| FESTIVAL OF 1000 BIKES - 12th/13th July 2008 |
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2007 Event Report/Souvenirs
Trials |
Grass Track | Sprint
Demonstration | Track
Sessions
Past Masters Parade | Avenue of
Clubs | Raffle
Event Report
Enthusiasts for popular music have Glastonbury. Opera Buffs have Glyndebourne and Nag-thrashers have Badminton. Motorcyclists have Mallory Park. This is the ‘Glastonbury’ of the motorcycle. There was even some mud around!
Thousands of enthusiasts descended on Mallory Park for the weekend of 14/15 July to see and hear the ‘stars’ perform. But unlike Glastonbury, many of the enthusiasts were performers in their own right; having signed up for appearances on the 1.35 mile ‘stage’ on both the Saturday and Sunday.
Significant changes had been made from 2006. The road machine paddock was now within the circuit on the outside of the track and adjacent to the “Elf” bridge. Direct access to the circuit onto the Kirkby Straight for the road machine sessions was provided. The grass track was now on the outside of the circuit on the Stebbe Straight. The autojumble and the entertainment marquee were moved to the Race Paddock, which did imply a certain degree of discipline in parking and in appropriation of space- especially on the Sunday.
The relentless rain of Friday evening seemed reluctant to give way, but Saturday DID dawn dry and it remained so throughout the day for the continuous succession of road machine parades that saw almost 1,200 machines on the track in the course of the 29 track sessions for road machines.
Sunday saw the return of the rain, but 1000 machines came out for the 20 sessions for road and racing machinery.
An incident and an oil spill on the Sunday morning necessitated some quick thinking and decision-making. A vote of thanks is due to the VMCC Sprint Section for responding with speed, efficiency and enthusiasm in bringing forward their first demonstration whilst the oil spill was being addressed. This made it possible to fulfil the programme scheduled for the Sunday within the limits of time.
If Saturday was members’ day, then Sunday was the day for the ‘stars’- both man and machine. First, there was a Laverda demonstration lead by Piero Laverda himself on the legendary V-6. Piero gave us an impressive demonstration of the machine’s performance and his own riding skills, giving little away to the weather and the track conditions. The V-6 is an impressively complicated and glorious-sounding machine – and physically much smaller than imagined. The accompanying triples roared furiously in accompaniment to give a spectacle in Orange. An electrifying display of speed and skill came from the National Motorcycle Museum ‘team’ of Norton Rotaries. The crowd watched in silence as the five machines howled around the circuit, their highly distinctive ‘voices’ rising and falling in unison-punctuated by that characteristic ‘popping – back’ on the overrun. Brian Crighton’s latest masterpiece - the NRV588 - made a solo appearance in front of an appreciative audience towards the end of the afternoon as its “dry” tyres precluded participation with its brethren. This was a most impressive performance and the noise is different….The Past Masters demonstrated to us that they have lost none of their style and their élan. Some iconic machines from the past were wafted stylishly around the circuit by some iconic names.
It is not strictly accurate, but a fair account of Saturday’s programme might well have read “If it was made in Great Britain, it is on the track today”
The “1000 bikes” weekend offers EVERY lover of old motorcycles the
opportunity to participate at some level- and if not participating,
there is something to appeal to the broadest range of “classic tastes”.
Images below courtesy of Small Red Gorilla and Reilly Photographic Studios. more images of the event
are available on request from VMCC HQ.
2007 Awards
Best Club Stand (in association with Classic Racer magazine)-
Velocette Owners Club
Best Post War Machine (in association with Old Bike Mart) –
Mr Dave Ellis, Laverda Jota
Best Pre War Machine (in association with The Classic Motorcycle)-
Mr Shane Roberts, 1926 Ivyvy
Founder Titch Allen at the VMCC HQ Stall during one of many book signing
sessions of his autobiography:
Titch, A founders Tale
Purchase a copy yourself from our
online store now,
it makes a cracking good read.
Norton team courtesy of Reilly Photographic
Laverda Team on Display
We have lots of superb images of the event for media use, just ask!
Chief Executive, James Hewing with Brian Crighton and the Norton NRV588
Link to Mallory
Park Mapap - PDF file
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TRACK SESSIONS
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TRIALS
Pre 65 Trial organised by the Taverners Section of the VMCC. For more information contact entries secretary: Mark Mc Evoy |
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GRASS TRACK
Trevor Hopkins, 2 THE WILLOWS, DAVENTRY, NOTHANTS, NN1 OPY. |
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SPRINT DEMONSTRATIONON
Organised by The Sprint Section of The VMCC more details can be
gained by contacting the Sprint Section Secretary- |
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PAST MASTERS PARADE
Special thanks to The National Motorcycle Museum (Birmingham), The Sammy Miller Museum, Mr Tony Salt (TST Tyres), Mr Bernie Saunders, Mr Ivan Rhodes and all our Riders & Suppliers of machines for their generosity. |
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WHAT THE PUBLIC SAIDThe following are just a few extracts from the dozens of emails and letters received by the VMCC HQ within days of the event. Thank you, James and your loyal team for the most wonderful two days in the history of the Club. I am sure I am expressing the feelings of the thousands who thoroughly enjoyed the Festival. At least 50 shook hands with me, thanking me for for starting it - a mere trifling thing compared to what you have done! - Founder Titch May I once again express, on behalf of my father and I,
our deepest gratitude to you, your staff and all the volunteers
and helpers that made the 1000 bikes festival at Mallory another
spectacular event... With a easy and safe flight yesterday we were back home . Bikes arrive this afternoon in perfect condition and now are sleeping quiet in my Garage . From me and from all Laverda Corse Team members I wish to thank you and your Club committee and members for the fantastic week end we have had in Mallory Park , which remind will stay forever in all us. - Piero Laverda Sorry we did not meet on the day but, what a cracking do we all had! Mick, Malc Wheeler,and me on the superstock had a great time. Hopefully we can bring these ex Sheene, Mamola,and Mick's superstock machines, we will also have finished a TZ350 that Christian Sarron used in 1981 next year many thanks for the invite again. - Tony Salt. TST Tyres Ltd. Just a very rapid note on my return home from Mallory, to say a very big thank you to you, your hard working team, your committee and Marshalls for giving us such a wonderful weekend ( in spite of mother natures attempts to sabotage it all) I arrived home feeling 50 years younger with an adrenalin flow that subdued nearly all my back pain, I was proud to be part of your show and to have received such wonderful treatment from everybody in the Vintage Club ,made an old ex GP man very happy. If ever I can be of any future assistance to you or the club, please do not hesitate to contact me. Relax now, and enjoy the memories of your efforts and again "Thank you" for everything. - Tommy Robb. (Aged 20 tonight) Just had to write to thank everyone involved in the Festival of 1000 Bikes FANTASTIC!!! I was a spectator last year and just had to have a go in this year’s event. I had booked in for the Saturday and was more than happy with the virtually perfect conditions. It has been over 36 years since I rode around Mallory and age certainly slows you down but doesn’t stop the adrenalin flowing, nor the big silly grin spreading across the face! My apologies to anyone whose progress I may have impeded and please may I come back next year?!!!! Once again, a brilliant experience. - Terry Odlin Just a quick note to say thanks for having us at The Festival of 1000 bikes. We really enjoyed playing there... - Steve Warrington From myself, on behalf, I am sure, of all active participants in the Festival of 1000 Bikes to you, on behalf of the organisers and small army cheerful and enthusiastic helpers. Heartfelt thanks! Without such spirit and dedication, we, the participants, would not, could not, have had such a feast of friendship and fun. Sometimes words are just inadequate! - Roger Moss Thanks for an excellent weekend, shame about the weather at times but seems to be the way of our summer this year. We thoroughly enjoyed the event and was pleased to see that it had moved on a long way and a big improvement from last year. So while it's a long way ahead we will look forward to coming again next year, well done. - Roger Linmb, AJS & Matchless Owners Club LTD Just a quick line to express my sincere thanks to all the staff and volunteers who made this years festival a great one for me. The track sessions on Saturday went very smoothly from my perspective and were so very enjoyable. I loved the Past Masters on stage during Saturday evening and all the other exhibits, stands and events. The only thing I would change was the weather on Sunday which spoilt my early 3rd track session. We cant blame you guys for that. I do hope there will be one in 2008 and count me in for it. - Richard Stafford Thank you to you and your team for the fantastic festival of 1000 bikes. Everyone I know think it is unique and are looking forward to next year... - Peter Greenfield Just wanted to drop you a line to say a really big thank you for the entries to the Festival, we had an absolutely great time. Although the weather tried to do its worst on the Sunday it didn't stop the meeting being a great success again and you and your team handled the trials and tribulation with real professionalism. Please could you pass my thanks on to all your team, they were all so polite and helpful, particularly nice to see the Wilkinson family, it helped make the day all the more pleasant. I felt really privileged to share the same track as all the Past Masters, so that was great as well,... - PaulNorman On behalf of my friends, Brigitta Wollers, Micheal Sude, Micheal Wuertz, Klaus Koepke, Markus Laux and myself, I would like to thank all those who made our visit to Mallory Park such a success! Fortunately for us, we were only out on the track on the Saturday and so were able to make the very best of the weather on offer..... Those who had had no previous race track experience were most impressed by the standards set by the travelling marshals, who deserve to be given an extra mention. - David Webber (Germany) A very big thank you for providing the opportunity to get 25 or so Vincent’s on the track at Mallory Park. The whole weekend was very enjoyable. On behalf of the Vincent HRD Owners Club please express our thanks to all the people who made the weekend possible. - John Benson I must admit this was the first time I had been to the Festival of a 1000 Bikes,& being 53 this year I should be ashamed to admit it, The impending arrival of one Laverda V6 & the new Norton racer was too much to miss, the wife (Laverda 650 sport owner) & myself arrived on the Sunday,& I was like a kid in a candy store, the work done by Sammy Miller is just unreal, we must make this guy live for the next 200 years at least. Save for a small amount of rain the event was well organised, friendly & congratulations to Titch Allen well done all, & lets look forward to 2008. - Jim & Lorraine Stephens My wife and I would like to congratulate and thank everyone that made the 1000 bikes at Mallory such a great weekend. The hard work put in by all those involved deserve a medal. It was friendly,good humoured and very efficient and we can hardly wait for next year. We will be joining the club as members and we will spread the word. Thanks again to you all. - James and Annette Crocker The members of the TOMCC Meriden Section would like to congratulate James Hewing and his entire staff for the excellent weekend enjoyed by us at Mallory park. We understand that Annie was responsible for the position of our display area. After our initial dismay at being on such hard standing it turned out to be a great location with plenty of room to spread out and no muddy feet. Good job we bought the heavy duty pegs for the gazebo! The organisation was slick and the evening entertainment was brilliant, more loo's than you could shake a stick at, reasonably priced food & drink and of course, so much to see on and off the track. Looking back, nobody mentions the rain showers, strange how little inconveniences are quickly forgotten. We hope the victims of the couple of accidents have recovered and that the damage to machines is not as bad as it appeared at the time. This event will definitely be on our agenda next year. - Ian Ellis (TOMCC Meriden sec) What a good weekend. The Saturday seemed to be very successful with lots of folk enjoying the events/bikes /what have you. The weather on Sunday may have put a dampener on the people count but the paddock was buzzing with lots of happy people, and I hope the final accounts show it to be a success. ALL the car parking, race paddock officials were really excellent at their jobs and were efficient and not officious. Will you pass on my thanks for their two days of hard work with such good humour. The race paddock chasers and race group organisers had the hardest job and were very good at it. The food for the VIP lunch was very much better than last year, but it's late arrival caused some timing problems to riders and eventually led to some being left over. It was very good to see you closing the office for the Monday, although I know that the C.E.O was working at Mallory. A good idea. We all thoroughly enjoyed a " Vintage" weekend of good and rare quality and thanks. - Howard German A short note to congratulate you for the fine event which in spite of the weather, which could have been a lot worse, you and all the many Allen House staff did a really great job. As ever no one can predict events and the unfortunate problems when someone came off did not deter anyone. Everyone and all the riders remained cool and took the delays in good spirit. Those dear ladies on the gate out of the paddock stood out in the weather showing a great amount of patience and remained calm even when blitzed with riders not quite knowing when their ride was coming up. I know the Management Committee had to sanction the revival but I think you must be the one who kick-started if off again. It must rank with any of the continental events and be a wonderful advert for the Club. Well done, roll on next year probably the last thing you want to hear at the present time !!!! - Jim Hammant Just got in from the garage after finally getting all my bikes back on the road and read the copies of the messages of congratulations that have been sent to the office, I did make a thank you announcement over the tannoy at Mallory to all the organisers and helpers I also went round and thanked as many people as I could find on the Sunday afternoon but there will be many that either did not hear the announcement or I missed so I would like to add my thanks and congratulations to all the people that put in so much hard work organising the event, also to all the marshals and helpers that worked just as hard over the weekend. A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL. - Harry Wiles A short note James to say THANK YOU to you and every member of `the team' that made The Festival such a brilliant success. Slick, well managed events take a lot of time, effort and good teamwork to organise and control. You all deserve a round of applause for a Job Well Done. Now what about next year.....? - Emlyn Evans James On behalf of the New Imperial Owners Association, and the Berkshire Section VMCC, I Should like to thank you and your team for all your hard work in producing another wonderfully enjoyable Festival of 1000 Bikes. Keep up the good work. - Doug Ellis Mallory even better this year, Sat superb, pity about the rain Sun. Well done - David Hutt I hope that you have recovered from what must have been an unbelievably exhausting weekend for you and the rest of the team from H.Q. On behalf of the Sprint Section, I would just like to thank you all for your support and co-operation both during the run up and whole weekend. Despite the weather, I still think that this year was a significant step forward in re-establishing the 1000 Bikes to its former status as one of the VMCC's premier events. I did not get a chance to see you before we left site (8:30pm!) so thanks again for a wonderful event. - Chris Illman Just wanted to say well done once again to you and your team for organising such a superb event. It was great so see so many lovely bikes being used as they were meant to be, and getting the Laverda Corse team there was a real coup. I wouldn't have missed that V6 for the world! How are you going to follow that next year??? We definitely noticed a greater number of people attending on Saturday, although I think the weather forecast put off a lot on Sunday. Pity really, because it didn't turn out that bad. The evening entertainment was ace, and it was a good decision to put the marquee in the paddock this time. Looking forward to going back in 2008! - Andy Bufton I participated in this years festival along with two of my close friends. I would just like to say we had a brilliant weekend. we will have our names down for next years event as soon as the application forms are made available. Thanks to everyone involved - Andy Cooper Can I express my thanks to yourself & all those in the club involved in the organisation of 1000 bikes. I shudder to think of all the hours of sheer bloody hard work that went into it, but it is a truly superb event, of which you can be justly proud. The line up of people and machinery attending was mind-blowing & the whole thing bore the Titch Allen stamp of `something to interest everyone`. Also, what other club would have its President (Ann Davey will always be Pres to me) & Chief Exec welcoming people to the car park? Everyone attending will have their own high point. Your event gave a mere mortal like me the opportunity to rub shoulders on the start line with a certain seven times TT winner, something I never dreamed of doing & which I will never forget. I have no suggestions for improvements, unless it could be extended to a week. Congratulations on your achievement. 1000 Bikes is world class. Thanks again & best wishes, - Andy Phillips Mallory was a fabulous weekend, can't wait for next year, please pass on my best wishes to Steph Wilkinson. I have never seen anybody cope so well under that pressure. In fact everybody deserves a pat on the back .- Alex Young I would like to thank you for our invitation to the Festival of 1000 bikes, both Roger and I (and the Team) had a fabulous time and we enjoyed the whole weekend most thoroughly. I would like to commend you on the format this year, the addition of the Entertainments Tent and the guest speakers really added to the ‘vibe’ of the meeting. - Alex Aitchison |
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OTHER ATTRACTIONSAVENUE OF CLUBSWith over 40 one make Clubs in displaying in the Avenue of Clubs in 2006 this was be a big hit with visitors to the event. Again in 2007 each Club will be displaying their Members machines as well as many of those same Members riding in the Track parades. Clubs wishing to attend or wishing to have a special track session for their Members should contact VMCC HQ as soon as possible hq@vmcc.nett List of Clubs (49) attending the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes 2007.
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RAFFLEThe VMCC offers two superb machines every year as part of our twice yearly Raffle competitions. First prize in our July-Dec 2007 Raffle will be non other than a beautiful 1952 500cc Vincent Comet.  Tickets will be available to buy at just £1.00 each from the VMCCs Stand within the race paddock at Mallory where the machine can be seen in the flesh! (see event map). Books of 3 Raffle Tickets will also be distributed via the VMCCs own monthly magazine “The Vintage Motorcycle” and in the July edition of “Old Bike Mart”. Not only do you have the chance to win this beautiful motorcycle, but each ticket purchased offers you the chance to win these other great prizes. Second Prize-DAVIDA “Ninety 1” Helmet Third Prize-One Years Subscription to Old Bike Mart & The Classic Motorcycle magazine. Fourth Prize-Ones Years subscription to Classic Racer magazine Fifth prize-“Vac Bag” Motorcycle dry storage kit. The VMCC would like to thank Mortons Motorcycle Media, Davida Helmets & Vac Bag products for their support. |
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2007 Memorabilia |
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Small Red Gorilla Photography
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