Air lift for Sheene machines

A fleet of hyper-rare and valuable motorcycles is en route to Australia in preparation for the 2016 Barry Sheene Festival of Speed at Sydney Motor Sport Park on March 17-20. The actual XR14 Suzuki ridden by Barry Sheene to win the 1975 Dutch TT and now owned by UK collector Steve Wheatman will be there, along with another Wheatman classic, the 1994 factory XR84 Suzuki ridden to several GP wins by Kevin Schwantz. From Luxemburg comes a 1984 Honda RS500R triple owned by Paul Galles to be ridden by Freddie Spencer, while Chris Vermeulen will be aboard a 1984 XR35 Suzuki, resplendent in Sheene’s DAF livery from that year. This machine is owned by Paul Edwards from Sydney. A 500cc Paton, owned by Peter Beugger is being airfreighted from Switzerland for BSFoS regular Maria Costello, while a contingent of 14 solos and 4 sidecars will be crossing the Tasman from New Zealand. Action begins with unofficial practice on Thursday, with qualifying and racing on Friday and a full weekend of racing featuring the Barry Sheene Memorial and the Legends Clashes with famous names on track.