Saving Historic Racing
Having attended the recent Island Classic I came away with the feeling of concern regarding the future of Historic Road Racing in this country. For years the Island Classic has been a magnificent showcase for racing and it is a credit to Fergus Cameron that it has survived over many years showcasing magnificent machines of a past era and very talented riders. However that is what we see on the surface – but look into this a little deeper and the exposure reveals a fragile product that has grown exponentially and possibly without a sound foundation for continued success. My concern is not solely directed at the Island Classic but a need for a general and thorough review of Historic Road Racing to ensure it is based on a platform to guarantee not only continued survival but growth and prosperity for years to come. This proposal for a review should not be limited to any particular facet of the sport but a review that encompasses the needs and objectives of all stakeholders – promoters, sponsors, participants and the cottage industry catering for historic racing, and most importantly the spectators. Specifically, in relation to the Island Classic, it is self defeating to have extremely fast but fragile engines if those engines cannot last a three day event and the Sunday spectators are confronted by much reduced fields. Those spectators have been denied the opportunity to witness healthy fields because the machines are languishing in the garages having literally 'self combusted'. Some ten years ago the Historic Road Racing Commission was requested to undertake a review of the technical rules for historic road racing. This was recorded in their minutes but for reasons best known to their members that review was never undertaken. All stakeholders, including myself, have to accept that better scrutiny of the commission at that time may have resulted in healthier historic racing today. Historic road racing commenced in the 1970s with participants going out and having a great deal of fun in a pleasant atmosphere at the likes of the Historic Winton and Amaroo. Since those heady days participants in what was the premier class, Period 3, have become older and their bikes uncompetitive and the sport has not been regulated to ensure longevity. In those early days the participating machines were raced on the basis of what actually happened in the period being portrayed and not what 'might' have happened. Now we are faced with the situation of machines being raced, in some categories, based on an extremely imaginative view of what actually did happen. This commenced many years ago with the ‚
arrival of the '500cc' version of the Honda CB72 and has continued with almost 1,300cc versions of Suzuki Katanas and Honda CB750s; Technical achievements that 'may' have been possible at the time but did not occur. Complete disregard of what actually happened in the past puts historic racing at risk.
It is not too late to reign in the unsustainable, provided changes are made on a broad consultative and democratic basis with realistic lead times for any proposed changes. Proper debate now will ensure a sustainable future for the benefit of all stakeholders. Examples of simple fixes that could increase participation rates and bring bikes out of the sheds are as follows; • Take a lesson from four-wheeled motorsport and have regularity events for up to Period 4 machines at all historic race meetings • Have a clubman class as an adjunct class to Period 3. This would allow machines that made up the majority of the fields in the 1950s and 1960s to race competitively amongst themselves rather than be uncompetitive against 2019 model Manx Nortons. • Over a realistic time frame reduce upper limit engine capacities to those capacities in the period being portrayed i.e. the biggest Honda CB750s were either 810cc or 836cc dependent on what piston kit you used.
• Be prepared to adjust Period cut-off dates in specific circumstances i.e. allow Seeley framed and Petty framed machines into Period 3 provided the engine is within the period. Allow rigid and plunger framed machines that are currently in Period 3 to participate in the Period 2 class where they are better positioned both technically and performance wise. There will be people that do not want to move from where we are currently but we need to have the debate and hear all sides to any proposed changes. Ignoring the issues amounts to a head in the sand approach to fixable problems. However the longer it is left the harder it will be to achieve change. Historic racing needs to be based more on what actually happened at the time not what may have been achievable with vivid imagination and modern technology. David White Fitzroy North, Vic n