I really enjoyed that. I was even trying to catch Whit into the harpin – that was a laugh.”
Whitham added: “That was mega. I’ve loved it, proper loved it. I can’t praise Eddie and Mick enough. I was coming here as a kid and I thought we’d never ride here again. I was actually getting a little emotional. It’s great to see the track back to its glory.”
At the end of the first race meeting, which was ended slightly prematurely due to thick fog, TT rider and joint president of the new club, Mick Grant, gave an emotional speech from the new podium in front of a packed crowd. “We couldn’t let this track fall into the history books; it means so much to me, Eddie and the rest of the club. We can’t thank the fans enough for showing us support. Behind the scenes our team has worked tirelessly to get the track back up and running – and the race fans today have shown it was worth it. Thank you all.”
And you know what? It was bloody awesome. The Gold Cup may have just finished with Lee Johnston being crowned the champion for 2019, but there are four race meetings plus several hill climbs planned for 2020 – and the future looks bright for Oliver’s Mount. Against all the odds the new owners have brought road racing back to England. We can’t wait to get to Oliver’s Mount in 2020 and hope to see you all there. We may even send Boothy around for a few laps!