Barry Sheene Festival hots up
March 20-22 are the dates for the 2015 Barry Sheene Festival of Speed, and organisers of the event, the Post Classic racing Club, are confident it will be the biggest yet. “Of course our headline act is three-times World Champion Freddie Spencer,” said co-ordinator Peter MacMillan, “and we have organised a beautifully presented Honda RS250, courtesy of owner Ken Lindsay, for him to ride. It is presented in the Rothmans team colours of his 1985 250cc World Championship bike – the year he became the first and only man to win both 250cc and 500cc titles. He will also be out on a Honda VF860 owned by Wayne Fox.
In a letter to the PCRC, Freddie said, “I am so looking forward to participating in the 10th anniversary of the Barry Sheene Festival of Speed. Barry accepted me as an equal from that first moment in April 1980 at Brands Hatch at the match races between the US and GB. He deserves more credit for making GP motorcycle racing cool! This year is the 30th anniversary of my double world titles. Being able to accomplish that feat was the perfect example of teamwork. I could have never imagined that, 30 years later I would be celebrating this as the only person to have accomplished this feat. See you all in March.” Peter McMillan added, “We also have Maria Costello back again, riding a Honda VFR400 and a 500 Manx Norton. Maria had a great time last year and was very popular with the fans, and she is really looking to getting out on the track again. The Period 5 and 6 classes are bristling with top names including Cameron Donald, Steve Martin, Shawn Giles, Malcolm Campbell, Michael Dibb and Glenn Hindle. Also, we have in excess of twenty New Zealanders making the trip for the opening round of the 2015 Trans Tasman Trophy”. Sunday’s lunch break will feature Spectator Parade Laps, and on Saturday, to celebrate Honda’s on-going support of this event via Honda Australia Roadcraft Training (HART) there will be a Honda-only Parade Lap at lunchtime, when Freddie Spence will be on track as well. On 23rd March, HART will be conducting an Advance III Track Day, with Maria Costello doing the coaching. Details are at www.hart.honda.com.au. Places are limited for the parade laps and entry forms can be downloaded at www.barrysheene.com.au.