MANX LEGEND

Tributes from around the world have been paid to legendary sponsor Des Collins, who passed away in January. Des, originally in partnership with the late Percy Wilson, provided top quality machinery to numerous TT, Manx Grand Prix and Southern 100 riders since 1970. One of Des’s former riders, Ronnie Russell, joined forces in 2011 to form Team Collins and Russell, to keep the tradition alive. One of the first to pay tribute, via Twitter, was current TT front-runner Conor Cummins, who Des helped when he started out on his road race career. Classic Racer will carry a full tribute to Des, penned by Ronnie Russell, in the next issue.