Peterborough DTRA by Sam Christmas

Photographer Sam Christmas is racing the bike above (what number is that supposed to be) and travelled to DTRA round 2 at the MCN Festival, Peterborough. He was with James from Kingdom of Kicks who was making his debut on a Triumph twin. They travelled up in this murder wagon.
These are all Sam's shots.

Alongside the DTRA, MCN and Peter Boast had organised a Transatlantic challenge where the USA raced a British team. Kevin Schwantz and Dave Aldana were joined by national #12 Jay Maloney (and a couple of ringers). They faced the best of British: Tim Neave (riding with a broken scaphoid); Ollie Brindley, Ade Collins and, guest captain, David Knight, the Manx extreme enduro legend.
The British won.

It was great to have David Aldana back in the UK. He's always fantastic entertainment. 65 and still quick.

 But not as quick as Neave and Brindley.

Me and my mechanic Max in his favourite Survivor Customs shirt. I had a good weekend, making both finals and finishing in higher results than where my three heats qualified me. A fifth and seventh. I think.

Olivier on the Ornamental Conifer painted WR that is our Sideburn 21 cover bike. Incredible machine.

The Vintage class has got very competitive all of a sudden.

The next DTRA round is at Eastbourne, Sunday 14 June. Free to spectate. G

DTRA Round 2 and TransAtlantic

Two days of dirt track at the MCN Festival, Peterborough this weekend.

Saturday
9.15-11.00 - Rookie and Youth
12.15-12.45 - Transatlantic with Schwantz and Aldana
2.30-3.00 - Transatlantic with Schwantz and Aldana
4.00- 5.45 - Restricted and Pro

Sunday
9.15-11.00 - Vintage and Youth
12.15-12.45 - Transatlantic with Schwantz and Aldana
2.30-3.00 - Transatlantic with Schwantz and Aldana
4.00- 5.45 - Thunderbike, Minibike, Dash for Cash

An Age of Superheroes

This book is so good I have to hide it or I don't get anything done. Mat Oxley is my favourite writer (working in the subject motorcycles). He's been covering GPs, at the tracks, since the 1980s, as a rider he nearly won the Suzuka 8-hour, and did win a TT (250 production class), and he's even written for Sideburn.

For this book he interviewed Schwantz, Rainey, Lawson, Doohan and Gardner - the Superheroes who wrestled the most vicious road racing bikes in history. He also raided the archives of the best GP photographers of the era. The interviews form captions for the incredible photos. I pick it up, idly, then force myself to put it back down 35 minutes later having not done any work. It contains more than those five superheroes, though. There are amazing images of Randy Mamola, Kenny Roberts, De Radigues, Cadalora, plus the bikes, girls, team kit...
Put it on your Christmas list. And our mate Kar Lee did some illustrations for it too.
Amazon are selling it cheap. GI

You think you know someone...

I've been fortunate enough to interview Kevin Schwantz a few times. Saw him race in England too. Even got changed in the same room as him before we went to ride MotoGP bikes, but I never knew he was a dirt tracker. I knew that most US racers had raced on ovals, but it was so rarely mentioned in the Schwantz stories I'd read it had passed me by. Then I found these photos in a dusty corner of his website and they're gold dust. I love the ABC leathers, so I dug about to see why they had Darryl on the front and discovered this on the AMA Hall of Fame website 'He also raced a few amateur dirt track races using motorcycles borrowed from his uncle, AMA Grand National racer Darryl Hurst. Schwantz got his first taste of road racing at an event through the streets of Austin, Texas. Schwantz won the race over a slew of the best road racers in Texas riding his uncle’s Yamaha short-track racer.'
And he's setting the bar high with the outfit in the family photo, but his dad edges it in the style stakes. GI