Still Practisin’ - Manx Grand Prix 1998                                Tony Ainley

.......the jobs promised around the house, but never done. So ended the last article I wrote for Fishtail regarding my first Manx Grand Prix in 1997. (See Fishtails 291/2 for full article) Good grief, a year has nearly gone by and the jobs are still waiting, but at least the Velo is nearly ready for the 1998 Manx, even if the house isn’t.

Proposed modifications for 1998 included a belt drive clutch to eliminate oil leaks and primary chain adjustment. In partnership with John Watson, six complete clutches had been manufactured; we decided to retain the shock absorber, as Richard Adams had found that the lack of a shock absorber caused gearbox casing/bearing problems.

 They had been a long time in the making and although five were successfully in use on racing Velos. I hadn’t even tried mine on the bike, so didn’t want to risk using it in the Island for initial testing purposes. 

My “race” engine was ready, using the crank that had been rebuilt by “Alphas” free of charge, (they never did establish what had caused the seizure), nothing else in the motor had been altered. I’d obtained two new sleeve gear bushes, which Andrew Walker had machined for me, so I hoped that we would not have a repeat of last year’s problem of insufficient clearance.

The bike was taken to Mallory to “run in” the big end and sleeve gear and to get used to the riding position, as I hadn’t ridden the bike for a year. There I met Brian Shackleford, a BSA fan who was running in a 500 and 350 Goldie for the Manx. They both looked good but he was having a few problems with ignition and carburation.

Dave Wallington accompanied me on the Friday, as we sailed on the “Ben my Cree,” pride of the fleet of the Steam Racket Company. The ferry looked like an orange box, and the way we were packed into the “lounge” it was just about as comfortable. Dave was to maintain the Velo during practice and the race, whilst I learnt the course, well that was the plan.

My garage/workshop in Douglas, from 1997 was no longer available but thanks to a chance remark to Geoff Bloor, (East Mids Velo member) I was offered use of a garage. Geoff had been spectating at Sulby the previous year and had fortunately been wearing a Velo Owners Club ‘T’ shirt, which prompted a conversation with a man about Velos and the subsequent offer of help to himself or any friends. I phoned the man and he offered the use of his garage to a total stranger for the duration of the Manx races. This proved more than useful, as it was at Sulby only four miles from my digs in Ramsey, rather than 14 miles away in Douglas.

On the Saturday morning, we drove over to Sulby and were greeted by the owners of our temporary “race workshop,” Vern and Sally Wallis. Some of you may know Vern. For more years than he cared to remember, he worked at Ralph Seymour’s and knew all about Velos. He also raced for many years in the Manx and knew his way around the course. I realised that I had previously met Vern briefly when I visited Seymour’s sometime ago.

They were so hospitable to two strangers, that I could not believe my luck, nor that the garage was so orderly and organised. The workshop was full of Velos, parts, lathe, drills, presses, hydraulic bench, parts washer, air line and other items too numerous to mention. I believe that Honda during TT week could not have had better facilities. The icing on the cake (literally), was that Sally was an expert at Sugarcraft and could bake and decorate cakes that you would not believe. So good in fact that she wins prizes.

However, things didn’t go exactly to plan - Saturday evening practice, perfect weather, I completed two laps, 77 and 79 mph respectively. The bike appeared to behave faultlessly. Upon my return I find Dave sitting in the van with his feet up, I thought he looked casual until he informed me that he couldn’t walk! Unbeknown to me he’d torn a calf muscle whilst assisting me to bump start the bike for practice. But it’s two laps down, four more to go, including one of at least 81 mph to qualify.

Viewing the result sheet for Saturday practice, I saw Brian Shackleford had managed a lap of 82 mph on his Goldie, but his second lap was only 46 mph; clearly he had problems.

Len Clutterbuck, a Manx regular, Velo Club member and owner was riding his G.50 and put in a lap at 87 mph.

Tim Johnson (Velocette) was competing again and did a lap of 89 mph; however his second lap was only 56 mph, so Tim also had problems.

I also noted on the result sheet, that there was another Velocette that had lapped at 69 mph, owned by a David Brasier, a name I did not know.

Sunday – Pauline, our “landlady” takes Dave to Ramsey Cottage Hospital for examination of his “injury”. I drive over to Sulby to check the bike over and discover that the sleeve gear bush had become a very sloppy fit on the mainshaft! What is it with this gearbox?

Fortunately Vern had a spare bush, which we press in, and machine. I prefer to use this particular gear rather than my spare as it runs the truer of the two. He makes a beautiful job and we rebuild the box and clutch, paying particular attention to making the chaincase oil tight - a very difficult job as everybody knows a Velo chaincase is really a series of holes connected by sheet metal. Vern also suggests a modification to enable us to adjust the clutch without having to remove its cover, so we brutalise it the cover by cutting a three inch hole in its centre to facilitate speedy access.

I return to Pauline’s for dinner at 8.30pm and Dave is sitting on the settee with his feet up having watched the F1 Grand Prix all afternoon whilst I’ve been slaving away. So much for planning. Never mind, food and drink mellows me and we just hope Dave makes a speedy recovery.

Monday morning and the sun are shining, Vern, Sally, Dave and I drive to Jurby airfield to test the bike and ensure all is right with the clutch and gearbox. It runs a treat and we are satisfied with a job well done. We put the bike in the van and watch the other riders testing various bikes up and down the runway. Jurby is used exclusively for bike testing during the Manx, with no flying allowed to take place, for obvious safety reasons.

Brian Shackleford is nearby. He’s been testing his Goldies and had just packed them away in his van. Suddenly we hear and see an aeroplane taxi-ing along the grass towards us, but on the other side of the perimeter road. Funny, I think, he shouldn’t be there, but at least he’s on the grass.

Suddenly it veers across the road and the wing collides with Brian’s van, denting the bodywork and tearing the fabric of the plane’s wing. The co-pilot leaps out and accuses Brian of damaging his plane with his stationary van. He treats us all to a tirade of abuse and swearing and says he is going to report us all for being on the airfield, despite us all having permits authorising us to be there.

Dave is horrified and bemused, as he is studying for his own pilot’s licence and tells us that under Aviation Law the pilot/co-pilot are committing various offences as well as endangering lives. The plane then takes off, without anyone even examining the damage to the wing, buzzes the airfield and flies off. (And they say motorcycles are dangerous.)

Brian says he is going to report the incident to Race Control and asks me to be his star witness, as he knows I am a policeman. It does no good. The incident is recorded, but that’s all.

Monday afternoon. Dave and I visit the pits for a walk about, or in Dave’s case a hobble about as his leg is badly swollen. We visit Tim Johnson for a coffee and chat, and look for the other Velo which, Tim tells us, belongs to a chap nicknamed “Swampy.” We find “Swampy” alias David Brasier and introduce ourselves. He’s not a member of the Velo club, probably why we haven’t heard of him before.

He’s busy on his knees, trying to fit the gearbox sprocket, complete with rear chain attached, onto the gearbox mainshaft. He has a socket with extension bar and is trying to fit the sprocket by hitting the extension bar with a hammer, whilst trying to line the sprocket with the cruciform on the mainshaft. It’s obvious that it won’t go on, as the chain is too tight. We suggest he removes the chain, but he has several more blows with the hammer before he concedes and removes the chain, then sprocket goes straight on!

Monday evening. Practice, more sunny weather, two laps 80 and 83 mph. We qualify on speed, two more laps and we’re in the race. My riding number is 103 and I check the results to see whom I start with. It’s a Manx Norton ridden by Andy Spencer, himself a Velo owner and member of the club. He’s lapped at 76mph. I later meet Andy and find that he is also an ex-police motorcyclist, like me. Brian Shackleford only manages 72 mph, more problems with the Goldie. Graham Rhodes has arrived and ridden his Seeley round at 91 mph. No results for Tim, Len or Swampy, and I didn’t see them, so presumably they didn’t go out for various reasons.

Tuesday. Dave can hobble sufficiently around the garage to check the bike, while I go for a lap or two on my GPZ 600 Kawasaki. I return for lunch and Dave pronounces everything perfect with the Velo, nothing needs doing. Tuesday night’s practice - cancelled due to low cloud on the mountain making it unsafe to race, as the helicopter can’t see to land if required.

Wednesday is near enough a day of rest, as we haven’t used the bike since Monday. We visit Vern and give the bike a polish.  Whilst we are there, a stranger arrives and asks Vern if he has a bearing for the end cover of a Velo gearbox. Yes, you’ve guessed, he’s come on behalf of Swampy!

Evening practice. I put in two more laps at 80 and 81 mph, so I’ve qualified for the race. Andy Spencer goes around at 85 mph; I’ll have to try harder if I want to beat him. Brian manages 81mph on the Goldie. Len goes round at 89 mph. Phil Read is also riding in his last Manx before being disqualified by age (60 years) and laps at 95 mph on a G.50. No result for Tim or Swampy.

Thursday morning. I leave Dave in the garage to check the bike over again, while I do a lap with Vern in the passenger seat of the van. He gives me endless advice on position, late apexes and braking points, which I hope I can remember and put into good use for the afternoon session. We return to the garage, unbelievably Dave pronounces everything perfect on the bike. Since the repair to the sleevegear bush we haven’t had to adjust anything, not even the chain or clutch.

Thursday afternoon. The sun is shining again; this can’t last, it’s too perfect. I do two laps, 83 and 86 mph; Vern’s pep talk appears to be paying off. Andy Spencer does an 81 mph lap, No result for Swampy. Tim Johnson puts in a lap of 94.28 mph - I believe the fastest ever on a Velocette. I wish I were anywhere near as good as Tim. Not only is he a very good rider, but he’s friendly and helpful and offers encouragement and advice. Also, together with Keith his mechanic and Eddie his sponsor, Tim always has a quantity of real ale on hand. It’s a pleasure to visit them in the pits.

Friday morning. A check over of the bike again reveals there’s nothing to do, nothing has broken or fallen off, we must be improving our preparation technique. I’ve not mentioned it so far, but every morning, lunch and afternoon, Sally keeps us supplied with coffee, food and biscuits, whilst Vern helps and offers advice. They really are a splendid couple, and Sally’s cakes go down a treat.

Friday evening. It can’t keep on like this; the weather is again perfect, two more laps at 83 and 85 mph. No result for Tim, but Swampy does a 69 mph lap.

Saturday. We decide not to go out tonight, rather than risk any last minute problems, so we check everything, tappets, ignition, brakes, the whole works. Unbelievable, nothing needs altering. We give it a good polish to pass the time.

Saturday night. We watch the practice. Afterwards we visit the pits where they produce a sheet showing everybody’s fastest lap during the week. A breakdown shows the following, just out of interest: Graham Rhodes 95.92, Phil Read 95.53, Tim Johnson 94.28, Len Clutterbuck 91.09, Me 86.22, Andy Spencer 85.83, Brian Shackleford 82.78 and David Brasier 77.84. Theoretically, Swampy shouldn’t be in the race, because he hadn’t qualified on speed, but he successfully appealed and was allowed to start. 

Sunday morning. I rode over to Douglas for my race numbers and then we went to meet friends from the East Midlands Centre and anybody else we knew at the Bungalow gathering. We took the Velo in the van and displayed it to enable anybody interested to have a closer look.

Sunday afternoon was spent at the Castletown gathering of Vintage and Classic bikes, plus a walk, (or limp, in Dave’s case) around the Castle and surrounding area.

Monday, race day, I said it couldn’t last, very blustery, low cloud, rain, mist on the mountain, everything the weatherman could throw at us. The Newcomers race was delayed until about midday, but finally went off comparatively smoothly.

The Senior Classic race was delayed until approximately 3.00 p.m. and reduced to three laps. The race strategy was the same as 1997; check boots for oil as I exit Governors dip, if all is well, keep going to the finish. The large tank, courtesy of Richard Adams, holds five gallons so no stop was required.

The race began; it was wet/damp through Glen Helen and all the way to Ballaugh. There were many areas where oil had been dropped or people crashed and cement dust was over the road through Ballacraine, Ballaspur, Laurel Bank and Sarah’s Cottage, yellow flags warning of each hazard. Chris East, on a 499 Matchless crashed at Kirkmichael and was helicoptered to Noble’s Hospital with serious chest injuries. Unfortunately later in the week he died.

Over the mountain, it was very greasy and blustery; I frightened myself twice, once when I had it sideways at the Mountain Box and then at the Graham Memorial due to the tricky surface conditions. There were headwinds in places over the mountain, making it difficult to pull maximum revs in top. They say that the crowd wills you on and it was really nice to see people waving to me on the last lap - like the chap with the “keep going” sign at the Bungalow. If you’re reading this, it was a nice gesture.

Andy Spencer pipped me to the flag, averaging 85 mph and finishing 36^th. In the end, I finished in 42^nd place. My fastest lap in the conditions was 85 mph; my race average speed was 83 mph, would you believe the same as last year. But as a friend pointed out, the 1997 race was run in perfect conditions, so I must be improving slightly, if slowly.

Tim Johnson was sidelined when his carburettor induction spacer broke off, but being the sport he is, waved me on as I went past him on the last lap.

Swampy failed to finish. He had gearbox problems caused by the circlip holding the new bearing in place failing, preventing him from selecting the gears. But you all knew that would happen didn’t you, because you all do it right, don’t you? To be fair he was working alone and maintaining two bikes. He road an Aermacchi in the Junior Classic race but he didn’t finish, reason unknown.

As usual my thanks go to everybody who helped. Dave, Vern and Sally, Pauline, Andrew, and especially to my sponsor (and wife) Carol. I couldn’t have done it without you.

This page was last updated on 14/01/03.