Cameron Donald is riding really well and did 97.4 mph tonight from a standing start. He was the third fastest 350 cc bike overall! The bike pulled 124 mph on Sulby speed trap, up 4 mph on last night.
The bike is pretty much sorted for the race. We may try raising the gearing again tomorrow just to see the effect.
We are trying to keep the mileage to a minimum as we don’t know the component life of a 350.
Kevin Grant and Bob Robbins are here with the two Brittens for Bruce Anstey and Stephen Briggs to ride in the parade lap.
Ken
Ian Wardrop from Scotland, Peter Bloore (owner) from near Oxford and Garry Allan our IoM host for the last 3 visits
Mrs Sheila Poole, who lives on the Isle of Man. She prepares this 350 Manx for her husband Edward to ride. Sheila ordered two Manx frames off me a couple of years ago, which she said she was delighted with. I sent them by NZ Post and they arrived without any problems. She told me she left them unpainted because she liked looking at the bronze welds.
Another New Zealand bike. This one is a 500cc Manx owned by Dave Kennah and ridden this year by young UK rider James Cowton. It has been ridden by Chris Swallow in previous years. It too has one of our featherbed frames which we made about twenty years ago.
Regular visitor to New Zealand Horst Saiger and winner of the NZ Suzuki Superbike Series is over here from Leichenstein to race this 500cc Egli Vincent.
Neville Wooderson’s 500cc BSA Gold Star, which Chris Swallow is riding in the Senior Classic TT. Neville, now in his eighties, rode BSA’s and a Matchless G45 on the IoM in the early 1950’s and is back again looking for that elusive 100 mph lap. My great friend Dave Morley (owner of a McIntosh Suzuki and a McIntosh Manx) stepped in to help Neville get the bike ready for the IoM.
You can’t buy tickets for this view. Only the correct passes will get owners and crew into the holding pits before practice.
