Bastie Racing Heritage

Sideburn's French ambassador, Hubert Bastie sent tells this great story about his family background...

Many of us, DTRA riders, are from a family of racers. The same for me.

My dad was born in 1950 in Paris. He rode Husqvarna, Ossa and Bultacos from 1973 to 1983. But I never saw him riding, not e even once (but last year he competed in a Super veteran race, after 33 years of not racing). Why? Because he just stopped everything when my brother came to the world.

What did he leave us from his racing years? Tons of bikes? Cool riding gear? Did he take us ride as youngsters? NO! Nothing!

He was just ok to help me to buy a trials bike, a Gas Gas 125, at 16, but I'd been focussed on a 1985 YZ since I was 12! For him motocross is baaaad and dangerous. That's so strange for a man who finished the seventh at first edition of Le Touquet, who won races in the French Enduro Championship.

Here is what he left:
3 helmets in the Garage, that became nice bird's nest.
One single Husqvarna Jersey.
Some trophies And a used Trelleborg tyre and tooooons of pictures...

 1981 Husqvarna 250

  1981 Husqvarna 250

 1982 Husqvarna

                                                                    1982 Husqvarna

 The one on the left became my mum 

 Ossa Trials

 The shirt I wore in DTRA

 Broken shock at Le Touquet in 1981

 The helmet cemetery today

With his road bike a Z1, one of the first in France

Rye House Practice and BSMC Launch

The new DTRA season kicks off this Sunday at Rye House. It's free to spectate. Racing all day from 10am.
The club has attracted FIFTY new members this year. There are over 100 entries for this race, at a time when other motorcycle race series are struggling for enough numbers to continue.

These shots are my phone snaps from a practice at Rye House eight days ago.

Above, and at the top of the page, is Jon Bell's TT500. Jon raced in the Short Track UK series (forerunner to the DTRA) on a modern KTM a good few years ago and was very quick. He's come back with big-bore Yamaha XT/TT. It looks the part, with the aftermarket alloy swingarm and Jemco-style pipe. Jon converted it from dry sump to wet sump (not sure why) and it seemed to cause some problems on the practice day.

Darren and his Ossa Vintage class stroker.

Survivor Mike on one of the CCM road bikes he converts into race bikes. There will be four or five of these racing in the DTRA this year.

Guy and Norm Joss are sharing this gorgeous Trackmaster Triumph twin. They have two between them, so I think fastest rider gets to choose first. 

DTRA main man, Anthony Brown debuted his Death Spray village fete colours on his Honda 450.

Even my lad Max was out practicing on his XR100. 

Don't forget, Sideburn and the DTRA are having a launch this Saturday afternoon, the day before the first DTRA race. We've arranged with the track that riders can park within the Rye House track, get the train to Liverpool Street and visit the Bike Shed, then come back to the track to watch the Rye House Rockets Premier league speedway fixture, against Ipswich Witches, that night (adults £15, under-16s are £5).

The train takes 38 minutes and it means you don't have to take your van or trailer into London. 

Train times 

Return ticket is something like £20. 

Liverpool St to Bike Shed walking route. It takes 12 minutes. 

There will be :

A display of dirt track race bikes

DTRA organisers to talk to

Sideburn stuff to buy and editor to talk to

The impressive Bike Shed to look around

Good food to buy

Bike Shed's own stock of clobber or accessories

The chance of a good haircut in the on-site barbers

Drinks to be drunk (both acholic and non)

Great people to meet.

All the times and location details are on the poster. G

Champion Ossa (street legal!) For Sale in UK

This looks like it would be a great fun race bike, but I'm not sure I'd want it as a road bike. Thanks to Ross for the tip-off. Follow this link to UK eBay (not a) Champion Ossa. The reserve is £2600.
UPDATE: Spurious title on eBay. I should've read it more carefully. It's not a Champions frame. Still neat, but not a desirable (to me at least). G

Ossa Dick Mann Replicas

From John in Minnesota,

Gary, Greetings to you and your staff [*]. Being old Flat Trackers we've been reading Sideburn from issue #1! My neighbor Jeff Ellison has a subscription and the issues are so coveted we need to leave our credit card number to check them out. 
My brother Bob just returned home from London and a quick stop at your recent release party. Attached, please find a photo of our recently finished OSSA DMR projects. Frame # 29, 42, 125. Thanks again for all the effort and entertainment you provide. 
John "Ham" Metz

*Mick, he must mean you. Ha!

Lobster backs

They're all the rage. Spotted at Eicma. The bottom one is on a new Ossa two-stroke. G

Ossa

From our friends at Metro Racing. G

Jesus rides an Ossa

From Jesus Buisan in Spain.

I'm a fan of your blog and I have a family very fond of motorcycles that just finished this, which you sent pictures if you want to publish to your blog.
Greetings from Spain

Call Me

- Sorry Debbie, I can't remember where we met? Was it the internet? BP

US vintage flat track news

This in from Don at Metro. That's him hanging it out in the photo on his Big Horn Kawasaki...

Metro Racing and the Square Deal Riders are proud to present. The first ever AMA Vintage Flat Track Open, June 26th & 27th. At the Square Deal Raceway in Harpursville,NY. With the announcement of AMA racing vintage bikes at Mid Ohio, Square Deal and Metro Racing was excited to see an additional venue for us to get these old bikes back out on the track. Square Deal has been an AMA sanctioned track since 1937. So it just seemed kind of natural to hop on board with this exciting new venture.

The AMA has set up an initial set of rules and classes that can be seen on their site www.ama-cycle.org. These are the classes we will be offering up here in June. We think they are off to a great start. There are the usual good core classes, plus kids and women's classes. Now Vintage racing can be more fun for the whole family!

This race is not in conjunction with the AMA Grand National Vintage Championship races at AMA VMD, nor does it carry any points over, but it can be used to try out the new classes and see just who your competitors will be for the big race in July and get to test out that new class you know you have been wanting to try.

We are also happy to announce that the Larry Weiss Memorial trophy will be up for grabs in the Open Singles 401cc & up class. SDR will also host, as a support class the Spanish Short Track Attack. This class will be open to all Vintage, Spanish-made, flat track racers. This has been a great class at Square Deal to pay homage to the Spanish bikes that were imported to this country, right up the road in Schanechtady, NY. They have been racing the old Bultacos, Ossas and Montessas at SDR since day one and we want to keep 'em going.
www.metroracing.com or ama-cycle.org for more information.

I don't know if you have to British to find this funny

Ossa

I should have been working, trying to earn money to feed and clothe my wife and kids, instead I got obsessed with Ossa motorcycles. Hugo, editor of Classic Bike, told me that the logo isn't, as I assumed, a four-leaf clover, but the part of a cinema projector the Spanish company also made. Take that to the bank. The little green and white bike has a Champion frame. Neat-o.GI

Bonneville

Our good mate, Andrew Gary, went to Bonneville on his way to race his Guzzi on track at Miller in Utah. He packed his new shirt.
"Wore the Sideburn T shirt and even grizzly old geezer racers loved it."