ENDURANCE LEGENDS
As if you didn’t need any more excuses to attend May’s Endurance Legends event, here’s another.
Freddie Spencer to attend the 4-Hour!
The Cmm-backed Endurance Legends event will see a real legend on-hand with the news that Freddie Spencer will be in attendance! Fast Freddie was 500cc champ in 1983 and did the 500/250cc double in 1985, making him unique among the two-stroke GP gods. The 55-year-old will be joining in the fun on the Sunday of the two-day event, which takes place May 6-7. Darin Frow from Classic Bike Trackdays said: “We’re over the moon to secure the attendance of one of the real legends of racing – Freddie Spencer. He will be spending the day with us on the Sunday, doing some amazing things. He will be leading the bike parade on a Two Brothers Racing Honda RC30, and we are hoping that he will lead the Suzuki parade on a genuine Yoshimura GS1000 – the first bike he raced professionally (not a lot of people know this!). He will also take part in an interview and autograph session for his new book and present all the trophies to the show and race winners.”
This adds the cherry on the cake for the whole event. Firstly, the Endurance Legends will play host to the first round of the European Classic Series, taking part within the 4-Hour Classic Endurance race on Sunday, which comes complete with practice and qualifying sessions on the Saturday. Over the weekend fans can get a chance to see the machinery up close and personal during pit walks and a grid walk before the start of the race, as well as the chance to bag autographs from riders such as our own James Whitham, Steve ‘Stavros’ Parrish and Mike ‘Spike’ Edwards and other legends such as Ian Simpson. The big 4-Hour race itself will be subject to a full-on ‘Le Mans’ start and all the winners will be presented with their garlands by Freddie on the Sunday! The event sees a total of 52 endurance teams taking part, 37 as part of Endurance Legends and 15 from the European Classic Series. Top teams attending include Phase One, Team SCERT, Neate Racing and ALFS. Race fans can also enjoy race action from the International Classic Grand Prix race (Simmo and Spike are racing) as well as the Landsdowne classic races in a jam-packed race schedule. If you fancy a go on your pre-1995 machine then the track day action is pretty much fully booked (but check for details) but you can still make a wild weekend of it with live bands playing on the Saturday night and many other attractions happening over the course of the weekend. Suzuki GB, Team Classic Suzuki and the Vintage Parts Programme will be a big part of the event. As well as Whit and Stavros racing the gorgeous TCS Katana (with Michael ‘Saint’ Neeves) they have Barry Sheene’s 1976 and 1977 500cc world championship winning Suzuki RG500S on display as well as a TL1000 Anniversary parade, which will mark 20 years of the raucous V-twin. Darin said: “We’re expecting 200 Suzuki TLS which all will be parked in a special TL Parking area in the paddock. “We’ll be firing them all up together over the weekend, so the whole of the UK should hear that! A special TL Anniversary logo has been designed and each rider will receive a TL Anniversary decal for their machine.”
And you don’t have to own a TL, either. The event plays host to the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club’s National Show, which will see more than 400 bikes on display from various affiliated clubs, including: VJMC, VMCC, Yamaha FS1-E OC, Diff'rent Strokers, the LC Club, Z1-OC, CBX Enthusiasts Club, RC30 Owners Club, CB1100R Owners Club, Ducati 851/888 OC, Ducati Monster Owners Club, The Kettle Club, Old Skool Suzuki and Air Cooled Suzuki, to name but many! As if that’s not enough, more than 100 race bikes will be on display in addition to Bazza’s beasts, including a rare chance to see the largest collection of Honda RC45S put together in the UK, ever! Come and count ’em all… we’ve heard there may be more than 20! Many of these machines will take part in the weekend’s parade events too. So listen and look out for them. Oh and there will be a ‘Team Bike Reunion’ featuring a selection of original Team Bike machines which will be on display and paraded, plus riders Steve Manley, Steve Chambers and Ian Martin. Latest sponsors include Screwfix and Bennetts Insurance who have put their name to the Bennetts Live Arena on the Melbourne Loop. This will run a separate schedule all weekend managed by the VMCC, giving everyone the chance to experience riding a classic machine from early turn of the century hand-change bike to a more modern classic in their ‘Try-a-classic-bike’ arena. And also have the very rare chance of a Sidecar Taxi ride courtesy of the BHR on F1 and F2 sidecars! Don’t miss it! Donington Park circuit, near Castle Donington, Leicestershire is the location for the event itself and there will be plenty of sideshows, trade stands and live entertainment on to keep every family member occupied. Tickets are available at just £20 for the whole weekend (or £12 per day). On the day prices are £17 (day) and £30 (weekend.) For more info as it happens go to: www.endurancelegends.co.uk. cmm