SHEELAGH’S VELO

Sheelagh Neal’s 1937 Velocette MOV was one of the interesting specials alongside the pure-bred racers at Grimsthorpe. She inherited it from her father Ossie, a well know campaigner in VMCC events. David White, Sheelagh’s husband said: “It’s a bit of a bitsa, based mainly on a 1937 Velocette MOV 250 with an MSS gearbox which is stronger and offers a better selection of ratios. It runs on methanol, and with a bit of nitro it did over 100mph at the Brighton Speed Trials.”

Sheelagh, who was still recovering from a serious hand injury sustained in a crash at the East Kirkby Sprint, also had an early Triumph Thunderbird-powered outfit at Grimsthorpe; it had been raced on short circuits in the British Historic Championship and features a home-brewed sidecar, originally built in the 1960s.