Moto Memories

Davethorpe - the Mxone - sets his stall for future world success.

The 1982 British MX GP was dominated by Brad Lackey and the press of the day called him 'King of the Castle', but young British rising star Dave Thorpe was certainly leaving no one in any doubt where the title may well be in the future and he gained the 'Crown Prince' title on that wild day at Farleigh Castle.

In his first full GP season, Thorpe made it clear he was a force to be reckoned with and Kawasakimounted for 1982, the lad was well up with the regular top men and despite being still in his teens, rode, by all accounts, with a maturity which served him well.

During a race which promised, and delivered, action from the word go, the top three each time were Thorpe, Lackey and Andre Vromans - the Belgian Vromans was the meat each time in a Lackey/thorpe sandwich as the Englishman took top spot in the first leg with the American third and the result for the second leg was the other way round as Lackey took top spot with Thorpe coming third.

The way the points were awarded meant despite both Thorpe and Lackey tying on 25 overall, Thorpe's third in the second leg meant second place for him. Still, the learning curve was good and Thorpe delivered on his promise in 1985, when, mounted on a Honda, he was world 500cc champion. He repeated this for 1986 and finally in 1989. ml>