Earlier this year Guy Martin established the record for highest speed on a wall of death riding a Krazy Horse-prepared Indian Scout at 70.3mph. He then went out on his own Rob North BSA Rocket triple and raised the record to 78mph and change, while being subjected to 7G.
You haven't read about the Rob North because it hasn't been featured in any magazines in the world. Until now. Guy only wanted the bike in one magazine, Sideburn.
It was shot in Grimsby for Sideburn by Sam Christmas. We also had Mick Ofield create a blueprint of Guy's bike and highly respected journalist Mick Duckworth write about the history of Rob North and his famous racing frames.
There is only one place to read these features - in the beautifully printed Sideburn 26.
Also, in the same issue, is our regular Ask Guy page, where the very British daredevil answers Sideburn readers' questions. If you want him to answer yours, send it in to dirt @ sideburnmagazine.com
The next round of the 2016 DTRA race series is the Greenfield TT, next weekend. TT racing is dirt track's nod to going right and leaving the ground. To the best of my knowledge, TT races only ever have one jump per lap. They're contested by flat track bikes, usually with slightly more compliant suspension and front brakes. There have been TT races in the UK, when the national series was organised by Short Track UK, but this is the first DTRA TT. It's also the first all dirt TT. Previous races have had concrete sections when the course turned onto the infield of King's Lynn speedway track, with a dirt jump.
As a very amateur racer, I'm not a massive fan of the TT format as I've never been much of a jumper, but there was a small scale practice at the Greenfield track earlier in the year, and running a few laps over the jump gave me more confidence for the upcoming race. I think the racing is going to be wild and action-packed, especially as this year, most classes are running without a front brake.
It's free to spectate, and it's a two-day meeting at:
Greenfield Farm
Greenfield
Alford
LN13 0EB
Anthony Brown, big cheese of the DTRA, sent a link to this clip through to get us excited about TT racing and it is wonderful. Evel Knievel is the guest pundit and while he does get some good info over, when asked about TT racing, he compares Ascot TT with the Isle of Man TT. Perhaps he'd only heard of the Isle of Man TT, not actually seen it. I don't have to tell you the two couldn't be more different.
This 100-lapper is dominated by Rick Hocking. He must have been the big favourite, because he was interviewed before the race, with the clips inserted into the coverage. I saw Hocking race at Vegas in 2010, also on a Yamaha 500, like he using in this race, then I was in the hotel hot tub with him (it was a big outdoor hot tub, not that awkward). I wish I'd seen this clip before that impromptu meeting. And it's too late to ask him about it now as, sadly, he took his own life a year later, in early 2011.
Another fact, the late Paul Bostrom (incorrectly captioned Bostrum in this Wide World Of Sports footage) is running third for part of the race. He was the uncle of former superbike racers Ben and and Eric Bostrom. G
Don't forget to watch Guy Martin's Wall of Death tonight, 7.15, Channel 4. There are lots of Sideburn intersections in the Venn diagram of this attempt.
1. Guy is a long-time supporter of Sideburn and has agreed to write a regular column for each issue starting with Sideburn 24.
He also wrote about racing at Dirt Quake for Sideburn 23.
2. He will ride more than one bike on the wall (if all goes to plan). He has been practicing on, and will ride, an Indian Scout, that's been seriously modified by our mates at Krazy Horse. Guy has raced the Krazy Horse Sportster at the previous two Dirt Quakes and first met Paul from Krazy Horse at Rollerburn, our 2011 event.
3. Guy's mentor through the event has been Ken Fox, and one of the Fox family's Wall of Death is returning to this year's Dirt Quake. Get your Dirt Quake tickets now.
Sometimes I get a bit fed-up when I think too hard about living in small-town Lincolnshire, having moved here for a job I haven't had for over 15 years. There are no contemporary art galleries, no gigs within a 2 to 2.5 hour round trip, very little culture that I'm interested in, but it's not all bad. Cheap housing - by British standards; hardly any traffic; cheap vehicle insurance; decent roads; London's 100 miles one way; childhood home and family is in Leeds 110 miles the other way.
And I'm spoilt for motorcycle racing opportunities. If I was still interested in trackdays, I have Cadwell, Snetterton, Donington, Mallory Park all within an hour or so.
In summer it's DTRA or other dirt track at Peterborough (25 miles) King's Lynn (25 miles), Scunthorpe (60 miles), Leicester (60 miles), Greenfield Groove (50 miles) and in winter it's Mablethorpe Beach Racing (50 miles). I have a £500 heap of Honda on the right tyres. I neglect it all summer, then get it recommissioned in time to do a few races during the winter. Like today. Leave home at 7.30, £35 for five races, back home for 2pm.
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