50 YEARS OF BIKE: 1971 V 2021
Them were the days, and these are the days.
Grand Prix racing had been rendered less than scintillating by the domination of Ago and his MV – he won every race he finished in ’71 and took his 10th world championship. But back then the world’s best racers were hired guns who turned up anywhere for a few quid. So we had the spectacle of Ago and the MV being beaten at Mallory Park in front of 60,000 spectators by a Bsa-mounted genius from Derby called John Cooper. And the Transatlantic Challenge series started in 1971 too, with American stars like Cal Rayborn and Dave Aldana having a pop at the top Brits.
We’re living in a golden age of Grand Prix racing, with possibly the greatest bike racer of all time (Marquez) being hounded by outrageously talented youngsters. And no one manufacturer is dominant which means the scraps for the first 10 places are almost always frenzied. And on telly too.