The Place

Taken at the Carnaby Bonanza meet 1980.....
I was not really interested in sidecars at that time because all the guys I was helping rode solos, anyway this shot of Steve and Kevin Webster may have been the last time they rode together due to Kevin breaking his leg after loosing his grip at the very quick chicane before the back straight.
Then when I got the chance to passenger I used to love the mixed solo and sidecar practice days that only Pete Hillaby was brave enough to try.

I met Kevin a few years later in Assen Town not long after he had broken his neck in a crash at Cadwell Park.



These guys were regulars at Carnaby, was the driver (Keith Cousons) ? is this guess right.



Elvington didn't really excite me because you could never get near to what was going on unless you were riding there.
Anyone able to identify these men and the machine ? Looks like a Honda of some sort.



This is the beast I was talking about in an earlier post but this time taken at 3 Sisters circuit, I am almost sure it is the same machine that used to show up at Flookburgh. I never did take any notice of who the crew was at the time, sorry lads...

Regards


Fritz,,,,,,,,,,

remember going to flookburgh and three sisters rob fisher passenger my father there any more photos

I think No.1 (3rd picture down) is possibly John Coates on his Honda 6.

Correct Geoff the eurolease honda is John Coates and Ian Andrews on his CBX outfit. The naked CBX outfit is a bloke from the wirral somewhere, will have to look in a programme to find out his name. John Holden bought the outfit off John Coates, then we bought it off John Holden.

Was it Rod or Rob Cooper from the Wirral ?? he did buy a CBX outfit from Bill who used to run the Honda shop in Eccles .......... pretty sure it was a Winstanley chassis

Pictures are excellent !! ......... any more ?? I wonder how many of these outfits are still about ??

Thats right it was Rob Cooper from wirral, Winstanley chassis looks correct too. Think he did the Southern one year too.

Then when I got the chance to passenger I used to love the mixed solo and sidecar practice days that only Pete Hillaby was brave enough to try.

You can have a week's worth of it if you go to Carlos week at Val de Vienne. Great fun after a couple of days, once the solos realise how much better we are on the brakes and keep out of the way

Mixed practice days? Snetterton always used to run mixed days and that included cars out at the same time as well Remember one day there many moons ago going down the Norwich straight and this thing shot past as though we had stopped, same again several laps later - John Surtees in his Lola T70 Chevvy

Any Honda 6 outfits still about ??????

1st pic was it 1981? 2nd pic Geoff Young from Rothbury scots borders????

The second pic isnt Geoff Young and I wouldnt like to walk from Rothbury to the Jock border Keith . Anyway weres some pics of you and the BM.

Same here,,,,,,,,

once the solos realise how much better we are on the brakes and keep out of the way

I was blown away by the acceleration of a solo motorcycle but at the same time amazed at how much of a flying lap was wasted trying to slow down for a corner /hairpin etc.
We also spent most sessions diving under superbike solos at each hairpin or twisty section of the Carnaby circuit......


What ever happend to the Bonanza meetings which aslo included British championship rounds ?

The last bonanza prize giving I went was at the SPA Hall Scarborough when they had a tug of WAR between to solos ad the sidecars,,,,,Gordon Shand led the sidecar lads to victory as you would expect.



Regards,


Fritz,,,,,,,,,,

At the very 1 st bonanza meeting in 1980 shin dig , I asked the impressive Fred Clarke why he didn't go for TV commentary,,,,,,He said he liked it Live as it is rather than commentating on what you see on a monitor .......

Regrards.


Fritz,,,,,,,,,

I have since found out a friend of mine ( Gary Gardiner) who also does a fair amount of commentating around the country is a big pal of Fred Clarke,,,,,,,,,, it really is a small world .

TonyW wrote:Any Honda 6 outfits still about ??????

Yes, only one that i know of, i bought and rebuilt Brian Tomlins old 6 outfit 3 years ago. Just use it for parades and track days. Did the Beezumph a couple of years ago, had a great time