Classic Racer

Classic Racer takes you so close you can actually smell the Castrol R. With the world's finest archive, and an editorial team who live and breathe the sport, the only way you'll get closer will be to put on your leathers.

Classic Racer

A special year…

AU REVOIR, YVON…

Polished Polen!

readers write

Paddock Gossip

Editor’s welcome

Whatever happened to? CYRIL SMITH

BIG WINNER! • Yamaha took their first ever four-stroke international win at the prestigious Castrol Six Hour endurance event in Australia. Alan Cathcart tells the story of how this big, street-bike shaftie XS1100 beat the odds

TEAM AVON YAMAHA XS1100

Oh Lordy! It's STAVROS ! • In part two of our missive on racing’s resident paddock joker, Steve Parrish regales us with more terrible tales and anecdotes in his own words.WARNING: not for the feint-hearted!

ICONIC ME TAL #27 1990 DUCATI 888 CORSA

British BOOST! • British motorcycle racing in the mid-1990s was a disparate amalgam of various series, TV-only events and confusing formulae which only the committed race fan could understand… then came ‘BSB’ with an added BOOST!

MOTO GUZZI 50 C4V • Moto Guzzi’s 1924 C4V was the first Italian bike to win a 500cc class Grand Prix!

DONINGTON DE LIGHT! • With the world finally creaking into motion, a flurry of classic race events has taken place. Here’s our report on the Donington Park CRMC meeting held over July 31 and August 1.

PARK LIFE • Aberdare Park road circuit played host to yet more classic and close racing, Classic Racer was there.

COME RAIN OR SHINE! • Yes, you can’t second-guess the great British weather. Well, perhaps you can: unpredictable! Thankfully the action was still blisteringly hot at the CRMC’s meeting at Castle Combe over the weekend of August 21/22.

Drag Queens! • This is the story of how Pip Higham’s string of Suzuki GS drag bikes helped shape the development of Suzuki’s nascent four-stroke racer: the XR69…

GENTLEMAN JEAN! • Ethics and respect are rare commodities in the racing paddock, where cut-throat tactics and politics reign supreme. But Jean-Francois Balde claims that this was never his way, he had to look himself in the mirror and know he’d done the right thing.

“A great rider and a nice guy…”

Back in the Day

Team Classic Suzuki’s Katana Racer • We want to see YOUR pride and joy race machine in the pages of Classic Racer EVERY issue. It doesn’t matter if you no longer race, or no longer race the bike anymore – share with us the specs, stories and memories of your time racing your favourite steed! Email your hi-res shots and words to: bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk. Let us know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it, and tell us about your favourite race too!

ARMOY ARMADA! • With an enforced year off due to the pandemic, it was business as usual in Country Antrim: Classic Racer was there for the historic event…