STUNNING RAPIDE

Top end of the road bike entry was Richard Scudder’s stunning 1938 Vincent HRD Rapide, one of only 78 or 81 ever made (the actual figure still up for discussion). This particular machine is quite famous for being used in a road test when the Rapide was first launched, but Richard says: “I’m not sure whether it was used in a Vincent factory test or by one of the magazines”.

Richard bought it in 1972; he rides it on the road and in competitions like this. The heavens opened just as Richard took his first ride on the course. “I’m a fair-weather rider and don’t like these conditions,” he said. “The track is very narrow, bumpy and quite slippery in the rain and I’m not really prepared to risk anything with this bike.”